I have always been a huge fan of Goldsmith's score to "Star Trek: The Motion Picture," particularly "Ilia's Theme," which so magnificently combines the mystery, grandeur, beauty and wonder of space into one piece. I was always so disappointed that this theme was never really present in any subsequent score; I know that Ilia was not a returning character but this theme was simply too gorgeous to waste and just as important as the main theme or the enterprise theme to me.
I agree with many of the points and criticisms of this score in this review. I had wondered whether they were going to retain the original theme (a la Superman Returns) or craft a new one, and I was wondering if it would be strong enough to carry the film. I do enjoy the new theme and find it quite fitting for this film. However, I find that the biggest "problem" with the score is that the main theme is only about 10-15 seconds long, meaning that its repetition and the possible lethargy to the theme that results from that repetiton are kind of inevitable with a theme that short; the original Courage theme to the show was about a minute in length and Goldsmith's main theme was a suite unto itself with plenty of development and opportunity for variation. Nevertheless, where this score earns extreme bonus points from me (and something that this review neglected to mention) is that powerful foreshadowing to Ilia's Theme is clearly heard from 2:30 onwards in "That New Car Smell" before the excellent statements of the Courage theme in the end credits. To hear Ilia's Theme again (and so long after it's original presentation and after such a desire to hear it in a new context) was so impactful to me and wise for Giacchino to pay homage to older themes (much like David Arnold's inclusion of thirty-five years of James Bond themes into his masterful score for Tomorrow Never Dies). I just felt like the inclusion of Ilia's Theme was worth mention.