I know a lot of people say that he too closely resembles the work of the Romantic & 20th-Century greats. But to me, that's part of why his music is so great! That era of music history gave us some of the greatest and most moving music we've ever seen. And with that, I feel that he (and other soundtrack composers who do the same thing) help connect today's young folks to the music of the past. I like to show my students the music that gave inspiration to the music week hear in the movies, particularly to John Williams.
Is John Williams my favorite composer? I'm afraid not, because the composer whose music moves me the most and pleases me the most is the music of Tchaikovsky. But John Williams is in my top 5, along with Mahler, Strauss and Dvorak.
That sad part is that John Williams' age is high...he turned 86 today. Someday soon, we are going to be mourning his loss. I probably won't ever get to meet him. But, one thing we can safely say on that day (and the days after) is that he didn't leave us without leaving us an amazing gift: the extremely vast repertoire of his original music.
Sorry for getting all mushy earlier. I guess you could say that guys is kind of my hero.
Take care and value music, particular that of John Williams.