The soundtrack to The Musketeer is action-packed to accommodate the hurried pace of the movie. I found that the movie left much to be desired, and was not nearly as good as other movie adaptations of Dumas' classic tale that I've seen. On the plus side, the swashbuckling score is fairly enjoyable, and you definitely get swept into an adventurous mood.

David Arnold has a number of blockbuster movie soundtracks under his belt, including Independence Day, the two latest James Bond flicks and Shaft (not including the classic theme by Isaac Hayes, of course). In all of these he has displayed the ability to adapt to very different moods and settings in his compositions.

The main title greets you as you press play, sounding remarkably like the theme from Superman (it's uncanny). If you have seen the movie, you'll see how this is appropriate since D'Artagnan is portrayed to be an invincible superhero -- cape and all. "Fight Inn" is a fast-paced adventure of a song. I have to mention a few songs for the sake of the titles, if nothing else. "Jailhouse Ruck" (ah, that's so cool) has great flow as it builds up to huge cymbal crashes and rambunctious horns. This is followed by the suspenseful "Mansion Impossible."

There are some slower moments that are scored quite well, such as "D'Artagnan and Francesca" and "Down by the River," but for the most part this is a fast-moving album. Songs such as "Coach Chase" and "Scaling the Tower" convey a sense of urgency and danger.

The soundtrack definitely helped keep the movie at least semi-interesting. The album blends together very nicely -- it seems like one big tune. While there are not any breakout scores from this movie that you will be able to recognize years from now, the soundtrack still does the job effectively.