The Sexy New Star Trek Blasts Off (No Spoilers)
Written: May 08 '09
|
Product Rating:
|
|
| Bang For The Buck |
 |
|
|
Pros: Very entertaining movie. Great cast.
Cons: Some jerky camera work in few spots.
The Bottom Line: Star Trek is a wonderful entertaining movie that successfully reboots a well known movie series.
|
|
|
| dragonfire88's Full Review: Star Trek |
I’ve seen some of the Star Trek movies and various Star Trek television shows over the years. While I have enjoyed them, I’ve never considered myself that much of a Star Trek fan. I wasn’t sure about seeing the movie when I first heard a new one was being made. Then I saw the first trailer for Star Trek and I’ve been wanting to see the movie ever since. I even went and got the collectible glasses from Burger King. Yes, I’m a geek.
I’m not going to be sharing a lot of details about the plot of Star Trek because I don’t want to spoil anything for people who haven’t seen the movie yet. I knew just about nothing about the plot of the movie before I saw it. I will not be sharing anything that would be a spoiler.
**Minor Plot Discussion**
While growing up, James T. Kirk has been a bit of a rebel, frequently getting into trouble. His life takes a different direction when he meets Captain Christopher Pike, who convinces James to join Starfleet. Three years later, James first meets Spock, the highly intelligent half Vulcan and half human. The two do not get along. They both end up on the U.S.S. Enterprise and have to find a way to work together and with the other crew members to face the threat from Nero, a Romulan bent on destruction.
I stayed through the credits and there is no scene after them.
**End of Minor Plot Discussion**
Star Trek is based on the characters created by Gene Roddenberry that first appeared in the television show in the late 1960's. The characters, still played by the original cast members from the television show, returned in several movies. New television shows were created that were very popular and the characters from one of those show, Star Trek: The Next Generation took over in the movies. I’m not sure if there was ever serious consideration for any of the other casts to end up in the movies or not. There have also been several books and comic books featuring the different characters. Instead of following after the last movie, this movie basically reboots the series and creates an alternate timeline, making it possible for the original characters to have all new adventures. Some fans of Star Trek may have issues with that, but I think it works very well and opens up all kinds of new interesting possibilities.
It has been years since the last time I saw any of the previous Star Trek movies or any episodes of the various television show. I have forgotten much about the movies, though I have managed to remember the names of the main characters and the theme song. The original characters are back and I think they are mostly the same. Most of them say a line or two that they became known for during the series or movies. The U.S.S. Enterprise looks the same on the outside. The bridge is similar, but looks much more advanced than it did in the movies and television shows. It is also very bright with almost everything being white. The various sounds for different things, like when someone was being beamed, sounded the same. The well known theme isn’t heard until the end credits just after the motto from the series is heard.
The plot for Star Trek is interesting, though it could have been a bit stronger. More time is focused on introducing the main characters and setting up the situation that puts them all together on the Enterprise for the first time. The motivation that drive Nero is rather simple, but it does work. This movie isn’t really a prequel even though it shows things that happened before the original series and movies since it creates an alternate timeline. That is probably the most complex thing about the plot and it allows things to happen that contradict things from the previous movies. That did confuse me slightly at one point until I remembered that an alternate timeline was going on. It wasn’t until later in the movie that I realized exactly how many events had changed since there is a lot about the movies and the characters that I don’t know or have long since forgotten. Some long time Trek fans may not like the changes.
There is a decent amount of action in Star Trek that helps to keep things interesting and keep the pace moving. The first few minutes of the movie have a lot of action while also showing the birth of an important character. Things slow down for a while when Spock is first shown as a child. The pace really picks back up shortly after James and Spock first meet. I don’t consider this an action packed movie even though there are several action scenes in the movie. Those scenes are well done and work well. Some violence turns up in a few scenes, including during a fight between James and Spock. The violence really isn’t that graphic, though it did help get the movie rated PG-13. This really isn’t a movie for younger children. There is some jerky camera work during a few sequences. That made it slightly hard to make out a few things, but it wasn’t so bad that I was annoyed like has happened in other movies. There is some humor used throughout the movie that works well to keep the movie fun and entertaining. The funniest moments have Bones chasing James, who is having some strange symptoms, around the ship.
Star Trek is set sometime in the future when space travel is common. A few different star dates are mentioned, though I have absolutely no clue how far in the future they are supposed to be. The space travel and futuristic things in the movie all seem believable and add elements of science fiction to the movie. I can’t remember for sure, but I think there were more technical and scientific terms used in the previous movies and shows. The fact that there isn’t as much science in the movie may disappoint some of the long term Trek fans. Special effects are used throughout the movie and I think they were very well done, making everything going on look believable.
