If adventure has a name, it must be Alan Silvestri – and no truer has that statement been than with his magnificently adventurous score for The Mummy Returns. With an unstoppable main theme leading sublimely orchestral action, it’s an absolute knockout from beginning to end.
While I have always been a fan of Jerry Goldsmith’s meticulously crafted score for the 1999 The Mummy movie – starring Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz as Rick O’Connell and Evelyn Carnahan respectively – Alan Silvestri’s sequel soundtrack for The Mummy Returns has always been the bigger star for me. The sheer adventure of it, powered along in unapologetically triumphant orchestral form through the dashing theme for O’Connell and the somehow even more standout one for the Medjai, is utterly breathtaking, and the end credits rendition of the latter in particular remains to this day one of my favourite pieces of film music… ever. But – we’ll get to that later. For now, we venture to the beginning of Intrada’s wonderfully comprehensive expansion for The Mummy Returns, to start with the aptly-titled “Opener”; despite the generally adventurous nature of the album, it actually opens rather coldly as dramatic bursts of malevolent-sounding brass, chanting choir and Middle Eastern-styled percussion thunder along in the first two minutes in typically frantic Silvestri action form. From there the music settles for a short while with sombre strings until the frenetic brassy action returns to crash the five minute opening to its emphatic end. Intriguing hints toward villain themes not fully formed yet are ever present in that introductory track, before the score then doubles down on its darker nature in the subsequent “Tomb Raider Rick” as horror-like strings set a hair-raising ambience.
The Middle Eastern-styled instrumentation returns at the start of “Been Here Before”, playing in much gentler, more romantic form which then leads directly into the wistful love theme for Rick and Evelyn at the thirty second mark. It’s a short debut however as a shrill burst of high-pitched strings and brass then interrupts with surging horror, which is a shame as the aforementioned theme is quite lovely (though thankfully of course, it does return later). An eerie choir descends for the short “I Just Had A Vision” accompanied by similarly on-edge strings, which then turn frantic at the start of “Scorpion Shoes” before increasingly anxious brass, vocals and drums take over for the back half of the four minute track. Percussive hints toward the yet to be fully introduced Medjai theme then echo dramatically along in “Imhotep Unearthed” – along with heroic elements also yet to come – before the love theme returns to float serenely on woodwinds and strings through both “Just An Oasis” and “Have I Kissed You”. After some moody choir-focused malevolent flares up in “Meet Meela” the score’s first major action setpiece then arrives with “Evy Kidnapped”, and it’s an absolute heroic masterclass in frenetic action. Silvestri’s orchestrations utterly soar here, with triumphantly grandiose brass introducing the sublimely upbeat main adventure theme for O’Connell which then thunders in effortless memorabiity atop rapid strings and thudding drums all across this phenomenal cue’s six minute runtime.
A moodily malevolent theme for Imhotep is introduced in the chanting choir and eerie strings-focused “Rick’s Tattoo” before then marching in a similarly aggressive orchestral manner through the subsequent “Imhotep Reborn” too. Not to worry though, as adventure soon returns in the sublimely standout “My First Bus Ride”; if you thought “Evy Kidnapped” was great, this is somehow even better as the adventure theme breathtakingly leaps through eight unapologetically enthusiastic action-focused minutes. It’s Silvestri at his finest, surging sheer orchestral heroism along with absolutely nothing held back for a lengthy action setpiece – and honestly, what more could you want? To simmer things back down, the gorgeous love theme then returns on woodwinds at the start of “The Mushy Part” – until a sudden ferocious blast of orchestra then pulls the music right back into aggressive action territory. The villainous motif for Imhotep then lurks on low-pitched brass and strings through much of “Train Chapter” before a surprisingly emphatic orchestral rendition of the love theme rounds out the cue. The Medjai theme is finally and rather wistfully introduced in full at the start of “Medjai Commanders” on quiet woodwinds before then getting an additional and much more powerful brassy surge towards the end. This then continues into the sub-minute but still fantastic “Dirigible Montage”, as the Medjai and love themes practically soar on spellbindingly hopeful orchestra.
