Star Trek: Ranking All 13 Movie Soundtracks
9. Star Trek: First Contact – Jerry Goldsmith
Jerry Goldsmith's triumphant return to the franchise after a two film absence (and the regrettable lack of his TNG theme in Dennis McCarthy's Star Trek Generations), Star Trek: First Contact is a collection of great themes in search of a great score.
Splitting his time between First Contact and the superior The Ghost and the Darkness, Jerry Goldsmith was aided by his son Joel Goldsmith and the effort is understandably scattered. Notable themes for the Borg, the First Contact concept in general, and returning TMP/TNG march and the dominant "A Busy Man" theme from The Final Frontier all make Star Trek: First Contact a memorable entry, but these ideas never coalesce into a cohesive musical narrative.
The opening title of Star Trek: First Contact is one of the franchise's best, however the theme is heard only a handful of times in the film and remains more or less static from opening credits to its final performance as the Vulcans arrive on Earth. Similarly, the Borg theme is treated to a number of instrumental and rhythmic variations (performed with some really cool electronic and percussive instruments), but is strangely underdeveloped as the film progresses.
The return of Goldsmith's title theme from Star Trek: The Motion Picture and Star Trek: The Next Generation's opening credits is welcome and the First Contact theme is immensely "hummable" (an indication of a successful score), but Star Trek: First Contact never rises above the sum of its parts.