Star Trek (PG-13)

Mike:      

Mike: Tonight I am reviewing Star Trek, the eleventh film in the 43 year old science fiction franchise.

Scott couldn’t join me, because he is reviewing Next Day Air.

Finally a movie that is as good as I hoped it would be after watching the trailers.I thought this was another worthy reboot of the same caliber of the Batman and James Bond movies. This movie has action, humor, drama and even a little bit of romance. This movie is tense and will have you realizing you are gripping the theater armrests just a little too tightly. This movie is in the mold of last year’s Iron Man. Basically it’s a comic book type story that combines action, good acting, good writing, great special effects and an actual story.

If you have read our reviews before, you will know that I am a Trekkie from way back so this review may be a little biased. There are no doubt those fans that think that any change to the old formula is akin to sacrilege. Like the aforementioned movie series, Star Trek was in need of a reboot. The filmmakers were smart enough to realize that the original series was what everyone wanted to see, but unfortunately the original actors are either too old or not even around anymore. The writers have come up with a time travel conceit that allows us to see our old favorites in their younger days, but allows them to make some changes. To be honest making a prequel type story that neatly put all the jigsaw pieces together would frankly have been a bit boring. If you don’t believe me just watch any of the three Star Wars prequels.

Newcomers Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto lead the cast as James Kirk and Spock respectively. Both of them nail the essence of the characters without doing imitations of William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy. They both are obviously familiar with their work and so we see some familiar mannerisms that make us feel that these guys are familiar. The rest of the cast is rounded out with actors that look vaguely familiar. McCoy is played to a T by Karl Urban (Lord of the Rings). Scotty “is givin’ it all I got Cap’an” through Simon Pegg (Shaun of the Dead). Confident swordsman Sulu is John Cho (Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle). Zoe Saldana’s (Pirates of the Caribbean) Uhura may have more to do in this movie than poor Nichelle Nichols got in 79 episodes. Oh and did I mention that she is very sexy? Chekov is actually played by a Russian this time by Anton Yelchin (Charlie Bartlett). Of course the bonus is that Leonard Nimoy appears as Spock. As always, it’s great to see him.

The other two actors that must be mentioned are Bruce Greenwood as Captain Christopher Pike and Eric Bana as Romulan villain Nero. Pike is the leader that puts this new team together and then gets out of the way and lets this next generation show their stuff. Nero is a villain very much in the Khan mold. He is out for revenge and he is vicious. In fact there are a number of references to Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, a movie that is generally considered to be the best of the bunch. From critters that make you talk when ingested to the infamous Kobyashi Maru no-win scenario.

Director JJ Abrams of Lost and Alias fame is no dummy. He admits to not being a Trekkie growing up, but he knows enough to put Star Trek fanatics in charge of the script. Abrams go to guys Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman mix a great blend of familiar and unexplored ground to create a new concoction that should please long time fans and casual viewers alike. All three of these guys seem to know what audiences will instinctively like and then go ahead and give it to us.

What did I think?

If you don’t know, then you must have skipped the review and come straight to the last paragraph. I give this a 4.5 overall and a 5 for a Star Trek film. Live Long and Prosper Y’all.

Official Site

Director: J.J. Abrams

Actors: John Cho, Ben Cross, Bruce Greenwood, Simon Pegg, Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Winona Ryder, Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban, Anton Yelchin, Eric Bana, Leonard Nimoy

Writers: Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman

Runtime: 127 minutes


Theatrical Release Date: May. 8, 2009


DVD Release Date: Nov. 16, 2009