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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, concurrent blockbuster scores.
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." Grandeur be damned, even when the Enterprise is given its full
moments of majestic glory. Melodrama be damned, even when characters
languish and die with Shakespearian flair. 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 not as referenced as
overbearingly or frequently as before, a nice choice, and the secondary
phrases are well placed ("Sub Prime Directive" will be a guilty pleasure
for fans of the prior work). Spock's theme is applied mostly in action
forms as necessary due to the plot, though a hint of the old lament is
evident in "Buying the Space Farm." An erhu performer is credited in the
score, but don't expect those distinctive tones from the last score to
be reprised at the forefront. The only major new theme 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" 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
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. 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 are 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 being pulled.
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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 Warter" 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 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 CD release) is
woefully short, omitting important recordings (such as the lengthy "Ode
to John Harrison" suite rendition of the villain's 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. As with that product, there is some reasonable expectation that
the label may once again offer a limited, expanded edition of the 2013
score for die-hards before too long. Overall,
Star Trek Into
Darkness is comparable to its predecessor but 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.
Amazon.com Price Hunt: CD or Download
Music as Written for the Film: ****
Music as Heard on Album: ***
Overall: ****
| Bias Check: | For Michael Giacchino reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating
is 3.37 (in 21 reviews)
and the average viewer rating is 3.23
(in 12,367 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.
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The insert includes a list of performers and a note from the director
about the score.
