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FILMTRACKS.COM
PRINTER-FRIENDLY VIEW 
Review of Star Trek Into Darkness (Michael Giacchino)
FILMTRACKS RECOMMENDS:
Buy it... if you bought into Michael Giacchino's approach to the
score for this film's predecessor, for he doubles down on the new
direction of the franchise that diminishes romantic fantasy in favor of
conventional action in the music.
Avoid it... if you expect this score to connect with your heart in ways the prior one did not, the steady course represented once again by an initially flawed album situation and continued flatness of the recording's ambience.
FILMTRACKS EDITORIAL REVIEW:
Star Trek Into Darkness: (Michael Giacchino)
Commercially and critically validated once more is the idea of the
cinematic franchise reboot, the "Star Trek" concept reborn in the 2000's
to outstanding success due to the remarkable talents of producer and
director J.J. Abrams. When this franchise was rebooted in 2009 to
initially skeptical audiences, Abrams managed to exceed most
expectations by remaining loyal to the universe of "Star Trek" while
also hitting the dreaded reboot button, involving the element of fantasy
to explain increasingly tightly woven connections to the lives of the
prior, famed version of the "Original Series" crew. With 2013's Star
Trek Into Darkness, albeit a couple of years late in arrival, Abrams
and his team take this loyalty to a new level, recycling significant
plot elements from the William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy era of the
franchise and again calling upon the latter actor to serve as a bridge
between parallel universes. As such, the plot of Star Trek Into
Darkness is somewhat controversial, regardless of how well executed
its acting and fight sequences. Logical fallacies abound, especially
when inevitable comparisons start to be drawn, and for those who never
understood how the events of the 2009 film would have been even possible
given Starfleet's extensive timeline preservation methodology in the
future, an uneasy feeling about the whole reboot may persist. As before,
Captain Kirk and his crew face a nemesis born from within, setting up
the age-old formula for success in a franchise that has enjoyed its
greatest triumphs when presenting worthy adversaries. One of the nagging
issues about the "Star Trek" reboot in general is the clear movement of
the franchise away from the grandiose, philosophical components of
fantasy and an embrace of hardcore action and adventure, pandering to
audiences that increasingly cannot easily tolerate ten minutes of screen
time without a punch or an explosion. Because "Star Trek" has headed
down this route in the 2009 and 2013 films, the music for the franchise
has evolved significantly. Michael Giacchino, of course, is Abrams'
composer of choice and has poured significant energy into achieving his
own balance of new sounds and reverence for what came before. His talent
in the 2000's generation of film composers is matched by few, and to
hear the complexity of his writing for these newer "Star Trek" films is
comforting when you compare it to the derivative, simplistic muck
comprising other blockbuster scores of the era.
But the complexity with which Giacchino handles the "Star Trek" universe is also the reason why his scores for this franchise won't work for everyone. With the shifting pacing and tone of the reboot has come the need for the composer to forget about attempting wholesale continuation of the prior mould for "Star Trek" movie music. Outside of the token nods to Alexander Courage's theme for the original television series, the score for 2009's Star Trek could have just as well have functioned in a number of different franchises (including, most interestingly, the James Bond franchise, had a touch of jazz been infused into the equation). The same is true of Star Trek Into Darkness, a score that resembles very little of the franchise's past and instead is forced to address the new reality of "Star Trek Into Action." Shameless grandeur be damned, even when the Enterprise is given its full moments of majestic glory. Overwrought melodrama be damned, even when characters languish and die with Shakespearian flair. Expansive fantasy be damned, even when incredible vistas feed our imaginations with grace and awe. Most importantly, genuine heart be damned, even when character development calls for it, a victim of an imbalance between roaring, complex action and comparatively underwhelming moments of reflection. In many ways, Giacchino really has done the best he can with what he was given (although his mixing remains an issue, no matter the engineer). He is earning his pay for providing the right style of music for what the Abrams generation of "Star Trek" demands. Whether you accept that result or not is your