The concept of Eraser – a special agent who ‘erases’ all traces of criminals testifying in high profile cases for the government prior to secret relocation – was a great hook, but the film didn’t wholly live up to the story’s potential. Charles (Chuck) Russell’s direction lacked the edge needed for a blockbuster action film, and the material had to be tight-fitted around Arnold Schwarzenegger’s limited persona.

The film did feature plenty of elaborate action scenes, and composer Alan Silvestri wrote a typically grand, big-scale orchestral score that offered ferocious kinetic tracks, as well as elegant string passages, giving the film a bit more depth, and supporting the film’s heroine, a gutsy woman determined to expose the illegal sale of a deadly ray gun.

The first half of “Kruger’s Story” is a semi-tragic version of the Kruger theme, which is pretty much a rework of the Judge Dredd (1995) march. It’s well integrated into the score, but the striking link to Dredd gives Eraser a disconnect, particularly when Silvestri presents the theme as an overt, militaristic variation in “Cabin Raid.”

Where the score delights is in the beautifully clean orchestrations, notably Silvestri’s use of short solos, and smooth transitions between warm and icy sounds. Eraser is a comic book film, but Silvestri’s approach treated the story and characters with dead sincerity, right from the opening cue (the unused “Main Title”) which somewhat evokes the unsettling chords Carmen Dragon employed in Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956).  There’s also a nice use of solo bassoon, quietly playing over tense chords before Silvestri emphasizes his big brass combos.

The 1990s were very busy for Silvestri, and one hears overt traces of several prior scores – likely the result of producers wanting his signature action sound (big orchestra). “Candid Camera” has slights shades of Shattered (1991), with familiar short intro figures on strings capped by rising brass figures before the action segment. For the propulsive second half, Silvestri adds congas (present in Judgment Night), as well as a squealing motif over conga textures in tracks like “You’re Luggage” – an idea pretty much borrowed note for note from Predator 2.

The only flaws within the score are the kitschy drum sequencer and tedious squealing electric guitar that date the film and detract from the score’s otherwise heavy orchestral power.

Most of the action cuts feature robust brass (“Kruger Escapes” offers a tense combo of pinched strings, metal hits, and layers of low brass) and grandiose strings, which should please the composer’s fans, given the original soundtrack CD featured several edited cue selections in a 43 min. album.

La-La Land’s CD features beautifully mastered, complete cues just over 77 mins., as well as several that were cut from the film, and Daniel Schweiger’s liner notes provide a helpful guide to the cues and cue segments dropped from the film.

It’s taken 14 years for this classic nineties action score to emerge from oblivion, and perhaps it’s a signal some of Silvestri’s equally punchy scores from that period aren’t far off from getting their own complete score releases, particularly The Bodyguard (1992), Judgment Night (1993), Blown Away (1994), Judge Dredd, and The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996).

© 2010 Mark R. Hasan