Score Sample: John Carter (2012)

Probably been too long since I mentioned Michael Giacchino on this blog, right? Right! So let's his score from the 2012 sci-fi adventure film John Carter another look. Through most of the 2010s Giacchino has been attached to Disney related film scores. Could be Pixar, Star Wars or even one off films like this one. Of course Disney wasn't hoping for a one off with John Carter, there were looking for their own Star Wars saga (before they bought Lucasfilm).

Unfortunately the film did poorly in theaters and with a budget that could almost fund mission to Mars itself, John Carter is considered one of the biggest financial failures in film history. Ouch. All that said, the movie is actually solid entertainment, with plenty of eye candy to keep a viewer engaged. Helping along with that is Michael Giacchino's score. Giacchino goes full adventure epic with his style. You'll hear all kinds of golden age influences in the score including a little Lawrence of Arabia in there. But you also have those kinetic Giacchino action tracks.

One of my favorites is Sad Than Pursues the Princess which just blasts along with action. But I also love the end titles which gives you a nice sampling of all the theme Giacchino crafted for the film. So enjoy both in this entry!

Jupiter Ascending (2015)

Jupiter Jones (Mila Kunis) hates her life. Her family is obnoxious. She spends her days cleaning toilets for rich people who don’t appreciate her. And she can’t manage to get enough money to buy a lovely antique telescope she really wants. But don’t worry Jupiter, Caine Wise (Channing Tatum) is on the way to throw you into an intergalactic war between power-mad siblings. No seriously.

Turns out Balem Abrasax (Eddie Redmayne) is obsessed with controlling earth, because it is a rich source for the most valuable substance in the universe. Of course he may have to enslave humanity to get it, but them’s the breaks. Turns out Jupiter is the key to complete control. Now intergalactic forces are trying to nab her and convince (or coerce) her to their side. Some insane combat explodes across the screen, Mila Kunis falls from great heights several times and hey is that Sean Bean? He is always great. In the end, Jupiter will have to decide how she can best help save the earth, even if she is just a normal girl who hates her life.

Good Points:

• Full of amazing visuals and exciting action sequences
• Creates a unique and engaging world beyond our solar system
• Goes over the top in an entertaining way (including Redmayne’s performance) 

Bad Points:

• Feels like it is a bit overstuffed at times
• Jones isn’t a very pro-active character (but you could argue that is her story arc)
• The over the top feeling may turn off some viewers.

Overall:

Ok I had a good time with this one. I know it bombed in theaters, but I think it got a bit of a harsh treatment. Lots of new stuff on display here and the story is a unique one in modern space opera. I love Michael Giacchino’s score (one of his best). And I think Kunis does a good job in the role. But the movie moves at a breakneck pace and is so packed with craziness it does end up distancing you from the characters. I wanted to like them more than I did. That said, it was worth an evening’s viewing and I’m actually kicking myself for not seeing the flick in theaters – because… damn, those visuals are really something else.

Scores(out of 5)

Visuals:  5

Sound: 5

Acting:  4

Script:  3

Music: 5

Direction: 4

Entertainment: 4

Total:  4

Curious about a full review, sent me an email and I’ll make additional thoughts to this review.

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Score Sample: Spiderman: Far From Home (2019)

Back in 2013, I wrote about how Michael Giacchino is one of my favorite composers working today. He still hasn't lost that place on my list. I try to pick up each of his scores almost as soon as they come out, and his work tends to entertain and engage me each time. The exceptions may be his scores for the two Jurassic World films. Still haven't warmed up to those.

Giacchino was pulled into the world of superheroes early on with his amazing score to The Incredibles. That is still one of my favorite scores by the man, and the sequel score is a blast. It is little wonder that he was asked to score some of the Marvel films, including Doctor Strange and Spiderman: Homecoming.

For the later, Giacchino was stepping into some big shoes. Previous Spiderman films were scored by the likes of Danny Elfman, Christopher Young, James Horner and Hans Zimmer. Each creating memorable takes on the character. Giacchino didn't shrink back, but went for it, crafting a new theme for Spidey and really giving it a workout in the score. His music for the villainous Vulture was also pretty darn cool.