choice. You would do yourself a favor by writing off any hope that you will receive the sweeping romanticism that defined the series when helmed by Jerry Goldsmith, James Horner, and even Cliff Eidelman. Instead, look upon Star Trek Into Darkness and its predecessor as remarkable action scores in a standalone universe detached from the past. Giacchino's level of orchestral complexity is truly satisfying, his management of themes and counterpoint an intelligent reminder of why so many listeners originally believed, based upon his "Medal of Honor" video game scores, that the man could be the next John Williams. His ability to overlap melodies and mingle instrumental representations of characters in sonic battle is outstanding, evidence that he has really exerted copious amounts of thought into this work. Those thrilled by 2009's Star Trek will thus love the natural evolution of Star Trek Into Darkness in its capability to resurrect the prior score without sacrificing new opportunities for development. Returning for Star Trek Into Darkness are Giacchino's primary theme, its secondary fanfare-like phrases, and Spock's evocative subtheme. The main idea is referenced, though not overbearingly, with satisfying frequency in the film, and the secondary phrases are well placed ("Sub Prime Directive" will be a guilty pleasure for fans of the prior work). Don't expect the distinctive tones of the erhu from the last score to be reprised at the forefront, the instrument highlighted only very briefly in "Spock and Uhura." While there are several newly minted themes in this score, the only major one of note is one for the film's controversial (whitewashed!) villain, and for this occasion Giacchino takes inspiration from the civilized tone of the British rather than that of primal brutality one might expect from the franchise's past. The six-note phrases for this character are skittish but calculating, an impressively ominous composition given the circumstances. Giacchino works this theme into a number of circumstances as a tool of counterpoint, very effectively tying the character to his adversaries. Also created for Star Trek Into Darkness is an minor identity for the Klingons, "The Kronos Wartet" (otherwise known as "Klingon Chase" on the expanded album) tackling the warrior race with heavily textured Klingon language chanting and extremely forceful percussion and brass lines under wailing, frightening, seemingly random shrieks. Franchise enthusiasts who still get a chuckle when hearing Worf actor Michael Dorn deliver the line "I like my species the way it is" will not find this theme to be any remote competition for Goldsmith's iconic idea for that species, regardless of how hard Giacchino attempts to pound his way into mainstream memories with brute force. A third theme for the chain of command in the story is a decent motivator of drama, but not really distinctive. The downside of all of these thematic elements is the composer's inability to really state the themes in a manner that can be remembered by the average viewer of the films. His themes are long-lined and so complicated in many of their statements that it remains difficult to become attached to them. The villain's theme in Star Trek Into Darkness especially suffers from this problem. Comparatively, when the Courage fanfare makes one of its appearances, the score suddenly shines with a familiarity that Giacchino is having difficulty achieving with his own material. Some of that effect may be due to the longevity of the Courage theme, granted, but if the new reboot themes are not really connecting on a gut level after two films in which they are developed very carefully, one must examine why the heartstrings are not effectively being pulled. Still, as mentioned before, there is much to like about the score for Star Trek Into Darkness when you separate it from the expectations that accompany this franchise's previous tone. Giacchino continues to impress with his percussion layers, and the use of harp and strings, especially in "Pranking the Natives," will perpetuate comparisons to Williams. The various antagonist ideas in "London Calling" and "The Kronos Wartet" are technically marvelous regardless of their representative matches. Hearing Spock's theme transformed into an action motif in "Spock Drops, Kirk Jumps" and "The San Fran Hustle" is engaging. The latter has a brief but obvious nod to a famous sequence from "The Original Series" music by Gerald Fried. The "Star Trek Main Theme" track is not the end titles cue, but, like the previous score, it provides a great summary of the thematic battle in counterpoint. Finally, the highlight of the score may be the subtle hints Giacchino throws towards film music collectors in "Kirk Enterprises." As the crew finally prepares to embark upon its five-year mission to go "where no-one has gone before," the composer finally allows a few nods of acknowledgement to the sea-faring sense of adventure that defined Goldsmith, Horner, and Eidelman's entries. These moments make the Star Trek Into Darkness score worth your while, despite any reservations you might have about the general direction of the films and the subsequent impact upon the style of music in them. Like its predecessor, this work straddles the line between a solid three stars and four, weighed down by a disappointingly flat recording that causes the action cues to sound like a wall of sound at times. There is no ambience of fantasy in the confined mix, despite the continued role for choral accompaniment. The film unfortunately littered a few songs within, and the initial album version of the soundtrack included a different cover of the same instrumental backing on disparate digital albums from country to country. Such marketing ploys don't belong in the "Star Trek" universe. The score portion (which alone comprises the original CD release) is woefully short, omitting important recordings (such as the lengthy "Ode to Harrison" suite rendition of the villain's theme and the "Ode to Vengeance" suite that summarizes the command theme) but at least including the choral layer and thus avoiding the listener discontent that Varèse Sarabande suffered with their release of the 2009 score. Usually, when you hear public outcry from film music collectors about being slighted on an album release, the actual missing material from that initial summary product is not worth the fuss. In this case, though, an expanded product really was merited. As it had decided in regards to Giacchino's prior score in the franchise, Varèse Sarabande did not wait long to offer a limited "Deluxe Edition" of Star Trek Into Darkness, massively expanding the presentation in 2014 out to nearly two hours in length and very effectively silencing complaints from franchise die-hards. This very long 2-CD product provides several entertaining cues that illuminate the more contemplative side of Giacchino's work, and it especially fleshes out the score's middle third. Listeners will encounter a better presentation of especially the command theme in context, though there is more overt interaction with the villain material as well. Don't expect a significant expansion of the Klingon motif, which is really limited to just a couple of cues. As you might imagine, a fair number of the plethora of additional cues on the longer album consists of atmospheric rumblings that don't accomplish much but fill space, though there are exceptions. If you desire more treatments of the main theme, you will be pleased by nice, full performances in "Undersea Enterprises Inc.," "Mom's Calling," and "Max Thrusters," ranging from the dramatic to the outwardly exciting. In the area of pretty character development, Giacchino doesn't offer as much, the most poignant additions being the very short duo of "Demotion Emotion" (typical Giacchino Lost-like piano solace) and "Spock and Uhura" (the erhu moment), as well as the sophisticated villain piano treatment in "London Falling." That material's interplay with the main theme is heard better in "Chief Concern/The Moral Mission" and "Harrison Brought Onboard." The command theme, conversely, occupies "Admiral Exposition" and "Personal Space" with solid results. Other points of interest in the newly released material include decent action in "Torpedo Diplomacy" (an improvement over "Man vs. Blaster"), a handful of cues featuring light but still propulsive rhythmic work ("You Wanna Do What?" and "Scotty's Floored"), and continued Klingon rhythms in "Harrison Attack." The narrative of the album is much better conveyed on the 2014 expanded product, though be aware that a few of the obnoxious cue titles have been changed from their previous designations. In fact, many of the titles of the newly added tracks thankfully avoid overtly cute and irritating secondary associations. Overall, the expanded album is highly recommended for concept enthusiasts, but while Star Trek Into Darkness is comparable to its predecessor in general, it remains several steps behind Giacchino's more coherent narrative in John Carter. Just remember that this is not the music of the final frontier that many know and love, nor could it have ever been.
TRACK LISTINGS:
2013 Varèse Album:
Total Time: 44:20
* contains the original television theme by Alexander Courage 2014 Varèse Album: Total Time: 118:37
* contains the original television theme by Alexander Courage
NOTES & QUOTES:
The 2013 album's insert includes a list of performers and a note from the director
about the score. That of the 2014 album adds a note from the composer, but not more detailed
analysis of the score.
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