Sony Classical release Thomas Newman's score for Passengers. Jim and Aurora are two passengers onboard a spaceship transporting them to a new life on a new planet. The trip takes a deadly turn when their hibernation pods mysteriously wake them 90 years before they reach their destination. As they try to unravel the mystery behind the malfunction, they begin to fall for each other, unable to deny their intense attraction only to be threatened by the imminent collapse of the ship and the discovery of the truth behind why they woke up...

Thomas Newman delivers something a little different from his usual fair. From a technical point of view it's interesting to see that he is brave enough to step outside his comfort zone, but on a personal level there's not a whole lot to get excited about here.

Of the score's 26 tracks (1 hr, 08 min, 35 sec) there are some interesting themes, but to be honest they're few and far between as this is mainly comprised of sci-fi music cues. For the movie it works well, it's just that it doesn't sound so great when listened to outside of the film.

Personal highlights include 'The Starship Avalon (Main Title)'; 'Build a House and Live In It'; 'Zero-Gravity'; and 'You Brought Me Back'. But even these aren't tracks I'd want to listen to that often for pleasure. I enjoyed it from a technical point of view, not because the music is particularly emotive.

6

Darren Rea