Star Trek

After repeat listening, the score to the newest installment is catchy, action-packed, a little cheesy and not a bad 44 minutes or so of music.

Is it Goldsmith's Star Trek? No.

Is it Horner's Star Trek? Absolutely not.

Michael Giacchino writes mostly TV and video game scores (a fact I don't hold against him at all, he's a fantastic composer), and this is evident in "Star Trek". Was the opportunity to score an epic, more "film-appropriate" score squandered on J.J. Abrams best music buddy?

Maybe.

Giacchino is hit or miss for me. Some of his work is good, some of it not so much. (I wonder when everyone screams about the "Lost" scores. What's the appeal?) "Star Trek" is in the "good" category, even if "good" usually means "Most of the score is ok save for one or two tracks on EVERY Giacchino CD that are outstanding". Speed Racer had "Grand ol' Prix" and "Reboot". MI:3 had "Bridge Battle". "The Incredibles" had... well, ok,...Read more

I don't understand all of the ho-hum reviews this score has received. A score for STAR TREK hasn't been this memorable in a while. I would rank it with Goldsmith's work. The main theme is very powerful and accents certain scenes in the film very well. Listen to it loud on a good system. This is one of my favorites from the past few years. I hope he is commissioned for the next feature. Bravo, Michael.

From the opening of Michael Giacchino's score, "Star Trek" reveals itself to be a bombastic musical journey.

As many of you already know "Star Trek" tells the story of the original crew's beginnings, depicting the coming together of James Kirk, Mr. Spock, Dr. McCoy and the other classic heroes of the Starship Enterprise. And with a 43-year history, "Star Trek" has a lot of reference material- including its music.

However, contemporary innovation is the mantra of this production. So, if you are expecting a scaled-up version of the classic series' music, you're going to have to wait until the very end to get your Alexander Courage dosage. But more on that later.

"Star Trek" is dominated by a heroic leitmotif, an arrangement which serves as young Jim Kirk's theme. On first listen, the theme stands out as being absolutely ubiquitous- almost to a fault. Is it a catchy hook or a musical crutch for Giacchino? Or is it both? That depends on your...Read more