I think Giacchino pushed himself a little harder when it comes to Far From Home. The Spidey theme is back, and gets plenty of time to shine in this score. He also brings back the love theme from the previous score (which I'll admit isn't one of his strongest). But the new material for Mysterio is top notch. He works in some excellent electronics, gives Mysterio an almost heroic but intense theme. We get some great tracks on the score where the Spidey and Mysterio theme work together and then later in counterpoint - something you rarely hear these days, but was something classic composers like Goldsmith and Williams would do all the time. Best of all, the score is a lot of fun, full of action, thrills and excitement. I am actually hoping we get another Spiderman movie, just so I can hear Giacchino round out a trilogy of scores. Yeah that is a total film nerd thing to write.

So here is Giacchino's end credit suite from Spiderman: Far From Home given the humorous title Far From Home Suite Home. It kicks off with Spidey's heroic theme, moves into the love theme, and shifts into a new theme for Nick Fury (and possibly the SWORD organization).Then those synths kick in and you know Mysterio's theme comes out to play. It builds and builds until Spidey's theme puts a stop to it and that hurtles into the conclusion of the track. Enjoy!

Score Sample: The Incredibles 2 (2018)

I've got to say that I really love The Incredibles. The animation, the story, the characters are all some of my favorite from the Pixar animation studios. That said, it also is the first time I heard the music of Michael Giacchino. This composer would go on to be one of my favorites of the current crop of movie composers, and The Incredibles is where he really captured my ear. That first score is an homage to the big brassy spy scores of the 1960s, with a healthy dose of John Barry and Henry Mancini all wrapped around some top notch theme work.

So when they announced that there was sequel in the works, there was no doubt in my mind that they had to bring Giacchino back. He has a great working relationship with the studio and it just made sense. The Incredibles 2 sports Giacchino bringing that sassy brassy feel back, and then cranking it up a notch (or two). It's got more saxophone, more blaring trumpets and is having fun. The old themes return, a new theme for the villain is introduced, and even a theme for Elastigirl as she takes one some solo adventures. Great stuff all the way around. Giacchino wraps it all up with a wonderful end credits suite (always a highlight in his scores) giving you a taste of everything. So here are The Incredits 2 from The Incredibles 2 composed by Michael Giacchino.

Movie Music Musing: Rise of the Composers of the Apes

As a fan of film music I love it when a film series manages to create wonderful and engaging music with each installment. It is a rare thing, but us film score fans celebrate when it happens… usually by buying another special edition CD. But I digress.

The rebooted Planet of the Apes films that started with Rise of the Planet of the Apes in 2011, have some pretty great music to go along with them. Two of my favorite composers worked on these movies, and I figured it was time to share some of the interesting work they composed for the three films.

Patrick Doyle conducts.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes was directed by Rupert Wyatt with music composed by Patrick Doyle. This was a little strange because I always associate Doyle with his work for Kenneth Branagh. His scores for Branagh’s Shakespeare adaptations are some of my favorite pieces from that type of film. But Doyle is a skilled composer and over the years he has provided excellent scores for animated films, military dramas and fantasy films. So I wasn’t sure what to expect from the composer, except that it would probably be lush with lots of great melodic pieces and some real power in the orchestra.

And that is where things went totally different from what we all expected. Doyle’s score actually had a very modern blockbuster sound, like something that would come out of Hans Zimmer’s composing studio. It was aggressive, heavy of the drums and repeating motifs. You could still hear some of Doyle’s style in there, but it really seemed like he was asked to ape the modern blockbuster trends that were making Transformers scores popular.

Doyle later confirmed that this was the case. He was restricted to a particular sound, and did his best to work within it. The result is that Rise of the Planet of the Apes is an interesting and effective modern score. Doyle’s style gives it different flavor, and when he is able to go grand and lush he does so with skill. But I still feel like Doyle is held back a little on this score, as solid as it is.

Here is a good action piece for when Caesar and his apes attempt to cross the Golden Gate Bridge. Doyle gives it a propulsive modern feel, but the tension works very well.

For the majestic side, here if the final track from the album, Ceasar’s Home where Caesar climbs to the top of the trees with his followers and looks out over the city. Doyle builds the track with power and beauty that matches the victorious feeling the scene.

 

When Matt Reeves took over directorial duties for Dawn of the Planet of the Apes he brought over the composer who had supported him on his previous two films: Michael Giacchino. This film was going to have a few issues that the previous one didn’t have. There were large portions of the film with no audible dialogue, as the apes converse using gestures and glances. In these cases Giacchino was going to not just support but craft the emotion  of these scenes with his music.

Giacchino has really gone ape!

