 |
| Giacchino |
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.
@Amazon.com: CD or
Download
- Music as Written for the Film: ****
- Music as Heard on the 2013 Album: ***
- Music as Heard on the 2014 "Deluxe" Album: ****
- Overall: ****
| Bias Check: |
For Michael Giacchino reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.46
(in 43 reviews)
and the average viewer rating is 3.21
(in 23,476 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.
|
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.
