Brikar

Whoa-ho now! There hasn't been a musical score quite like this in some time. Though I enjoy Jerry Goldsmith's TNG efforts ("Nemesis" is highly underrated, and "First Contact" is gold) they were all in a very similar vein to each other and to Goldsmith's own particular brand of driving 1980s-ish action scores. Beyond the realm of 'Star Trek', the world of film scores have been almost singlehandedly taken over by the Hans Zimmer school of synth-drones. Past masters like John Williams have faded, leaving only a select few to carry on the grand tradition of the big Hollywood score.

This, on the other hand, is much more in tone with James Horner's scores for "Wrath of Khan" and "Search For Spock" and with the scores for the original series episodes. There's a ton of real, big, bombast here that feels like it jumped right out of those old shows and movies - and yet, it is very much a Michael Giacchino score. His recognizable, John Williams-esque style is absolutely in play here, overlaid on what is absolutely "Star Trek" - despite that the recognizable Trek motifs simply don't appear aside from the finale and end credits. Probably the highest compliment I can give it is that by the time the end credits bound into a rousing rendition of the original 'Star Trek' theme, it absolutely feels like a natural part of the score, even though it appears nowhere else on the disc (whether it appears elsewhere in the movie, I can't speak to, as the soundtrack isn't a complete score).

Has Giacchino created an iconic new theme for the franchise? No, but frankly, to do so at this point would be an almost impossibly tall order. Even the themes for DS9 and Voyager, good as they are, will never be so closely associated with the entire franchise as the original 'Star Trek' opening fanfare, or Goldsmith's TMP/TNG theme.

This guy has been my favorite modern composer since I heard his work in videogames like "Medal of Honor" in the 1990s. I've followed him through his TV work for "Alias" and "Lost" and I'm so glad that he's breaking into major motion picture scores like "Mission: Impossible III", "The Incredibles" and now "Star Trek". He's worth it.

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