Robot I I, Robot Soundtrack CD

Composer: Marco Beltrami.
Personnel: Susie Stevens Logan, Joanna Bushnell, Jenny Graham, Sandie Hall Brooks, Diane Freeman Reynolds, Teri Koide, Linda Harmon, Sally Stevens (soprano); John Beeney, Dwayne Condon, Dick Wells, Walt Harrah, Guy Maeda, Agostino Castagnola, John West, Amick Byram, Oren Waters, Rick Logan (tenor, baritone); Marcia Dickstein (harp); Eun Mee Ahn, Al Hershberger, Miran Kojian, Irina Voloshina, Anatoly Rosinsky, Katia Popov, Tamara L. Hatwan, Robin Olson, Mark Sazer, Ana Landauer, Alan Grunfeld, Helen Nightengale, Ken Yerke, Julia Ann Gigante, Sungil Lee, Eric J. Hosler, Franklyn d'Antonio, Jay Rosen, Joel Derouin, Lisa Sutton, Mark Robertson , Roberto Cani, Bruce Dukov, Phillipe Levy, Sara Parkins, Roger Wilkie, Liane Mautner, Dimitrie Leivici, Rafael Rishik, Endre Granat (violin); Matt Funes, Marlo Fisher, Shawn Mann, Cassandra Richburg, Rick Gerding, Keith Greene, Simon Oswell, David F. Walther, Victoria Miskolszy, Thomas Dienner, Darrin McCann, Shanti Randall (viola); Jim Walker , Steve Kujala, Geri Rotella, David Shostac (flute); Ralph Williams , Gary Bovyer, James Kanter (clarinet); Barbara Northcutt, Phil Ayling (oboe); Ken Munday, Allen Savedoff, Rose Corrigan (bassoon); Jon Lewis , Rick Baptist, David Washburn (trumpet); Andrew Thomas Malloy, Alan Kaplan, William Booth, George Thatcher (trombone); James Self (tuba); David Duke, John Reynolds, Richard Todd, Steve Becknell, Brian O'Connor, Jim Thatcher (horns); Randy Kerber, Brian Pezzone (keyboards); Buck Sanders (synthesizer); Alan Estes, Gregory Goodall, Tom Raney, Steve Schaeffer, M.B. Gordy, Wade Culbreath (percussion); Hollywood Studio Symphony.
Audio Mixer: John Kurlander.
Liner Note Author: Alex Proyas.
Recording information: Newman Scoring Stage, Twentieth Century Fox.
Editor: Alex Gibson.
Composer Marco Beltrami has been the go-to guy for the horror/suspense genre since Guillermo del Toro's Mimic in 1997, so it's no surprise that he sounds so comfortable on his first foray into sci-fi with Alex Proyas' I, Robot. Similar to his score for del Toro's Hellboy, Beltrami utilizes bombast like it's emanating from the baton itself. His tendency to over-utilize heavy percussion sometimes gets in the way of the melody, but this is a Will Smith summer action movie so it's fitting -- thankfully, there is no lame Smith-jam over the credits. I, Robot isn't del Toro's best work -- that would be his excellent minimalist score for the Owen Wilson serial killer drama The Minus Man -- but it complements the material nicely, resulting in a serviceable but eventually forgettable entry into the realm of blockbuster fly-by's. ~ James Christopher Monger