Massively successful movies tend to get progressively less impressive sequels, and similarly, the job of scoring those sequels falls into less talented and experienced hands. Director Steven Spielberg's 1993 blockbuster Jurassic Park naturally employed his in-house composer,
John Williams. Jurassic Park III has been scored by
Don Davis (composer of The Matrix soundtrack), whose credit, "new music composed and conducted by," is billed beneath one reading "Original themes by
John Williams." Indeed, there are familiar passages here, especially in the quieter moments and in the lyrical main theme that recurs here and there. Elsewhere,
Davis' "new music" is pretty much standard Saturday afternoon matinee fare, as he provides underscoring to what are no doubt moments when the dinosaurs appear cute and cuddly, moments when they start to seem threatening, moments when they really get dangerous, and moments when they start chasing humans. "Original themes by generations of movie composers" might be a more accurate credit, given the rote nature of this stuff. After all the dino music is out of the way,
Randy Newman stops by to sing a tongue in cheek cowboy song, "Big Hat, No Cattle." ~ William Ruhlmann