So much of this score reminds the listener of its contemporary peers that Behind Enemy Lines never really develops its own musical identity. That said, Davis is precise enough in his alterations to the temp track-inspired sounds that the score functions, but only as a stream of consciousness kind of accompaniment. Stylistically, the music is all over the map. It features a heroic theme that is clearly related to Jerry Goldsmith's Air Force One at several levels. There are symphonic ostinatos that will recall Davis' collaboration with James Horner from a decade earlier. Rhythmic loops of grinding synthetic fashion will remind of Harry Gregson-Williams' militaristic thriller music of the same era. Grandiose choral passages of melodramatic harmony with brass counterpoint seem like a leftover from the early David Arnold adventure scores, Joel McNeely's Virus, and, in "Jet Smash," Craig Armstrong's 1990's work. Straight, bad-assed electronica noise and uncomfortable dissonant passages best represent Davis' own production at the time. Nowhere in any of this material does a truly cohesive score for Behind Enemy Lines develop; this isn't like Gregson-Williams' concurrent Spy Game, which at least contained fifteen or more minutes of tightly woven, synthetically enhanced music of distinctive character. No cue in Behind Enemy Lines represents the score better than "Burnett Bereavement," which includes everything from melodramatic symphonic themes and choral majesty to painful, dissonant suspense and electronica-styled garbage. Or you could compare the two solemn "Ustao" cues, which convey ethnic sensitivity through stark choral melancholy, to the end of "Burnett's Body" and middle of "Battle on Thin Ice," both of which utilizing obnoxious rock percussion to underscore the coolness of the American military while it defeats an enemy so inept that it comes across as silly. The closing action cues, including "Airborne Rescue Brigade" and "Battle on Thin Ice," are so badly reminiscent of Air Force One that you have to wonder where Davis' own capabilities went for these important scenes. There are individual highlights in Behind Enemy Lines, the resounding middle section of "Burnett Bereavement" among them, but there is just too little unique intelligence in this music to recommend it as a whole. It was only released promotionally by Davis not long after the debut of the film, and the 68 minutes of material on that release (which sounds great in terms of clarity) has been bootlegged many times since. It's difficult to understand why so many listeners are willing to accept such an unfocused whole to ensnare the short harmonious highlights. They cheapened this film and simply aren't worth the trouble.  **   @Amazon.com: CD or Download