LARA CROFT: TOMB RAIDER

Music from the Motion Picture
(Elektra)

RATING: three

Tomb Raider the movie was such a hit because Angelina Jolie’s Lara Croft was an engaging character—an action hero that was, as all action heroes are supposed to be, tough as nails, impossibly cool, and supernaturally proficient. But Jolie’s Lady Lara also hinted at hidden currents of mischief and grief; she was, at the end of the day, also just a little girl (notwithstanding the decidedly ungirlish C-cups that were in themselves also minor action heroes). Jolie’s portrayal gave the character a depth that the attention deficit-disordered direction and lame script were not able to take away.

And so, in that scene where Lara rips out a killer robot’s memory chip and replaces it with “Lara’s Party Mix,” I found myself wondering, What would a lady like Lara Croft put in a mix tape?
Tomb Raider the soundtrack is, like its fictional heroine, a fast-moving creature with a varied set of talents and tastes, a roguish glint in the eye, and plenty of attitude.

The CD kicks off, of course, with U2’s remix of their single “Elevation,” which, as soundtrack kick-start choices go, is not bad in itself. I’d like to think, however, that Lara wouldn’t put something so—well, so obvious into the mix. Rightly so, the technofied U2 track doesn’t really appear as musical backdrop in any of the scenes: it’s superimposed over the end credits. It really is music for movie marketing, not the character.

I’d like to think that Lara would know something about the element of surprise. “Deep,” an implausible contribution from Nine Inch Nails, is more like it. It’s not as dark as most of NIN’s other work, but it’s easy to picture Lara kicking butt to the tune of Trent Reznor’s screaming vocals and industrial sounds. And what about our heroine’s heady motorcycle rides? Outkast’s “Speedballin’,” is every bit as breakneck as its title suggests. Less predictably, there’s Basement Jaxx, with “Where’s Your Head At,” whose fist-waving chorus will definitely get you riled up.

An even better surprise is Missy Elliott’s “Get Ur Freak On.” The rap queen pairs up with genre bender Nelly Furtado, and the result is a cheeky number that oozes attitude and a roguish, girlish joy. It’s arguably the best track on the album, if only for sheer surprise.

Unfortunately, the rest of the album is disappointingly predictable. She’s a videogame character, so she must listen to electronic music, right? Well, if only it were inventive, exciting electronic music, maybe. As it is, the choices range from puzzling to just plain boring. Sure, there are a handful of really big names called in, but their contributions just don’t feel right: the Chemical Brothers’ “Galaxy Bounce” and Moby’s “Ain’t Never Learned” are both rather limp-wristed, with neither heft nor punch; Bosco’s “Satellite,” “In Control” from Die Toten Hosen, and “Illuminati” from Fatboy Slim just sound idiotic. I suppose Delerium’s “Terra Firma (Lara’s Mix),” with its Gregorian-chant vocals, sounded like a good idea when they were thinking about it, but in practice it falls flat.

There are a few exceptions, notably “Edge Hill,” from Groove Armada, which is an intelligent, reflective trip-hop piece. It’s not butt-kicking music, but it has its place. Fluke’s “Absurd (Whitewash Edit)” is more up to speed, as is “The Revolution” from BT.

Fortunately, while it’s the unintelligent, predictable tracks that make up the bulk of the album, it’s the surprising, spirited cuts that set the pace. Tomb Raider the soundtrack doesn’t play much like what I imagine Lara Croft’s choices would be, but it is unembarrassing for an action hero, at least. Can you imagine what it would be like if they slipped in an N’Sync ballad?—Kristine Fonacier