Star Trek
Reviewed by Justin Bielawa
June 09, 2009

Rebooting old franchises is not a task I envy in the slightest. It has to be done with just the right length of tightrope – otherwise it becomes too close to what was or too far from the source material. Its tricky and a usually thankless task. This writer won’t go into which reboots work and which ones do not as that is an errand for fools. Instead, let it be said that it must be very difficult to walk into a franchise you’re familiar with, start completely fresh and yet stay within the confines of what was. The trick and the problem with Giacchino’s take on Star Trek is that its too safe.

 

The theme for this movie, which is used as something as a b-theme to the original Courage title from the 60s, is boxy, paranoid and never climbs to the same heights that previous composers grasped. If I could put a face on it, the theme tries to go the way of Eidelman’s Star Trek VI motif with that same sense of reverence but comes off as having an unfeeling disconnect. It wants to be more than it is. (This could be intentional on the part of the composer: many reboots and prequels have the intent not giving themes in full until later installments. However, this reviewer will not approach such flights of fantasy at this time.)

 

The romulan villain of Nero gets some heavy brass in the form of a five-note march. And while there have been closer cousins to Holst’s "Mars The Bringer of War" in the past, few have felt as stilted as this. There is nothing wrong with being influenced by the greats nor in using their ideas, but somehow the resulting “heavy’s” theme is what could be called “standard issue”. All bark and no bite, both the villain and the hero theme are unmemorable and could even be called poor considering the composer’s previously strong thematic work.

 

Perhaps more than that though is the underscore, which seems to be large bridges of material too similar to what Giacchino has written for Lost (“Labor Of Love”, “Nero Fiddles, Narada Burns”) and other parts that seem to be loud for the sake of being loud, particularly “Nero Death Experience” with its out-of-nowhere context for choir. And while the music is by no means outright bad, that is about the best it can be summed up as. The themes are uninteresting, the music to support them thin. Something elusive about the whole affair comes off as dishonest and try as one might, the particulars cannot be detailed.

 

After last year’s ambitious Speed Racer, Star Trek seems absolutely vacant of that same enthusiasm or wealth of ideas. Its stagnant and uninteresting, amounting to the same kind of “phoned in” stuff for movie trailers. While “To Boldly Go” and “End Credits” have the gusto that the rest of the album lacks - interesting variations and punchier arrangements - it doesn’t make up for the paint-by-numbers approach used elsewhere. This seems to be a habit of increasing commonality when Giacchino works directly with JJ Abrams: look no further than the third Mission: Impossible, which while certainly capable workmanship again amounted to very little.

 

On previous Star Trek shows, they had fake prop doors labeled with the letters GNDN for “Goes Nowhere, Does Nothing”. This sadly sums up the album in full; instead of warp speed, we get maneuvering thrusters only. Here is hoping Giacchino gets more comfortable in the captain’s chair on his second voyage.

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