I remember James as a bit of a womanizer throughout the original series. That is sort of back in Star Trek, though there isn’t much attention given to that aspect of his character. He tries to hit on Uhura when they first meet in a bar. After being in Starfleet with her for a few years, he still tries to hit on her at times and keeps trying to get her to tell him her first name. He is befuddled when he discovers who she is actually interested in. During one scene, James is shown with another woman in Starfleet who must be some kind of alien since she is green. Both of them show a lot of skin during the scene since they are in their underwear. They are interrupted before things go any further, so there aren’t any sex scenes in the movie. Uhura is shown in her bra and panties briefly as well. There isn’t any actual nudity in the movie.
All the main characters from the original series and movies are shown in this one along with several characters that I haven’t heard of before. I don’t remember much about most of the characters other than their names. James Kirk is smart but he has been a rebel while growing up, which gets him into trouble more than once. He has some issues related to his father that he is still trying to deal with. He has a bit of a carefree attitude, even in serious situations at Starfleet. He also is a bit arrogant at times. He is an interesting character and I think that Chris Pine handled the part well.
James and Dr. Leonard McCoy - Bones - meet when the two men are joining the Starfleet. Bones is not exactly happy to be joining, but he feels like it is his only option. He and James quickly become friends. Bones has a tendency to overreact at times and he really doesn’t like space, which may be why he tends to be rather grumpy. I didn’t recognize Karl Urban in the part. Hikaru Sulu is the pilot and he has some fighting abilities. John Cho is fine in the part. Pavel Chekov had something to do with the control of the ship. He was doing a lot of complex math to figure out different things. I really didn’t remember anything about Sulu and Chekov from the original show beyond their names.
Uhura deals with communications and knows numerous languages. She is very intelligent and she isn’t impressed by James. Zoe Saldana is good in the part. Montgomery Scotty is only around in a few scenes, though he does some important things in those scenes. Scotty seems happy to be on the ship and he’s enjoying himself even in dangerous situations. I really liked Simon Pegg in the part. I haven’t heard of Christopher Pike, the Captain of the U.S.S. Enterprise, before so I’m not sure if he’d been mentioned before or not. He is the man who gets James to join the academy. Bruce Greenwood is fine in the part.
I think I remember the most about Spock, most of which came from Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. Spock has a lot of conflict within himself because of being half human, something other Vulcans see as a weakness. Spock tries to control his emotions, but every so often they come out. His is very intelligent and tries to remain logical at all times. Spock gets the chance to use the Vulcan salute, mind meld, and nerve pinch throughout the movie. He also has the chance to say one or two things that became standard lines for Spock. Zachary Quinto is good in the part. He really looks like the character as well, something that can’t be said for the rest of the cast. Spock’s parents, Sarek and Amanda Grayson are in a few scenes. Because of the altered timeline that is created, Leonard Nimoy is also in the movie as the older Spock, or Spock Prime as he is identified in the credits.
Nero, a Romulan who has intense hatred for Spock, is the villain of the movie. His motivation is explained and it does make sense and give a reason for why certain things happened. Nero isn’t shown in much of the movie, so he isn’t as developed as he could have been. He is not a nice character. At one point, Nero does something as part of his interrogation that reminded me of something from Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. Eric Bana was great in the part. I didn’t recognize him because of the makeup for his character. The other Romulans on the ship with Nero aren’t shown enough to stand out. I don’t remember hearing names for most of them. The younger versions of James and Spock help to add to the development of the characters even though they aren’t around much.
Main Cast
Eric Bana - Nero
John Cho - Hikaru Sulu
Ben Cross - Sarek
Bruce Greenwood - Captain Christopher Pike
Leonard Nimoy - Spock Prime
Simon Pegg - Montgomery Scotty
Chris Pine - James T. Kirk
Zachary Quinto - Spock
Winona Ryder - Amanda Grayson
Zoe Saldana - Uhura
Karl Urban - Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy
Anton Yelchin - Pavel Chekov
J.J. Abrams - Director
Star Trek is a fun, entertaining movie that successfully restarts a popular series. I don’t doubt that it is the first of several new Trek movies. Long time Trek fans may be bothered by some changes, but I think they worked for the movie and opened up some interesting possibilities. I think this movie can appeal to Trek fans and people new to the series.
Recommended:
Yes
|
|
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.