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Filmtracks Recommends:
Buy it... if you have already enjoyed Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and want something a little more spicy, but less coherent. Avoid it... if your favorite parts of Star Trek II were the driving action cues, and the replacement of that action with mystic underscore doesn't interest you. Filmtracks Editorial Review:
Even though Star Trek III was a failure as a film, Horner's score was not to blame. Lord Kruge (Christopher Lloyd) was simply no match for Khan as a villain, and the filmmakers resorted to the death of a minor character and the self-destruction of the Enterprise to carry the film. Horner picked up the score right where he left off with Star Trek II. He began the prologue of the third film with the same contemplative tone that finished the previous film. He then launches into the recognizable sea-worthy title theme for the franchise --a theme that continues to rival Goldsmith's in quality. The theme for Spock and the Vulcans occupies a significant role in the score; their mysticism is accentuated by a synthetic aiding of the orchestra in order to create a religious ambience for the Katra ritual that occurs at the end of the film. The theme, while not boldly performed in the other films in which it appears (it is sadly missing in its entirety in the lackluster Star Trek IV score), is concluded in full majesty as the crew returns to Vulcan. The only significantly new development by Horner for Star Trek III is the theme for the brutish, haphazard Klingons. Horner handles this disgruntled group of glory-seeking warriors with a percussive approach that resembles the striking, clanging rhythms of Khan's theme. The melody of the Klingon line is oddly oriental in style while also maintaining a very unsophisticated edge. A solo horn wails away at will, without any guidance or attention to detail (and apparently guided only by how much breath the horn player has at a given moment), and this horn may or may not ruin the theme for fans who like the crisp performances of Goldsmith's established Klingon theme. That said, Horner's Klingon representation has a certain amount of quirky funk to it that better exposes the grungy side of Klingon life. Critics of the film laugh off Horner's attempt to score the Klingons, and there is reason to understand why they do it; with all the banging of silverware in that theme, one would think that it's constantly dinnertime. In the end, the positive criticism of Star Trek III relates to its mere continuity in the series. Even though it cannot compare with Star Trek II, this score wins considerable praise for its ability to offer a consistent system of themes and orchestrations with the previous score. The recording quality of the two scores is remarkably similar, except perhaps for the two main Klingon sequences, which sound dull because of the instrumentation chosen for the cues. The score follows the trademark of making a magnificent announcement as the Entrprise leaves drydock. In this case, the ship is being stolen, and the chase cue for the Enterprise and Excelsior is rich with action motifs recognizable from Star Trek II (and perhaps Prokofiev, who Horner seemed to enjoy adapting ideas from in these early scores). Negative criticism of the score, outside of some people's obvious distaste for the Klingon theme, relates to the replacement of Khan's action music with an emphasis on the more subdued, euphoric Vulcan theme. While it contains plenty of potential, the theme doesn't achieve the magnitude of fantasy and awe as needed, and thus, the lengthy mind meld and katra ritual cues suffer from some underscore anonymity. On album, Star Trek III: The Search for Spock is not as attractive of a product as its predecessor. Once again, the package from GNP is outdated, and the running time for the score is about 40 minutes. The end credits suite is missing the dialogue from Spock and instead listeners are treated to awkward and completely out of place pop rendition of Horner's title theme. It's not entirely clear who takes responsibility for this atrocious adaptation with an 1980's pop band. While Horner may have been responsible for it, the track sounds suspiciously similar to something that GNP's Neil Norman would produce with his band. That track aside, the Star Trek III score is still not as strong as its predecessor, by any means, and a weary potential-buyer should definitely investigate Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan first. ***
* contains TV Theme by Alexander Courage
Insert includes a note about Horner's career up to 1990, as well as a synopsis of the film's plot (with spoilers!). | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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