Star Trek

I might see it again when it comes out on DVD and will probably watch it when it's on TV, but not about to see it in theaters again or buy the DVD.

but I am a genre purist - not just a franchise purist. If they want to make it "Trek", the soul of "Trek" must be there. Not just the copyrighted images and character names. Same for any other series, if somebody wants to revive it for modern or future audiences. That is the one thing that MUST remain true. Otherwise it's not worth the time or effort.

As a generic action movie, it's great. But then, generic action movies are a dime per dozen and offer nothing substantial.

As sci-fi it's pretty good -- the time travel bit isn't bad and in some ways is clever, given what they're trying to do (though it's reminiscent of the Voyager series finale only not as cornily optimistic)...

As Trek? It isn't.

Would you be willing to define what the "soul of Trek" is?

Flying through space while sitting in a barcalounger in front of a big screen TV while a cute blonde in a miniskirt waits on you hand and foot.

It was light years ahead of its time.

would truly be where no man has gone before.

The script could have been tighter (another film that came out of the oven too early because of the WGA strike) and the jokes were very broad and didn't all land.

On the whole, though, it felt fresh, which is not something I thought I'd ever say about Star Trek again. The cast was terrific and all found their own readings on the parts (which was by no means a given), the FX were spectacular and too much to take in at one viewing, the pacing and editing were deliciously brisk, and it had so much of the angry, horny, clumsy, drunken, impertinent passion of TOS that it was hard to resist. I'm going again next week.

"You okay, Jim? How do you feel?"

"Young. I feel young."

If you can get your mind around the classic characters not looking like themselves (which was a bit of a mental stretch for me, admittedly), it's a fantastic movie that hits every correct note. Lots of references to past incidents, significant quotes, and familiar character interactions, plus of course some new twists. During the first half or so of the movie I found myself comparing what I was seeing with what I remembered from the classic episodes, and thinking "No, that can't happen, that doesn't work, because in fact we know this-and-such happened...." but I was accepting it as a reboot of sorts and wouldn't let it ruin my enjoyment of the movie. But lest you think they've totally botched the continuity, don't be - it's explained, and everything fits, and all the discord was resolved.

Of the new actors, Kirk and Chekov look least like "themselves", but I was able to live with it. The others are dead-on.

I read one review a while back that called this movie the best one since "Wrath of Khan." I'm inclined to agree. I won't post spoilers, but if you're at all a Star Trek fan, don't miss this!


Okay, two tiny sort-of mini-spoilers:


(spoiler space)





















Look for the incident that mirrors the "transparent aluminum" bit in Star Trek IV. Just a cute little tribute to times past, if you catch it, though it does set up a small temporal paradox. Who really discovered the formula?

And

While I already knew Uhura's first name (from Nichelle Nichols herself, no less), I didn't know how Bones got the name Bones - and here we finally see where that came from.

Space










the








final







frontier






I caught the transparent aluminum bit, and loved it immediately. My brother, not as big a Trek fan as I am, missed it, but understood the reference when we were talking about the movie on the way home.

Another reference in the same bit to Admiral Archer's prized beagle. I loved that, and it got a few knowing laughs from the audience.

Took a while to quit expecting to see the Original Series cast, though!

Quinto and Pine were very believable, though Quinto was a shade better as Spock. Pine had a lot of Kirk's swagger as the film progressed.

Sulu, McCoy, Chekov and Scotty characters were pretty fun. Nimoy still has it as the older Spock.

The Spock/Uhuru relationship was kind of odd and Bana as the bad guy was a pretty lame villian. Khan would beat his ass without breaking a sweat.
The planet Vulcan scenario was pretty jarring.

And the FX were just fair, IMO. I think a lot of the FX on the ST TV shows are far better! Way too fast moving in this film. Nothing wrong with
slowing them down, like in the first film ST: The Motion Picture.

B+ to an A- for my rating.