Mark McKenzie's score for the 2007 Christian-themed drama The Ultimate Gift defies easy categorization, which is its downfall, as there is a complete absence of thematic or instrumental consistency from theme to theme, and the end result is a grab bag of melodies so schizophrenic in style and sensibility that it's impossible to believe they originated from the pen of the same composer, let alone the same film. In the span of the score's first three themes alone,
McKenzie veers from the eerie, portentous "Main Title" to the spaghetti western-inspired "City Boy in Texas" to the impish "Bum's Bench," never developing anything close to a coherent voice. Moreover, each individual melody is little more than a tedious exercise in genre affectation, with no genuine feel for its designated style. ~ Jason Ankeny