After a gorgeous strings rendition of the love theme in “I Want Him Back”, brassy murmurs back toward frenetic action start to re-surface through the short “Flush Of Freedom” and the more percussion focused “Evy’s Flashback Swordfight”. With the latter cue ending on a dramatic crescendo flourish of Imhotep’s chanting motif, a rather wondrous display of strings and brass then opens “Flashback Finale” before marching drums, chanting choir and anxious strings usher Imhotep’s theme back into centre stage for a loud and particularly imposing appearance. Sinister swathes of brass then simmer moodily at the start of “Sandcastles/Breadcrumbs” until full and rousing orchestra arrives to proudly play a lengthy and enjoyably upbeat rendition of the Medjai theme, with the subsequent “Canyon Deluge” then dramatically diving back into fast-paced action as the adventure theme soars heroically atop ferocious brass, strings and percussion. A gently serene rendition of the love theme then echoes on strings at the start of “Something Is Coming!” before the volume quietens and higher-pitched, more horror-like strings and vocals overtake alongside hints toward Imhotep’s ever-villainous motif. Frenetic action setpiece “Pygmy Attack” then surges panicked interspersions of the adventure theme against Imhotep’s on thunderous flashes of brass, pounding drums and nervous strings for three tremendous minutes.
The anxious action continues with the frenzied, brass-heavy “More Pygmies” and the similarly short, intensely adventure theme-focused “Racing The Sun” before a rather heartbroken burst of strings cries out across “Evy Dies” followed by a dramatically sorrowful orchestral crescendo. Choral horror then descends for seven minute action setpiece “Rick Battles Imhotep”, with the adventure and Imhotep motifs once again going thematically head-to-head across a continually frantic sea of enthusiastically fast-paced orchestra. “False Victory” then picks up where it leaves off with worrisome flurries of strings and brass crashing until the Medjai theme returns to inject a slight spirit of hope at just before the minute mark. Imhotep’s ever-malevolent motif then returns to orchestrally terrorize the adventure theme for much of the rest of the cue and the first half of “Happy Ending” until the latter finally emerges in brassy triumph, and the love theme returns to deliver a delightfully romantic flourish alongside the ever-grandiose Medjai theme. Standout Cue “End Credits” then gives us the album’s best moment, an unapologetically epic and no-holds-barred playthrough of the thunderously heroic Medjai theme interspersed with a similarly impeccable performance of the love theme. After a number of alternate cues, we then get one last treat in “The Mummy Returns”, a suite presentation of the score’s highlights including lengthy performances of the Medjai, Imhotep and adventure themes to perfectly round off the score.
Overall, Alan Silvestri’s The Mummy Returns is a spectacularly over-the-top action score with nothing held back. The standout aspect is of course the themes – as per usual with the composer really – and there are a fair few to highlight; the rambunctious adventure theme leads the orchestral charge throughout, spearheading some ferociously fast-paced and triumphantly brassy action setpieces (see “Evy Kidnapped”, “My First Bus Ride” and “Rick Battles Imhotep” for a tremendous trio) while the gentler, often strings-led love theme focuses on the album’s quieter and more tender moments (“Just An Oasis”, “Happy Ending”). Joining forces with these two main themes is then the Middle Eastern-styled and superbly grandiose motif for the Medjai, with its performances through “Sandcastles/Breadcrumbs” and the standout “End Credits” being of particular note, and against them all is the entertainingly aggressive and chanting choir-focused villain piece for the ever-present threat of Imhotep himself (“Flashback Finale”). All these sublimely memorable thematic elements combined with a breathtakingly exciting brass-focused orchestral style (which sounds phenomenal throughout the album I’d just like to say, particularly after Intrada’s excellent remastering) results in a seriously strong Silvestri score overall, and honestly one of my all-time personal favourites.
There’s just so much to love here. Bring back the nothing-held-back action orchestral scoring style of the late ’90s/early 2000s, please!
Score: 9/10
Standout Cues: Evy Kidnapped, My First Bus Ride, Rick Battles Imhotep, End Credits
Buy the 2-CD expansion for Alan Silvestri’s The Mummy Returns here, published by Intrada.
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