Hans Zimmer's now (in)famous action music style was still a relatively new arrival on the film music scene when Drop Zone came around in 1994.  Yes, he had thrilled or horrified film music fans in pretty much equal measure with the likes of Crimson Tide and Backdraft, but nothing could have prepared them for what he wrote for John Badham's skydiving / hijacking chase movie.  Eschewing the orchestra altogether and concentrating instead on a complex array of synthesisers and an electric guitar, Zimmer wrote one of his most boistrous and exciting scores.

This is just a fun score, plain and simple.  It doesn't attempt to do anything with emotion or connect in any way with the listener, it's just there to provide a few thrills and have a bit of fun.  And at that, it certainly succeeds.  There's not much point analysing individual tracks since they're all fundamentally so similar, with rocking percussion beats, groovy electric guitar licks and the familiar synth trumpet style working wonders.  While Crimson Tide has more stand-out moments, Drop Zone is arguably a more consistently-entertaining score.

The ten-minute "Too Many Notes - Not Enough Rests" (you have to dig the title) has been used in countless trailers in the intervening years, and it's not difficult to see why, with its gutsy machismo being perfect for slow-motion shots of people shooting each other.  It's a great piece, a really stirring anthem.

All in all, this is a highly-entertaining album which, at 37 minutes, doesn't outstay its welcome.  If your love of film music extends little beyond Ben-Hur and Spartacus then this is not a score for you, but you would never have bought it anyway.  For fans of Zimmer's action style, I can't imagine anything would please you more.

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Tracks