Now, I’m a big fan of Giacchino. He is one of my favorite composers working today, so yeah I’m a little biased to liking these scores and all the interesting things he tries. Luckily he was not tied to studio demands that the score sound modern. Instead Giacchino was able to actually make some musical nods to Jerry Goldsmith’s groundbreaking score from the 1968 film Planet of the Apes. Giacchino used creative percussion, unique wind instruments and gave the whole score a much more primal and discordant feel. This means that the score can sound a little less approachable than Doyle’s effort. But I think it gives Dawn the right score for its darker tone.

Dawn actually ends up having two themes that evolve and battle throughout the score. The martial one for Koba, the human hating ape, gets some real highlights. The massive Gorilla Warfare track follows Koba’s attack on the human compound in San Francisco. It is an aggressive track that builds, batters and decimates the listener, all the while using Koba’s theme as the driving engine, even deconstructing it at times. The wailing choral voices as Koba commandeers an armored vehicle are especially chilling.

One of the most impressive pieces is what I like to think of as the Apes Hope theme. This one carries into the next score as well, but we get a wonderful presentation of it early in the score with The Great Ape Processional. It is a simple tune, but one that proves to be very malleable over the tow movies, sounding triumphant, contemplative and even tragic as the movies progress.  And yes, Giacchino goes ape with his primate puns for the titles. That’s just the kind of guy he is.

Giacchino and Reeves consult in
a hidden location.

War for the Planet ofthe Apes gave Giacchino a chance to expand on his themes and concepts he created in Dawn. While there are still moments of primal drumming and dark underscore bubbling with tension, there are also more new themes that really get a full workout in the score. Because of this War is actually a more vibrant score even if the movie is much darker.

Giacchino keeps the Goldsmithian touches with unique percussion and wind instruments, but they are less discordant in this score. As the ape’s civilization grows, so does the score. There are a lot of great moments in the music, but I really like the new theme for the hunt that Giacchino introduces. It is used several times as Caesar and his crew of apes track down the Colonel. It has a Morricone western feel to it. The theme works like gangbusters in the film, and The Posse Polanaise showcases it as a type of march at the end of the track.

Perhaps the most memorable moment in the film and the score is the finale. Caesar tragedy comes full circle, and for all that he has sacrificed and suffered his people have a new home. Paradise Found gives us the Apes Hope theme from Dawn and gives us a wonderful triumphant and yet sad version of the theme. Giacchino builds the score along with the scene as two apes discuss the future, and it ends the score in a satisfying way.

While part of me wishes that Doyle or Giacchino had been brought in from the start and had been able to develop themes and ideas over the course of all three films, the other half of my brain says, “Shut up! You got three great scores with three great movies.” Of the three, I think War may be my favorite. I love the variety Giacchino brings to it, and how he weaves and explores the ideas he crafted in the previous score. But that said, all three are worthy albums for anyone who enjoys the more primal side of film scores. Combined with Goldsmith’s masterpiece for Planet of the Apes and you have one hell of a playlist.

Bonus track, The Hunt from Goldsmith’s primal score.

Movie Music Musings: The Goldsmith Award 2012

I'm noticing a disturbing trend with these Goldsmith awards. One composer's name pops up time and again. This makes sense since to win a Goldsmith award you need to create great music for an unsuccessful film. This composer is constantly writing great music. But it seems that his film selections don't always pan out. This is the third time he's shown up as a candidate or winner for this award.

I'm talking about Michael Giacchino. He is really living up to the Goldsmith mantle. Not only has he scored three Star Trek films and is catching up to Goldsmith on that front. But he manages to be tied to some big earners as well as these poor performers. Luckily I don't think this is hurting his career. The man keeps on working year after year and heading up some of the biggest hits of those years. But in 2012 he hit a dud. Man did Disney spend a massive amount of money on John Carter and wow, did no one really care about seeing it. I've seen all kinds of reasons why the movie didn't do well in theaters, most of them revolved around how similar the trailers made it look to the Star Wars prequels. But the few people that I've run into that actually saw the movie said it was a solid bit of fun space opera adventure, just like the books it was based off of.

Michael Giacchino tackled this score with his usual gusto, crafting a theme rich score that certainly reminds listeners of the adventure scores of the 1980s and 1990s. Big orchestral bombast, exciting action music and even a sweeping romantic love them. The score has it all, even a bit of that Lawrence of Arabia feel with all the red desert landscapes. There are plenty of great tracks from the score to John Carter, but I really like this exciting track Sab Pursues the Princess. It drives along with a great intensity and then the heroic John Carter theme kicks in as he leaps in to save the day.

