Seeing a sudden opportunity fall on their laps like a pot of gold, Paramount and director Jan de Bont hired Silvestri immediately for Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life, and within two days of ending his frustration with Pirates of the Caribbean, Silvestri was back in action. He was ironically replacing a well-known composer himself in the case of the Tomb Raider sequel; Craig Armstrong wrote and recorded some material for the film before his own dismissal by the studio. One Armstrong cue, "Lab Scene," was actually utilized in the final cut, though it didn't provide much indication that the composer was headed in any particular musical direction that Silvestri did not later follow. Perhaps neither Armstrong nor Silvestri had consulted with Michael Kamen or Graeme Revell, both of whom experiencing the poison of this franchise during the post-production mess of Tomb Raider. The finished score for that film, completed in just a matter of days by Revell without much advance notice, offered the sequel nothing of merit to build upon. With a hint of frustration in his voice, Revell even admitted that his music for that project was substandard at best. For the sequel's score, Paramount had reportedly demanded a continuation of the same electronic base construct that Revell had utilized, but this time a considerable budget was allotted for greater orchestral accompaniment as well. With that cash in hand, Silvestri frantically wrote the score for a 100-piece orchestra and 40-member choir, still writing the day before flying to London to record. The schedule was so hectic by the time of his involvement that he continued writing during the week of recording sessions as well. Despite the probable temptation, Silvestri refused to explicitly resurrect any of the material he wrote for Pirates of the Caribbean, which was something of a personal rule for him. During the recording of the music, Jan de Bont, who was a fan of heavy electronic rhythms in his soundtracks, pushed Silvestri to jazz up the synthetic elements of the score. The composer did exactly that, describing the result as one of his most techno-electronic efforts. In fact, the David Arnold-inspired loops and other synthetic elements in this mix are as much a deviation from Silvestri's career as his fans had ever heard in this genre. For the most part, the end result functions well enough, even if those electronic accentuations do tend to get on the nerves more often than not.

Surely, the score for Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life is not a classic, nor does it really break fresh new ground. But Silvestri does offer glimmers of the best material he had produced since The Mummy Returns, with a modern mix of electronic loops, a brass-heavy orchestra, and the obligatory choir in prominent roles. Many of the same musicians had performed on the composer's Judge Dredd, and you get much of the same horn-dominated attitude here. A simplistic but very serviceable main theme is present for scenes of techno-gadget adventure and changes of location, defaulting as Croft's identity as well. Joining this theme is a secondary motif for the pseudo-religious moments of melodramatic awe that accompanies the arguably mystical artifacts central to this story. While the artifact theme takes until the final third of the score to really enjoy the limelight, defined best with notable vocal accents in "Orb Transmission" and maturing at the end of "Pandora's Box," Silvestri's main theme is the only one you'll remember, mainly because of its use in transitional shots of natural beauty. Creative development of the theme is somewhat limited by its basic melodic constructs, but it certainly suffices for the occasion. The lengthy score has about twenty minutes of straight, timpani-rumbling, orchestral bombast, sometimes with the aid of a snazzy drum loop or other glitzy synthesized effect. Silvestri shows the hip side of his contemporary electronic use by throwing staggered, almost jazzy brass bursts over the looped rhythms with the same kind of enthusiastic touch that David Arnold exhibited in his James Bond scores, and these moments of cohesion between the modern and traditional elements are the defining style of Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life. The "Opening" cue and finale, "Not Meant to Be Found," employ this melding to finally establish the hearty, adventurous tone for the spirit of Lara Croft. No offense to Graeme Revell, but this is the kind of satisfyingly cohesive music you need to hear when Jolie kicks someone in the head. There are several lengthy fight sequences in the score during which the electronic rhythms are heard alone, and a few of these are cranked up so far in volume that they obtain a fatally abrasive edge. In the handling of the electric guitar recorded alongside the orchestra, Silvestri utilizes the instrument as an accent piece, much like John Debney's treatment in The Scorpion King. In fact, the stylish action in Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life shares much more in common with The Scorpion King than Silvestri's own popular sound in The Mummy Returns.

The personality of the score for Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life has a distinct jungle-swinging emphasis as well, with stereotypical, forest-related effects drawing from as early as Silvestri's Romancing the Stone and throwing in a native flute for predictable atmosphere. Ethnic vocal accents are one idea that does carry over from Revell's work, though they aren't as wildly obvious. To appreciate this sequel score, however, you have to suspend your desire for complexity in your film music, because although Silvestri did a decent last-minute job for this project, there is isn't anything groundbreaking in construct or performance here. The engineering of the recording is commendable, although the rotating sets of players did suffer from a few blatant flubs, especially in the brass section. (Note errors at 3:18 into "Pandora's Box," for instance.) But given the Tomb Raider series' low musical expectations, Silvestri's output was a much-welcomed explosion of raw energy. The original 2003 Varèse Sarabande score album (as opposed to the usual song album, which offered only a five-minute suite of Silvestri's score) presents exactly an hour of uninterrupted music, containing all major cues from the film. Be aware that the presentation takes quite a while to cook if you're less interested in the hard-nosed synthetic side and are solely seeking the orchestral bombast. Only in the pairing of "The Cradle of Life" and "Pandora's Box" do the symphonic ensemble and choir's contributions explode in the absence of electronic accompaniment. The final fifteen minutes of material more than compensates for the comparatively underwhelming fight music at the start. In 2022, Varèse expanded the presentation to 92 minutes on a 2-CD set, and this "Deluxe Edition" really only serves to pad the experience with poor filler material. The tone of "Jet Ski - Meet Lara" is moderately entertaining, as is the militaristic diversion late in "Kill Me - Leaving Prison," but the duo of "She Escaped - Break In" and "Shoot Her Between the Eyes" accomplishes nothing in ten minutes. An especially hard, synthetic version of the main theme debuts in "Skydiving Sequence," and there's a burst of Bond-like coolness at the end of "Why Didn't You Kill Reiss." On the whole, however, the expansion diminishes the score experience on album, requiring a consolidation that the 2003 album already provided well enough. Armstrong's music, meanwhile, remains unreleased. Overall, Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life is a serviceable and occasionally engaging action score, with some fantastic highlights at its conclusion. Those hoping to hear what Silvestri might have produced for Pirates of the Caribbean will be disappointed, though, and the better match for such listeners remains The Mummy Returns.   @Amazon.com: CD or Download