Perpetuating the trend in Hollywood of having a replacement composer write a large, orchestrally budgeted score in just a few weeks, Proyas saw the job go to 36-year-old Marco Beltrami with only 17 days to render the fully-finished work. Beltrami was introduced to the summer blockbuster scene in earnest the previous year, with his adequate, but uninspired score for Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines announcing his mainstream arrival. On the upswing, though, Beltrami's intriguing score for Hellboy earlier in 2004 showed signs that the young composer was truly ready for full-fledged fantasy and science-fiction projects. Beltrami made the best of his 17 days and wrote a substantial score for 95 orchestral musicians and 25 choral performers. And yet, in so doing, he reverted back to the stylistic weaknesses of Terminator 3, composing a score with all the makings of a winner, but lacking the passion or cohesive glue to pull it all together. Beltrami is very loyal to the orchestra in this effort, putting the electronics in subsidiary role from start to end. This choice could be questioned, for if Beltrami really wanted to create a strong ambience for the robots, then perhaps a constant electronic counterpoint might have been advisable. Thematically, his primary identity is an evocative highlight of the entire work, a potential-filled minor-key melody referenced in fragments throughout (as in "Spooner Spills") but overshadowed by swirls of activity in many instances. An electronically altered solo string performance (or perhaps a processed version of a duduk or other Middle Eastern instrument) of the theme over the end credits is both engaging and interesting, however the structural problems of inherent in Beltrami's rhythms and his conscious choice to keep this music off-balanced causes the theme to lose its attractiveness. Throughout the entirety of his effort, he emphasizes sharp brass ostinatos that rotate through octaves in jagged formations, often with wildly hyperactive strings accenting scales in between those octaves. Perhaps this technique is best described as Beltrami's sincere effort to emulate the styles of Elliot Goldenthal and Jerry Goldsmith and roll them into one unique package.

Unfortunately, Beltrami's rather anonymous personality for I, Robot doesn't really work as anything better than basically sufficient background ambience in context. Several major cues fail to maintain any sense of purpose, though there are short individual highlights worth mentioning, if only for their resemblance to possible temp track placements. The "Chicago 2035" cue is saturated with the influences from Goldenthal's epic writing, for instance, and the final two cues on the album, "Spiderbots" and "Round Up," begin to offer some cohesion of rhythm and lofty accompaniment of the choir in a fashion that recalls Don Davis' The Matrix trilogy. Moments of suspense seemingly resurrect portions of John Williams' Minority Report as well. A passage at about 2:30 into "Spiderbots" suspiciously takes a slow, broad thematic statement right out of the pages of Jones' Dark City, though the more melodramatic renditions of Beltrami's main theme on either side of this sequence are a plus. Even in this and other highlights of the score, the direction of the music shifts erratically, possibly in an attempt to keep up with the CGI effects on screen. Moments of resolve and beauty are lucky to last ten seconds, and the same could be said for the propulsive statements of thrilling action. In general, much of the post-modern symphonic ruckus during the chase sequences seems to emulate The Matrix, though Beltrami has difficulty achieving the same brash instrumental distinctions as Davis. An unquestionable lack of focus is the enemy of I, Robot, perhaps a result of the last minute nature of the composition, though the absence of much passion in the score is more significant problem. Until the redemptive crescendos of resolution in the final two cues on the album, the score aimlessly meanders, dabbles, blasts, and rips. All of this material holds your attention, but the existential conflict that required more emphasis is only muddied by the disjointed thematic performance over the end credits. Perhaps I, Robot suffers from mixing problems that don't allow the electronic and organic elements to mingle intelligently, and perhaps the time frame for the project may have allowed oversights in the writing, performing, recording, or mixing of the work as well. But overall, I, Robot is yet another Beltrami score that promises greatness but lacks the passion, cohesion, or distinctive personality to achieve its top form. Like the film, the score is all procedural action and no intelligent science-fiction.  ***   @Amazon.com: CD or Download