Score Sample: Rogue One - A Star Wars Story (2016)

So last year I posted a Score Sample about French composer Alexandre Desplat slated to compose the score for Rogue One, and how I was interested in hearing it. Well production woes hit Rogue One in a big way and Desplat was unable to work on the film. Instead Disney turned to one of their go to composers and one of my favorite composers working today: Michael Giacchino.

Thing is, Giacchino only had four weeks to composer a full blown score to a Star Wars film. Not an easy task for anyone. Giacchino was up to the task and crafted a score that not only provides brand new themes for the characters and situations in the film, but also references themes and style from John Williams score for Star Wars: A New Hope. And we aren't talking about the more famous thematic moments here, we are talking about the less known motifs, such the one used for the Death Star and one used for Stormtroopers and Darth Vader before Williams crafted the well known imperial march for The Empire Strikes Back.

All told Giacchino's score works very well in the film and for all his references to the older scores, I enjoy his new material a lot. His theme for the fearless Jyn Erso may be the best of the new material. Here is a suite version of her theme followed by his Hope theme, which makes a good solid nod to William's main Star Wars theme. Enjoy.

Movie Music Musing: Trekking with Giacchino

When J.J. Abrams was engaged on to help reboot Star Trek in 2009, he brought his composer of choice Michael Giacchino. I was thrilled by this because I think Giacchino is one of best film composers working today. His energy and enthusiasm come right through in his music. His is great at hitting the emotional beats of a story and keeping things moving with exciting action music that utilizes themes and doesn’t rely on the modern technique of making loud audio wallpaper.

Giacchino is also great at adapting existing themes into new and interesting variations. He did this with his scores to Speed Racer and Land of the Lost, so I knew he would be certain to take Alexander Courage’s classic Star Trek theme and give us something grand.

With the release of Star Trek Beyond Giacchino has joined the ranks of Jerry Goldsmith as being the only composer to score three consecutive Star Trek films. What is even more impressive is that his music for all three films has been consistently great. He’s created memorable themes, given us interesting and effective variations of those themes and not just supported the movies, but given them their own unique identity with music. I hope Giacchino stays on board as the composer for this series of films, but if he moves on, we have three excellent scores to enjoy.

So without further ado here are some of my favorite tracks from the three films.

Giacchino’s main Star Trek theme gets one of its best moments to shine in this track from the 2009 film. It is played when Kirk and Bones get their first glimpse of the Enterprise orbiting Earth. The track is called Enterprising Young Men showing Giacchino’s penchant for punny track titles.

For the film Star Trek into Darkness Giacchino gave us three new themes to enjoy. But one of the best is his character theme for Harrison/Khan. In the film we get to hear it in many different versions, but Giacchino got a chance to record a concert suite version of the theme, and here it is. I love how Ode To Harrison starts off quiet and sinister, but builds in a meticulous way until it becomes this powerful force of nature. Really fits the character.

When Star Trek Beyond rolled around Giacchino got a chance to write a lovely reflective theme for the crew during their time on the starbase Yorktown. This theme is quite different from what we’ve heard in the previous movies, but Giacchino makes sure it fits in his musical version of the Star Trek universe. The track Night on the Yorktown is already getting buzz for being a contender for track of the year in film score fan circles.

Later in 2016 Giacchino will score the Marvel film Doctor Strange so I’m looking forward to hearing what he comes up with for that (and if it will have a little nod to Harrison’s theme). But I’m glad he got a chance to score Star Trek Beyond and continue to build the audio world of this film franchise and take it boldly into an undiscovered country.

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Movie Music Musings - Giacchino's 2015

For film score fans 2015 is turning out to be a great year. Lots of fun and exciting music coming out for the the summer season, and plenty of good dramatic scores to look forward to this awards season. I've heard some people lamenting that the films this year aren't too hot, but that is one of the things about being a film score fan - sometimes the crappiest movies have the best music to them (and you can look at my Mining for Goldsmith series to see that in action).

One of my favorite current composers is Michael Giacchino. In 2013 I wrote a whole blog about his work and why I loved it. So when I found out he was going to tackle not two movies, not three, but FOUR big exciting summer films, I was stoked. Giacchino excels in bringing energy and excitement to his film music. 

