Not trying to top Hans Zimmer, but David Newman's "Escaping The Island" from "The Phantom" is a good listen.

brothertimmy, January 29, 2008; 10:33 AM

I agree, Dirk.
Much has been said about Zimmer and his music becoming an industry over the years, lacking creative vision as a result.

Let us remind ourselves that this man single-handedly revolutionized film music, by successfully combining an orcherstra with synthesizers (Backdraft maybe being the perfect example).

The problem lies in the fact that this "style" has been copied so much that we take it for granted today. Even worse, it has become boring.
I think Zimmer contributed to that as well, by founding Media Ventures (now Remote Control Productions), which mainly uses cues, styles and arrangements from a large database. He is giving new talent great opportunities but at the same time, it does sound a lot like recycling.

Luckily, music is timeless, so we can still enjoy his earlier work. Although I must admit that in some occasions he can still surprise me, as with The Da Vinci Code (which is saying a lot, concidering what a piece of crap that movie is).

Well, this is just my opinion...

rinse_dream, January 29, 2008; 2:43 PM