Star Wars: Rogue One Review - 8 Ups & 2 Downs

Downs...

2. Giacchino's Score Doesn't Distinguish Itself

Michael Giacchino holds the best score and best instrumental composition awards for
Mark J. Terrill/AP

In fairness to Michael Giacchino, he didn't have a lot of time to work on Rogue One. Alexandre Desplat was originally set to score the movie, but when it came to those much-publicised reshoots, he had to drop out due to scheduling conflicts. Giacchino, who is a regular collaborator with The Force Awakens' director J.J. Abrams (and made a cameo in that movie) stepped up to the plate.

Unfortunately, that lack of time shows. Giacchino is no slouch when it comes to scoring big movies, most notably his utterly stunning work on Up. Here, however, he never really gets to put his own stamp on the movie.

The score's strengths come when Giacchino reworks some of John Williams' iconic Star Wars music, such as the Imperial March. There, the composer does a sterling job. But it's in creating something that stands as his own he falls short. There's no original theme here that stands out, with the ones not riffing on Williams feeling more like general blockbuster. Not bad, but not Star Wars.

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NCTJ-qualified journalist. Most definitely not a racing driver. Drink too much tea; eat too much peanut butter; watch too much TV. Sadly only the latter paying off so far. A mix of wise-old man in a young man's body with a child-like wonder about him and a great otherworldly sensibility.