10 best film scores by Michael Giacchino

10 October 2024, 10:58 | Updated: 10 October 2024, 14:40

Michael Giacchino has produced some of the best music written for film in recent times. Join us as we head to the cinema to take a look at some of the composer’s most loved scores.

Over the past 20 years, Michael Giacchino has become a titanic figure in Hollywood, composing the music for big box office hits of every genre. From edge-of-your-seat thrillers such as Mission: Impossible to tear inducing animated classics such as Up; Giacchino can do it all.

Grab the popcorn, dim the lights and enjoy our top picks...

Read more: The 50 best film scores of all time

1. The Incredibles (2004)

   This groundbreaking animated superhero film redefined the rules, creating an enduring smash hit with both kids and their parents. Telling the story of a family of superheroes living incognito, it’s a fast-paced romp through a fantasy world which pays homage to the classic superhero genre and spy thrillers.

   It presented the perfect opportunity for Giacchino to deliver an exciting musical accompaniment, with a score that is both completely original and a highly intelligent pastiche of the Bond films, old Marvel superhero films and big band hits. It does exactly what it should, matching and enhancing the thrills of the film. Nailed it.

   

   "THE INCREDIBLES" SUITE | MUSIC VIDEO w/ WAYNE BERGERON

2. Mission: Impossible III (2006)

   Tom Cruise doing what he does best: lots of running, nail-biting fight scenes and frankly outrageous stunts, the third instalment of this box office-beating franchise delivers everything you could wish for. You would be forgiven for thinking that taking over the reins of composing for this film would be something of a... mission impossible.

   Not so for Giacchino, who uses all his skill and imagination to bring us a soundtrack worthy of this famous series. The tension is palpable throughout, with great use of the orchestral brass combined with a funky rhythm section and dense string cluster chords. Strap in everyone: Ethan Hunt is on a mission, and he won’t rest until it’s completed.

   Read more: Tom Cruise has an impromptu organ lesson with Anna Lapwood at ‘Top Gun’ film screening

   

3. The Batman (2022)

   The raw intensity of this score hits hard right from the off in this moody, brooding 2022 installation of the iconic series. Following in the esteemed footsteps of Danny Elfman and Hans Zimmer, Giacchino’s score more than equals the accomplishments of his forebears. The way the glissando strings slowly descend in a smear at the end of the introduction is so powerful that it makes the skin crawl. *hides behind the sofa*

   

4. Inside Out (2015)

   Inside Out is arguably one of Pixar’s best films and Giacchino’s score perfectly matches the quality of the animated picture. There are elements of jazz, electronic and classical music all mixed together in a lovely big cauldron, to produce a magical musical sound world that’s as creative as the film itself. Like the best film scores, it is a treat to listen to on its own. Simply lovely!

   

5. Jurassic World (2015)

   Set 22 years after the third film, this gripping T-Rex flick tells the story of a cloned dinosaur who breaks loose on the fictional Central American island of Isla Nublar. Yikes!

   Giacchino stepped into the mighty and imposing shoes of John Williams – who wrote the iconic original score – perfectly incorporating Williams’ original motif into his own epic orchestral score. Threatening brass, spine-tingling strings and thundering percussion make this the perfect soundtrack to a long-awaited sequel.

   Read more: Astronaut plays John Williams’ ‘Star Wars’ theme in first-ever violin solo in outer space

   

6. Star Trek: Into Darkness (2013)

   Simply put, Giacchino’s score for Star Trek: Into Darkness (2013) redefined Star Trek’s musical landscape. No mean feat, considering the musical history associated with the Star Trek franchise.

   The main theme is driven by chiming percussion, fuelled by intensifying strings and led by the thematic brass section, which creates a fanfare that’s reminiscent of a Western film, yet it still works here.

   In the End Credits, Giacchino pays homage to Alexander Courage’s original television theme, weaving it seamlessly into his own rousing motifs, yet again proving that he is more than a worthy composer for some of the biggest films to come out of Hollywood.

   

7. Doctor Strange (2016)

   In recent years Giacchino has become a regular contributor to the sound of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, teaming up with director Jon Watts and writing the music to the Spider-Man films.

   It was with Scott Derrickson’s 2016 Doctor Strange that his partnership with Marvel Studios began. With this work, Giacchino blew the doors open with what continues to be one of the best themes of not just any Marvel movie, but any superhero film of the last ten years.

   Read more: Pinar Toprak: Everything you need to know about Marvel’s first female composer

   

   Michael Giacchino - Strange Days Ahead (Audio Only)

8. Up (2009)

   Very few people walking into the cinema in 2009 were prepared for the hit of pure emotion that this animated classic would bring on, with tissues being mandatory within the first ten minutes. It’s the soundtrack that creates an almost unbearable feeling of nostalgia, with Giacchino composing the now instantly recognisable ‘Married Life’ as part of a heart-breaking montage.

   The score is simply beautiful, and it won the composer a well-deserved Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack Album in 2010.

   

   Theme from 'Up' | Michael Giacchino | String Quartet Cover

9. Rogue One (2016)

   With a talent like Giacchino, it was only ever going to be a matter of time before his music was taken to a galaxy far, far away.

   Yet again, he was chosen to take the baton from John Williams, who had scored every instalment of the Star Wars franchise since 1977.

   In Rogue One, Giacchino delivers the goods. His score is nostalgic yet original, and full of epic brass moments. A 110-piece orchestra and 90 strong choir performed the music, helping to create one of the composer’s biggest and best soundtracks to date.

   

   Your Father Would Be Proud (From "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story"/Audio Only)

10. Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)

    Now officially the second most successful Spider-Man film ever made, Giacchino was accidentally revealed as the composer for the 2017 release of Spider-Man: Homecoming when producer Kevin Feige slipped up in an interview two years previously. The electric fast-paced score includes the theme from the 1960s animated series, which was also based on the Marvel Comics. The energy and drive of the music, with naturally spidery string writing, provides the epic soundtrack for this raucous web-based thriller.

    

    Michael Giacchino - Spider-Man: Homecoming Suite

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