The musical score has received critical acclaim . James Southall of Movie Wave said , " The new themes are great , hearing the old ones again is wonderful , the action music is remarkably energetic and the musical storytelling as vibrant as ever . It ’s just so good hearing Williams return to this universe . " Jørn Tillnes of Soundtrack Geek said , " The fact is that this score is not even close to the classic trilogy and it struggles with the prequel trilogy as well . I do n’t know if it 's the weakest in the saga . Time will tell . What I do know is that it 's one of the best scores I 've heard in a while . " uDiscover gave the score a positive review , saying , " The expansive , dramatic passages are as full-bodied as one would hope for a film as epic as '' The Force Awakens '' , but the attention to detail within the score – and the exquisitely recorded performance – make the results a subtle and engaging listen . " Jonathan Broxton of Movie Music UK praised the score , saying , " Even when you look at it objectively , what John Williams has achieved with this score is nothing short of remarkable . He has written five new themes , two of which – ' Rey 's Theme ' and the ' March of the Resistance ' – are wonderfully memorable , and can stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the already bulging cache of memorable themes within the '' Star Wars '' universe . " It was nominated for Best Original Score category at 88th Academy Awards and lost to Ennio Morricone 's score for '' The Hateful Eight ''
88th Academy Awards
88th Academy Awards
Star Wars: The Force Awakens (soundtrack)