There's a long list of composers who worked on Star Trek, and now you can add Michael Giacchino to that list. And to put it frankly, this music is very much Giacchino's. Don't expect his score to homage Goldsmith or Horner in style. True, he does use Alexander Courage's theme at the very end, but it's really the only tie to the original series.
The album starts off with Giacchino's new theme for the movie, and continues to be used in every track after. So, by "Enterprising Young Men" if you're still not sure what the main theme is, there's not much I can do for you. The main theme is simple, heroic, and slightly overused. Despite its genericness, I like the main theme, and it's probably the main reason I bought the album.
Unfortunately, most of the album sounds very Giacchino in nature, with not much to distinguish itself from an episode of Lost or Fringe. Luckily, when you reach "Nero Death Experience," you get to hear the Page La Studio Voices in their full glory. The only other track that really stood out was "That New Car Smell," which features an erhu (or so I'm told) which is used as the theme for the Vulcans (again as I'm told). The album ends with a huge end credits suite that features Courage's theme from the television series. I was a little disappointed with it, because the beginning didn't seem to flow that well, but it's a great representation of the themes from the movie.
The only real problem I have with the soundtrack itself is the length. It's roughly 45 minutes long, where most of Giacchino's soundtrack are closer to an hour in content. Now, if fifteen more minutes of score could have helped broken up the more typical music of this score, then I say this album is too short, BUT if fifteen more minutes would have just been more of the same, it's fine as is.
Overall, Giacchino's Speed Racer really knocked my socks off last year. Unfortunately, Star Trek didn't. It's still Giacchino in fine form, but nothing really stands out except for the aforementioned tracks. B-
Recommended Tracks:
05. Enterprising Young Men
10. Nero Death Experience
11. Nero Fiddles, Narada Burns
13. That New Car Smell
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