Various Artists - Fast Five Soundtrack - Music & Performance - CD

The fifth installment in the "Fast & Furious" film franchise is set in Brazil, which provides the reasoning behind this soundtrack album full of reggaeton and rhythmic Latin tracks. Don Omar and Ludacris appear in the movie, alongside stars Vin Diesel and Paul Walker, so it's only natural that the rappers also contribute music, including Omar's "How We Roll (Fast Five Remix)," featuring Busta Rhymes, Reek da Villian and J-doe, and Ludacris' "Furiously Dangerous" featuring Slaughterhouse and Claret Jai. But most of the music is provided by reggaeton acts like Marcelo D2. Score composer Brian Tyler chips in with three appropriately driven tracks, "Assembling the Team," "Mad Skills," and "Fast Five Suite." The goal here is to accompany a picture that, as usual, is packed with driving sequences involving flashy cars, beautiful, scantily clad women, and muscled men. That goal is accomplished with this beat-heavy music and the gruff, aggressive Latin rapping. ~ William Ruhlmann, Rovi