Review Summary: a pathetic soundtrack for an equally inadequate movie.
What is it with superhero movie soundtracks? Ever since the Spider-Man film, it seemed that the only way to do a soundtrack for a big-budget superhero movie was to toss a bunch of crappy mainstream rock/metal songs together and hope for the best. Added to the pointlessness is the curious fact that barely any of them were even used in the movies but were just added filler so to have an excuse to sell tons of albums. Of course, this pattern was followed in the movie Elektra, with only two of the songs in the album actually played in the movie, and three others played during the credits. One has to wonder why they would even bother putting together a soundtrack, but the answer is the same as it was before, and that answer is money. The other reason was to advertise the record company’s (Wind-Up) line-up, and of course, that would lead to money. No care is put into matching the mood of the movie, and as such, the album is garbage.
Although the movie had cool villains and a few neat action scenes, the movie mostly focused on the dreary past of Elektra and the reason behind why she would choose the life of an assassin. Generic rock with ansgt simply does not fit the mood of the film, what they needed was dark ambience or something minimal yet eerie. Including such generic music makes it seem that Elektra’s life must be ordinary, and that is certainly not true. I like loud, rocking songs as much as the next guy, but ultimately a soundtrack needs to have substance; it needs to carry the mood or follow the movie’s progression, and that is not the result here.
Is there anything that’s really good about this soundtrack? I suppose its saving grace is that the songs that are actually played in the movie are applied well. ‘Sooner or Later’ by Switchfoot is suitably present in a scene where melancholy reigns, and Submersed’s ‘Hollow’ (an excellent hard rock song) is played in a noisy bar as fitting. Using Finger Eleven’s ‘Thousand Mile Wish’ as one of the songs during the credits is also a smart choice considering its somber, regretting tone. However, since these are the album’s only breakthroughs, there just are not enough songs to give any attention to the soundtrack. It is still a forgettable, boring album, and most critics say the same thing about the movie.
