Composer
Steve Jablonsky's atmospheric score for Zombieland director Ruben Fleischer's period crime drama
Gangster Squad strikes a nice balance between contemporary action cues and classic film noir textures. With a tip of the hat to
Ennio Morricone's excellent work on 1987's
Untouchables,
Jablonsky rolls out galloping, urbanized takes on Old West motifs, especially on set pieces like "Welcome to Los Angeles," "Always Knew I'd Die in Burbank," and "Gangster Squad." Elsewhere, the dense and propulsive "Light 'Em Up" and "The City of Angels" recall the composer's contributions to big-budget action films like Battleship and
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. ~ James Christopher Monger