One of the biggest hits of this summer was Jurassic World, and Giacchino provided the perfect score. He took the template John Williams created back in 1993 and used it as a starting point. Giacchino does uses a few quotes of William's themes, but beyond that he builds his own themes. These are very much Giacchino in style, but they use the same orchestral colors and feel that Williams used. The result is a great fit for the sequel, a shift from the original sound, but still very much part of the same series. Film music fans also got a treat when hints from The Lost World and even a video game for the franchise that Giacchino scored when he was first starting out get little audio cameos. One of the best tracks is As the Jurassic World Turns, featuring Giacchino's wonderful new themes, and ending with a fun quote of John Williams music from the original film.

Michael Giacchino has worked with director Brad Bird and Pixar for a number of years. So it was really no surprise that he would be working again with both this year. Brad Bird helmed the poorly reviewed Tomorrowland, a film that seemed to have quite a bit of potential, but appears to have an ending that makes the journey feel hollow. One thing that didn't feel hollow was the music. Gicchino captures the spirit of wonder, adventure and fun in this score. It is optimistic and really reminds me of The Rocketeer in places. This score is a bit repetitive. However, Giacchino really does some interesting things with his simple theme. Check out this track, The Pin-Ultimate Experience to hear some uplifting adventure music.

Teaming up with the folks at Pixar won Michael Giacchino an academy award of Up. So expectations were pretty high for his music to Inside Out. For this film Giacchino went to his jazzier side, something he did really well with for The Incredibles, Speed Racer and portions of his Mission:Impossible scores. His main theme is really cute and memorable. But he crafts several key themes, creates some bouncy traveling music and even some thrills an spills along the way. It doesn't have the gravitas of the three other scores, but it really is non-stop fun and so energetic. It just might be my favorite of the four. So many great tracks on this album, but I'm gonna share The Joy of Credits. This is a wonderful end credits suite that takes you on a trip through all the themes from the film.

But if you are craving some huge adventure scoring, gigantic moments of choir and some huge orchestral bombast, then the score to Jupiter Ascending is the one to seek out. This is a massive score accompanying one of the worst reviewed films of the year. But Giacchino's music is film score gold. It has wonderful themes, moments of beauty, chaos, power. The action sequences are some of the best action writing he's ever penned. His villain theme is wicked and snaky, but gets some overwhelming power behind it in places. Giacchino was asked to write some suites for the film before he even saw it. Given a basic concept for the film he went to work and created four movements that are really the heart of the score. My favorite is 3rd Movement a tremendous building cue that just brings the house down. This huge score actually required a 2 CD release, and for many is one of the best film scores of 2015.

So yeah, Michael Giacchino has had a banner year. And fans of his music have been enjoying it too. I think he's going to take a little break, but I can't wait to see (and hear) what he cooks up for 2016.

Score Sample - Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol - Michael Giacchino

The Mission: Impossible series has had an interesting musical history. For the first film, Danny Elfman created a modern action score infused with Lalo Schifrin's memorable main theme and a theme known as "The Plot". Hans Zimmer followed this up with a rowdy score that was filled with electric guitars. But with the third film, Michael Giacchino was brought on board, and created a fun action score with good balance of modern and 1960s swagger. 

For the forth film, Giacchino was back and this time was inspired by the locales in the film. He still uses the main theme and "The Plot" theme in interesting ways. But he adds plenty of musical flavor for the scenes in Moscow, Dubai and Mombai. The last locale treats us with a Bollywood style for the main theme. Give a listen to "Mood India" and see if can detect Schifrin's famous theme.

Movie Music Musings: Favorite Composers - Michael Giacchino

Michael Giacchino

In the previous installment of my Favorite Composers series I covered the work of Bernard Herrmann. He was the originator of many of the musical tropes still used in films today. Going through the samples I provided it like cruising through a listing for Turner Classic Movies. So you might be wondering, “Doesn’t he like any modern film scores?”

I certainly do. But the type of colorful and emotive film scores that I enjoy just aren’t in demand right now. But there is one composer whose work is both colorful and emotive and he’s managed to score some great assignments. He’s fused old and new scoring techniques together and created some of the most memorable and exciting movie music of the past few years.

Michael Giacchino started out creating music for video games and television series. Some of his most popular music comes from the original set of Medal of Honor video games. These games were set during World War II, and featured protagonists battling Nazis and taking part in several key battles. For this series, Giacchino based his sound on John Williams’ work from the Indiana Jones series and worked in some of the more somber stylings similar to what is heard in JFK. The result was a series of four scores that many folks still find to be Giacchino’s best work. Here is a track from the third Medal of Honor game that showcases his action music and the some of the Williams influence on the score.

