David O'Connell
Star Trek
April 7th 2009 23:13
Over the years, the Star Trek franchise has been overshadowed by the more aggressive Star Wars campaign, even though most adults would concede that George Lucas and his chuckling team of animators have butchered our memories, then served them to us at exorbitant rates.
As a result, the popularity of Star Trek has withered in recent times, with the interest in the perplexing array of television series evaporating into the ether. On the cinematic front, only "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan" seems to garner any critical acclaim.
It's with great surprise - and delight - that I freely admit that I loved "Star Trek", the new reimagining by J.J. Abrams. It's a rousing action-packed sci-fi adventure, but with enough grit and determination to bring the franchise back on its feet.
Abrams is a director that continues to raise my expectations - with "Star Trek", he brought a terrific cast of actors that not only live up to their campy 60s counterparts, but seem to add depth and conflict in all of them. Chris Pine plays James Kirk, a brawling, hot-headed cadet with the temerity and fortitude to leap out of spacecraft and fight with much bigger enemies. His counterpart is Spock, played by Zachary Quinto, logical and calm on the surface, but a bubbling storm of conflict playing beneath.
Faithful readers of the site will recognize that I'm not easily impressed by action/adventure movies, and that I often roll my eyes at the terrible dialogue and the dull, overextended action scenes. I maintain that a decent action movie has not come my way for a really long time.
"Star Trek" delivered on all fronts, though... I was swept away, caught up in the action, even though I was high up in the Sydney Opera House for the premiere of the film. Spatially disconnected, I was wrapped in celluloid fantasies of a galaxy populated by push-and-pull races of aliens and mysterious artifacts.
Perhaps one reason that Star Wars always fared better than Star Trek is that, whereas Star Trek was always meant to be about exploration and diplomacy, Star Wars eschewed those concepts in favour of lightsaber duels with obvious villains. While the new film is still faithful to the original concept, it's been ramped up, showing the audience what it might be like to be caught in the fever of battle, a perilous mission in the face of fear.
More reading:
I sat with Sydney's hardest working blogger, Neerav Bhatt, and his review tells you what he didn't like as well.
I say: "Star Trek" manages to bring heavy action to a tired franchise, without stripping away the complexities of the original. This is an enjoyable film - sci fi fans will love it, and regular audiences will get caught up.
See it for: The cast - Eric Bana, John Cho, Simon Pegg. Even Winona Ryder makes an appearance as Spock's mother!
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Comment by jon
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What was the crowd like at the Opera House?
Comment by Mr Nice Guy
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While I hate to admit it - I'm a tragic when it comes to the original - even named a cat we adopted many years ago 'Spock' - how sad is that?
Appreciate the review - yours are one of the few I put any credence in.
Comment by Wilson Pon
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I'm expecting this is going to be one of my favorite film in 2009!
Comment by The Rusty Can
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I've never been a Star Trek fan, but I was blown away by the trailer. It's great that you've given such a positive review and good to know that it's not all drawn-out action and dismal dialogue (thinking about Star Wars and rolling my eyes big time).
What did you think of Eric Bana's performance by the way?
Comment by Cibbuano
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MNG, I'm not much for the big action pics, but this was really enjoyable. Go see it and let me know what you think!
Wilson, Quinto was great... I think Abrams brought out the best in all the actors...
Rusty, I think Bana is a terrific actor, and he definitely dominates the screen here. Unfortunately, we don't really get a sense of his character - a necessary evil, as the time is spent on Kirk and Spock...
Comment by Lady Henrietta Muddling
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I just can't get into Star Wars or Star Trek. I drove taxis for too long.
Comment by Cibbuano
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Spike - overly dramatic? Yes, well, it'll have that, naturally. I'm not sure a big picture like this can avoid that. But I thought it avoided many of typical saccharine moments that you might expect...
Damo - see it and let me know what you think!
Comment by Bryn
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How does Leonard Nimoy's Spock feature? Is it him having a flashback???
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Comment by Cibbuano
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matt - definitely go see this. Looking forward to your review...
journey - you were at the premiere? Did you like it? JJ Abrams is surprisingly funny, eh?
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But of course, the best part of the evening was the movie itself - an absolute winner in every sense, in my opinion.
Comment by Lilla
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As an avid sci~fi fan and kid who grew up with Jim Kirk and Crew like they were family, (probably more so than my real one), I would be a liar if I didn*t mention how hesitant I am at going to see this one for that reason. Suspending preconception is not always an easy task. However, your review has rekindled some courage in this trekkie and I may just take the plunge, just to see what Kirk was like during his academy days?
