A good amount of the AOTC score is a hack job and ROTS is no better. ROTS has some good highlights but the original stuff is basically just a collection of “epic” cues with practically no cohesion beyond the force theme. Battle of the Heroes is fantastic but it only occurs once, in the final duel, so hard to consider it a real theme in that regard.

For those who appreciate film scores when taken as a whole, TFA is easily the best of the saga since at least TPM or maybe even ROTJ or ESB (TPM is very solid but unfortunately I find a lot of it boring, plus Anakin’s theme, while nice, doesn’t really fit; ROTJ doesn’t have much in the way of themes that carry and develop throughout the score but it does have some of the biggest highlights of the whole saga).

TFA’s new themes might not be as instantly memorable as some previous ones but they are memorable once you get to listening. Kylo Ren’s two themes, Poe’s theme, the Resistance march, and especially Rey’s theme (one of Williams very best in recent memory) have been stuck in my head for the week and a half.

If I have one criticism of the score it’s that there aren’t too many moments where the music really takes over and drives the film. Williams might have pulled one two many punches in that regard. But otherwise the score is another brilliant musical work as only the master could do.