Faster (Music from the Motion Picture)

Album Review

Director George Tillman, Jr.'s action film Faster doesn't present much of a challenge to composer Clint Mansell, who is best known for his work with Darren Aronofsky (Pi, Requiem for a Dream), but who had also worked previously with the lead actor here, Dwayne Johnson, the wrestler formerly known as The Rock (Doom). Mansell mixes echoing piano pieces with lots of simmering strings to anticipate the violence and speeding cars, and when the action beats kick in, he supports them with rock elements bordering on heavy metal. The soundtrack album begins with half-a-dozen songs that underscore the Latin feel (Jeffrey Luck Lucas' "Grifos Muertos") or just work well as source music, or to provide a music video feel (Iggy Pop's remake of his old Stooges favorite "I Wanna Be Your Dog," Kenny Rogers & the First Edition's psych-pop hit "Just Dropped in [To See What Condition My Condition Was In]").