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A movie can be made or failed on a soundtrack.

It can either be the perfect accompaniment to that heart wrenching scene (You know, the sort of song you play in your head as you stare out of the bus on a rainy day pretending you're in a movie montage. We've all done it) or it can be an annoying inconvenience. Like that one person on the back of a bus playing Kesha out loud on his phone. We get it, you've got a Sony Ericsson, kid. 

Many movies have their music composed especially for the piece but we are going to leave those to one side, metaphorically of course, nobody puts Hans Zimmer in a corner. Instead, we are going to be focusing on those that have taken songs already in circulation and tried to bend them to fit their own narrative. 

So I present to you the good, the bad and the down right offensive movie soundtracks.

The Good. 

High Fidelity

John Cusack and Jack Black star in this film entirely about vinyl and a failing record store. Well. There is some love story in there but I concentrate on the bits I find important. It's based on the book of the same name by Nick Hornby which is well worth a read. It features some great songs but crucially they fit the bill for what the movie is about. Songs by Elvis Costello, The Beta Band, The Kinks, Bob Dylan and Stevie Wonder all help this film to progress. And that is what a good soundtrack should do. 

It should drive the film forward, slow it down at the right time and bring it to a big finish. Kind of like the perfect mixtape. (Inside reference for all those who have seen High Fidelity)

Special Mention - Death Proof - This falls under the category of a good soundtrack, bad film. If only for the scene which is accompanied by The Coasters, Down In Mexico. 

The Bad.

Wild Wild West

Rule number one. DO NOT LET THE LEAD ACTOR SING THE TITLE MOVIE TRACK. When Will Smith released both film and song at the same time it just didn't work. It was as if the Fresh Prince of Bel Air was performing in a talent show, threw on some cheap white suit and hat and pranced about the desert. Don't get me wrong, I have a friend who can do the whole rap and it's well worth a giggle. But I'm not sure that will make the producers feel all that better. 

By the way, what's Steampunk? 

The Down Right Offensive.

Spiderman (Toby Mcguire edition)

Nickleback. Yep. That happened. Actually it wasn't the whole band, just the long haired one. What? They're all long haired? Oh! Well, one of them performed with another hairy guy he found on a roof and they called it Hero. On the nose? Just a little bit. I don't think I need to say too much more about this.

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Sure.

These aren't necessarily the best films in the world but that's not the point. The point is that the music in a film can be equally as important as the actors and plot line. 

If plot is the lead, then music is the supporting act. 

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HepkattFM