Giacchino went on to work with director J.J. Abrams on his two television series, Alias and Lost. He created a very specific sound for both series, and his work on Lost has garnered him plenty of acclaim. In fact much of the style he honed for that series has turned up in his later soundtracks. Here is his theme for Life and Death from Lost.

But the scores that brought Giacchino to my attention were for Pixar films. He created a jazzy energetic score for The Incredibles, fusing a full blown 1960s spy style to the whole thing. Yes there’s more than a hint of John Barry’s style in this score, especially from the 1969 film On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. The whole score is bursting with energy and fun, including some of Giacchino’s most exciting action music. Here's a jazzy piece used during a montage in the film.

That is what I love most about Giacchino. Nearly all his scores have an amazing amount of joyful energy to them. Whether he’s doing a single track for the end credits to Cloverfield or taking an old 1930 style tune and turning it into full blown action music in Up, you get a sense that Giacchino is having plenty of fun with the whole score. And speaking of Up, his excellent scoring of the Married Life montage was probably responsible for his Academy Award win.

One of Giacchino's skills is his ability to take existing themes and turn them into new and exciting variations. He's done this on a number of movies including Speed Racer, Land of the Lost, Mission: Impossible III and Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol. But some of his most interesting adaptation was for his work on the 2009 version of Star Trek. He not only created an excellent series of new themes for Kirk, Nero and Spock, but managed to work the original theme from the ‘60s television series into the end titles. It’s a lengthy piece, but it’s a hell of a lot of fun.

Now, Giacchino has worked in a few different genres including horror with Let Me In and romantic comedy with The Family Stone. But I really love his jazzy stuff. The way he uses the classic Mission Impossible theme in Mission Impossible III and ramps up the action music along with it is impressive. He tackles all kinds of jazzy styles in his work for Ratatouille. But one of my favorite scores by Giacchino is the fast and furious Speed Racer. I love how he takes the classic theme from the old cartoon and turns it into an anthem, an action set piece, and a driving underscore depending on what the scene calls for. But the most amazing and hilarious use of the piece is during the triumphant conclusion where Giacchino brings in the heavenly choir to sing the praises of Speed Racer. Glorious stuff indeed. 

Giacchino continues to have a good relationship with directors Brad Bird and J.J. Abrams. So as long as these two directors continue to make films, we'll continue to enjoy Giacchino's fun and vibrant music. And with Abrams directing the upcoming Star Wars film, it could mean a full blown William's meets Giacchino match up. It might sound something like this, from John Carter.

Next time we'll talk about my all time favorite film composer. While he isn't as well known to the general public as some of his contemporaries, he created some immediately recognizable themes, styles, and musical cliches of his own. His influence on the world of film scoring is considerable and he worked successfully in nearly every genre. In my opinion, when you want to hear the best in movie music, you don't need to look any further than Jerry Goldsmith.

Star Trek (2009)

Introduction:

With the implosion of the television series "Enterprise", the Star Trek franchise seemed dead. The last movie featuring the cast of "Star Trek: The Next Generation" had been beaten up in 2002 by a combination of Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings and James Bond. But fans and studio execs couldn't let it remain that way. Besides Batman and James Bond had both received makeovers to huge acclaim? The same could be done for "Star Trek"... right?

Summary:

James Kirk (Chris Pine) finds himself in Star Fleet Academy facing a little matter of cheating during a test, when all hell breaks loose. The planet Vulcan is under attack, by a Romulan named Nero (Eric Bana) who has some anger management issues. With some help from Dr. McCoy (Karl Urban), Kirk finds himself aboard the starship Enterprise. Things go from bad to worse, when Captain Pike (Bruce Greenwood) is captured and Spock (Zachary Quinto) is left in charge. Spock's logical nature is at odds with Kirk's impulsive personality. But the two will have to work together to stop Nero and save the galaxy. Look for turns by all your favorite characters in this revamp of "Star Trek".

Good Points:

• Brings the fun back to the franchise
• The story goes in a new direction but remains a part of the established series
• Will appeal to fans of brisk entertainment and action

Bad Points:

• The story uses time travel... again.
• Some of the camera work and editing is too much
• Missing the way the series tackles ideas as well as adventure

Overall:

"Star Trek" needed a jump-start and this movie does just that. It introduces our heroic team, provides them with a thrilling adventure and injects life into the series. The name of the game is entertainment. And while it does that in spades, it is missing the thoughtful element that makes "Star Trek' what it is. As much as I enjoyed this film, I hope that the next one will have a little more brain behind the thrills.

