You can hardly turn around this summer without being bowled over by the Run Lola Run hype machine. It's touted as the savior of European cinema, and the film that may finally put the German film industry on the pop culture map of the post-millennium era. Rumor has it, the filmmaker already has a Hollywood deal in the works. (A word of advice: don't do it!)

Like the true postmodern filmmaker he is, Tom Tykwer doesn't believe in divisions between artistic mediums, hence the centrality of the techno score in the film. The music quite literally moves the film along, and may also bust open the market for German electronica in this country. We may even have a true Renaissance man from the old school in our midst-- Tykwer not only directed the film, but wrote the screenplay and composed the lion's share of the intense, high-energy music that drives the film.

Thing is, this music won't likely persuade you to throw out your Rastermusic/ Noton or K7 Records. The frenetic mood is pretty constant-- a highly essential feature, I admit, for a film entitled Run Lola Run-- but a few changes of mood might encourage me to spin this one more often. The stuff on this record could be accurately summed up as "a poor man's Underworld," especially with all the monotone vocals and pulsing beats that so clearly ape Born Slippy. Still, if you're one of the many getting hooked on this film, and you need a better soundtrack for your hours spent in front of the Playstation, this could hit the spot. Your call.

-Sarah Zupko