Generally speaking, a score album appeals to a very select group.  Now and again you’ll have a title that makes a huge splash and finds a wider audience.  Fair Game seems to fall somewhere in between those two circumstances.  It’s certainly more interesting to listen to than your run of the mill soundtracks, but not quite interesting enough to give out as Christmas presents this year.

The music is by John Powell, who seems to have made his career composing for CGI kid flicks (Shrek, Kung Fu Panda), super hero movies (X-Men: Last Stand, Hancock) and modern spy films (the Bourne trilogy, Mr. & Mrs. Smith).  The music here obviously falls into this latter category.  It definitely piques your interest and makes for a good listen.  But it’s also rather dark, so probably not something you’re going to want to pop in during your next dinner party.  Now if you’re planning an art gallery opening, this would make for a strong contender for what you’d want to play.  

The percussion tends to take center stage throughout most of the tracks.  And not knowing much about the true life story that inspired the film, there appears to be a lot of Middle Eastern instrumentation throughout, so unsure if that’s to mirror the plot or if John Powell just prefers multicultural elements in his compositions.  But it’s those unconventional touches that make Fair Game worth a listen.  Now it will be how much you like your music dark and moody that will determine on how often this will show up on your playlist.