Scores (out of 5)

Visual: 4

Sound: 5

Music: 4

Acting: 4

Script: 4

Direction: 4

Entertainment: 4

Total: 4

In Depth Review

I'm a fan of "Star Trek". My knowledge of the series isn't as well versed as that of "Star Wars" or "Lord of the Rings", but growing up in the 80's you couldn't really escape Trek. My grandmother loved the series and we'd watch it in the afternoons. I saw all the movies with the original cast in the theater. One of my first soundtracks was for "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home". I got caught up in the excitement for the new series back in 1987, but never really followed it after a few episodes. With all that said, I can say that I was a little sad when most people were counting the franchise as dead.

When I heard about the concept of going back to the original characters and setting, but taking it in a new direction I was intrigued but skeptical. I knew that many considered J.J. Abrams to have the magic touch, but I decided to wait and see what they came up with. The trailers looked promising and soon the reviews convinced me to check it out. You can see by my scores that I enjoyed the film.

That seems to be the real goal for this film - to create a solid piece of space adventure entertainment. It uses the familiar characters and tropes from the original series, but by using time travel creates an alternate reality where these characters can live and breathe. This will allow the more devoted fans to still have Shatner be their Captain Kirk, while a new generation of fans will see Pine as the man. It's a pretty clever work around and one that is executed with skill by the cast and crew.

The script does end up suffering a bit from having to use time travel as a plot device, only because it is so familiar with Star Trek. In the movies alone it's been done twice ("The Voyage Home" and "First Contact"), and the television series has done it countless times in all their incarnations. You could say it borders on lazy writing, but I think that it was utilized well here to create that alternate time line, something that is going to help long time fans work with this new version. But it does create some problems with the script. It gets a bit convoluted in places and has holes that if you look too closely, your Vulcan self will find illogical. This is compensated with by providing some great lines for nearly all the characters. Many of them remaining true to the characters as we know them, and yet spinning them all slightly. The most care was given to Kirk, McCoy and Spock, but nearly every character gets a chance to shine.

The actors take these parts and do a great job with them. Pine does a great balancing act of creating Kirk as a familiar character, but not going into parody mode. He inhabits the character well, and makes for a great hero. He adds a little bit of Shatner inflections or mannerisms, but they are subtle and will only stand out of fans of the series who are very familiar with Shatner. Quinto does a similar job with Spock, keeping him familiar but adding a bit more angst they we are used to seeing. The story provides a nice arc for the character and Quinto delivers. It is Urban as McCoy that impresses me. He actually attempts to mimic voice patterns and acting style of DeForest Kelley. He does it in a way that’s natural. We accept him as McCoy and not only that, but he seems like a perfect fit for the familiar role.

Working in the villains role is Eric Bana as Nero. The role has a lot of potential, and seeing some of the deleted scenes it looks like there was a bit more meat to it originally. But as it stands now, Nero is driven and dangerous, but for some reason never completely resonates. His interaction with Spock and Captain Pike is well executed, but he lacks that special something to make him a memorable villain. Of course compared to Khan, it’s going to be tough challenge for any actor.

The supporting cast is uniformly good. All the favorite characters are represented and given a key role in the story. The actors really do a good job with these familiar parts, even for characters that we'd seen only a couple times before like Captain Pike or Sarek (Ben Cross). I have mixed feeling on two parts. The first is Winona Ryder as Amanda Grayson. I'm not sure what it is, but she does not work for me in the part. I've seen the movie three times now and each time I keep hoping she won't grate on me as much as she does. And each time I always wonder - what is she doing that makes her stand out so much. Then there's Simon Peg as Scotty. Peg is a very funny man, and "Hot Fuzz" is one of my favorite comedies. But Scotty never struck me as comic relief. Peg is amusing in the role, but it just doesn't ring as true as the other characters in the film did.

