This, combined with the obvious inspiration he took from the story and its deeper meanings, as well as the clear and intentional illusions to the classic work of John Williams, makes Super 8 a winner.

The product was delayed on CD until after audiences lost interest in the film at the theatres as well, leaving something of a sour note over the entire affair.

If Giacchino ever wants to actually match the engrossing tone of Williams' classics, perhaps he and his crew should shift the time they spend on conjuring cute, ridiculous cue titles to instead reworking the recording and mixing of these muted and very dry scores.

Still, there are great moments on this album and it will make for a thorough souvenir for fans of the film, but like any score that features a secondary theme far more impressive than its primary one, you can't help but walk away from Super 8 strangely disappointed.

The 78-minute album (which includes as a bonus the wonderful music Giacchino wrote for “The Case”, the film-within-a-film) doesn’t drag, is full of magical moments, has a handful of individual pieces of music of the highest order (not just the aforementioned “Letting Go” – which is worth mentioning again and again, to be honest, and worth listening to again and again – but several others – check out the fantastic, dynamic “The Evacuation of Lillian”) and while there are hints of Williams (most obviously the brilliant Close Encounters of the Third Kind), this is essentially pure Giacchino, and all the better for that.

the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) "filling the soundtrack with aching violins and sad piano that makes sure there’s absolutely no way you can miss out on the intended emotion of a scene" which was both "grating and obnoxious".

[2] He cited several examples, including Giacchino's own score for the film's opening sequence in Up (2009), and said "With no dialogue, the music almost replaces verbal expression as we watch the early life and romance of our aging hero.

The animation combines perfectly with the florid piano score, which is not only the sort of bravura composition that will stay with you long after the film has ended, but an extremely dynamic accomplishment as well.