I wonder if the biggest problem with Star Trek, at least in the movies, is the lack of spectacle. Star Trek: The Motion Picture and Star Trek 5 both might have been lacking in various areas (acting and budget, respectively), but they at least attempted some element of spectacle. They might not have pulled it off, but it does leave room for the composer to write music to suggest the spectacle when the visuals can't provide it. The recent Next Generation films have stuck more to an action adventure format and while perhaps successful in their own right, it doesn't lead to the kind of scoring opportunities that allow for anything special. Although praise has been dished out for Nemesis' new theme - a curious mixture of threat and solitude tempered by a more optimistic development - it still isn't particularly striking. The opening, descending phrase seems to work well as an action motif and is a quite effectively creepy idea on its own, but even the full performance for the end credits can't quite propel it into the pantheon of great Star Trek secondary themes.
Another curious aspect of film scores is how it is often the case that less interesting scores seem to get longer releases than earlier, more worthy scores. Nemesis is the longest original album release (thus discounting the Star Trek: The Motion Picture expanded edition), but several of the early suspense tracks most definitely feel like padding. Goldsmith's synth heavy soundscape seems to noodle around evoking menace, but isn't always interesting music. The Knife and Ideals are perhaps the worst offenders, but portions of the longer tracks such as Repairs and Odds and Ends aren't of great interest. The second half is really a vast improvement, this is where the action kicks in and the album starts to move along splendidly. From The Scorpion onwards, Goldsmith breaks out some exciting action licks, pleasingly original after his seemingly unending succession of US Marshals styled material. Several unexpected touches, such as an insane string counterpoint during The Scorpion, together with a nifty insertion of the Star Trek theme as an action motif, something he's not done effectively since Star Trek 5 make the latter half a cracking effort.
Perhaps in an attempt to introduce some musical harmony, the four note motif from The Final Frontier appears during My Right Arm and A New Friend. Although often referred to as the God motif, its use more suggests the spirit of adventure. Both tracks are the low key highlights and are a welcome break from the churning suspense. A New Ending opens with a few notes from Irving Berlin's Blue Skies, odd but pleasant, and then the Nemesis theme surrounded by a surprisingly wooden rendition of the Motion Picture theme. It seems to have an almost total lack of phrasing and generally listless playing, mainly from the brass, and is a surprisingly disappointing end, although the rest of the score is performed with more vigour. Maybe I'm missing something, but they just don't do Star Trek like they used to and for my money, Nemesis is a variable uninteresting suspense score attached to briefly great action score with a couple of the Star Trek themes thrown in.
Rating ~ 
Total Time ~ 48:33