Of course the other major players are the visuals and sound effects. Well this movie delivers in the visual effects department giving us everything from beauty passes over The Enterprise to full blown space battles with multiple starships. As opposed to the more recent Star Wars movies, this film went for location shooting whenever possible and this adds some weight and realism for many of the scenes. The costumes retain the basic look and color scheme of the original series, but modernize them a bit. Even the ship design is familiar and yet new. And the design schemes shifted depending on the cultures featured. The sound design follows the same scheme, fusing old sound effects with new, and in some cases re-creating the effects from scratch where the originals may have been lost. Sound effects guru, Ben Burtt who worked on "Star Wars" did an excellent job here.

The final bit to the puzzle is the music. In the past some illustrious names in film music have worked on Star Trek films including Jerry Goldsmith and James Horner. This time around Abrams went for his go-to composer, Michael Giacchino. In my mind it was an excellent choice. Giacchino has done amazing work with Pixar (The Incredibles, Ratatouille and Up), and has a knack for working with established music (check out his interesting and entertaining work on Speed Racer). He steps right up and give us a solid fanfare for Kirk and the Enterprise, and balances it against an aggressive and powerful theme for Nero. Spock and the Vulcans get a bittersweet theme with unique instrumentation. Much like David Arnold's approach to "Casino Royale", Giacchino does use the Alexander Courage theme from the television series, but sparingly, hinting at it throughout the film. Then right before diving into the end credits he gives us a full-blown statement of the theme before blasting into his Enterprise them, and then proceeds to weave the two together. Great stuff! If there is one complaint it is that the new theme for Kirk is very simplistic and is stated boldly and repeatedly throughout the film. On my first viewing it didn't bother me, but I did notice it in subsequent viewings. Giacchino has commented on this saying that he intends on developing the theme in subsequent films. I hope he gets the chance, because his music in this film is a great start.

Abrams has commented that he grew up loving the original "Star Wars" trilogy and that "Star Trek" was always too stodgy for him. Fair enough. His love for Star Wars comes through in spades here, with lots of quick editing, flashy battle sequences, and scenes of massive destruction. These types of things do appeal to a modern audience and hell, they appeal to me. He does a great job of keeping the story moving forward and keeping all the plot points moving. This keeps viewers from really examining the story too closely and noticing some of the odd plotting moments. In addition he manages to keep his actors on track with tone of the film. This is truly an adventure film at heart and Abrams understands that. Even his editing which harmed the character of Nero ended up serving the film better.

As entertaining as the film is, there are a few choices made that Abrams that I question. The first is the camera that must be in constant motion. This is something that I've noticed in many modern films, and if it's done well, you don't actually notice it. But "Star Trek" has quite a few sequences where the camera motion and quick edits draw attention to themselves. For me the worst scene is the "hand held" camera look during the dialogue between Pike and Kirk in the bar. This is a key sequence where Kirk makes his decision to join Star Fleet. However I'm distracted from the discussion by the apparent seizures the cameraman is having. If camera motion is necessary (and I'm not convinced it is), simple cuts between the speakers or a slow zoom would have worked better. Instead we have a scene that looks like its film during a series of small earthquakes.

The other issue is the lens flares. I'll be honest and say I didn't notice them in my first viewing, but after they were pointed out to me, they were all over the place. Lens flares occur when a light source is used directly on the camera itself, creating a moment where brilliant white flares move appear on the image. These suckers appear all over, and with the camera constantly moving, the light sources constantly flare. One affect is to create an image that is very... well sparkly. Any scene on the bridge is filled with these and as I mentioned, they get a little annoying if someone points them out to you. So, well, you can thank me later.

This movie is fun, no two ways about it. Like I've mentioned, I've seen it three times since it's release at the time of this writing (once in theaters and twice on DVD) and I've enjoyed it each time. It may be the most action packed and up tempo Star Trek film of them all. The familiar characters in a new situation worked wonders and I eagerly look forward to another adventure with this crew. Only the curmudgeonly side of me grumbles a little. You see I still enjoy the television series and the first six movies. Each of them, even "The Final Frontier" had some kind of idea or theme at their core, something that you could talk about after the film was done. Even the most action packed of the original films; "The Wrath of Khan" was more than a revenge tale. There was themes about aging, your past coming back to haunt you, terra-forming and the whole "needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few" line. This movie, well it has lots of pretty explosions and cool battle scenes. But in the end there isn't a solid idea to really talk about after the movie ends. I'm hoping that this is due to the fact that this is a reboot film and that the script needed time to set everything up. But I hope that the next movie finds a way to balance fun with ideas. I can be done and Star Trek is a perfect vehicle for it. I'd hate to see the franchise lose that aspect that is now unique in big screen sci-fi.