Hmmm . . . I bet he was a wild boy at that
Lilla ..
Comment by Janet Collins
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Your review sounds as if it really is worth a look and there probably is a whole generation out there who have missed out on the whole Star Trek thing. For me, I'm just not into sci-fi anymore.
Comment by Journeywoman
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I've included some in-depth coverage of the story, for anyone who's interested.
(btw Cib - this attests to your popularity!)
Comment by SpikeTheLobster
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Headed over for a read now, Journey...
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I have had serious reservtions aboutthis one on many levels....the name JJ Abrahms strikes fear of redundancy into my cold vulcan heart...your review jhowever is encouraging
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Saw the U.S premiere the other night and a review will be on my site in a couple of hours...great action, comedy, sci fi smothered with in-jokes.
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Johnny, looking forward to it!
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I've never been a Star Trek fan but this movie has me converted. Great story, good mixture of comedy, action, suspense and character drama - loved it - give it a 10/10!
Comment by Cibbuano
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I saw it AGAIN last night on IMAX - I thought the screen was too big, and the action was difficult to discern....
Comment by Anonymous
HAHAHAHAHA just kidding! Star Trek is AMAZING!
First of all, the AWESOME special effects and CGI (I guess) in the beginning. The ship is so awesome it drags you in. Then the conflict with George. Brilliant.
As you go through the film, you get the heavy dose of visuals that stomp all other Star Trek movies or television series, but along the way this intricate and conflicting plot evolves.
The best part is, of course, where the "Future" Spock fits in. I love how Nero is forced to wait 25 years, but Spock goes through instantly. It reminds me of the Uncertainty Principle. Overall I'd say the pure science is a step up from what we've seen from Star Trek. They even mention that it isn't the OBJECT that moves, but rather it is space itself, which totally helps the whole problem of violating the postulate of relativity that the speed of light is the universal speed limit (in minkowski spacetime, that is... = tangent) . That they attempted to cleverly explain these things that seem impossible certainly added to it.
But really, the visuals and the plot combine to form pure Awesome.
BRILLIANT from top to bottom. And having Simon Pegg really adds an additional colorful twist. I think Leonard McCoy as he was portrayed was also a welcomed touch.
Seriously... WATCH THIS FILM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Comment by GreenGuava
Tasked with reinvigorating the ailing Star Trek franchise (which last had a cinema release over seven years ago with Star Trek: Nemesis), Abrams along with screenwriters Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman were faced with the difficult task of keeping the exisiting Star Trek fan base happy as well as creating a movie which would appeal to the general public. Having experienced the movie twice, I must say that the trio of Abrams, Orci and Kurtzman have achieved this with aplomb!
Every aspect of the film, from the characters, to the sets and even to the look of the Starship Enterprise has been refreshed with a great new look whilst retaining the essence of their their past iterations. The story will appeal to fans as well as being structured in such a way as to allow those without any prior knowledge of Star Trek to easily get a grasp of the core group of characters, the relationships between them, and the story at hand.
In mentioning the cast, the two stand-outs in this movie must be Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto in their respective depictions of Kirk and Spock. Overall, the cast for this film was quite well selected, with most of the core characters upholding the personas of their characters as established in previous Star Trek productions, whilst adding their own personal touches to make the roles their own. Seeking Leonard Nimoy reprise his role as Spock on the big screen was also a great thing to see. As always, his screen presence and professionalism shone through admirably.
To raise a slight negative in regards to characterisation, I would have preferred to have seen more substance and screentime for Chekov and Scotty. Personally I did get the slight feeling that there was a greater focus on these two characters as comedic relief than was necessary, though to be fair, Abrams and co did fairly well as it is given the restraints they undoubtedly were working with (ie the need to establish the backstory of Kirk and Spock, coupled with the introduction and development of the other core cast, as well as establishing and maintaining the flow of the story).
One other criticism would also have to go to the characterization of Uhura. Without offering any details which might spoil the movie for those who have not had the chance to watch it, although she received quite a bit of screentime, I felt her character could have been built upon a bit more. Also, I dislike the direction Abrams and co have taken in regards to Uhura and her relationships with other members of the Enterprise crew.
In regards to the story, Abrams has done a marvelous job in giving the viewer a sufficient introduction and background to all the major characters, as well as creating an easy to follow and interesting story which would appeal to fans and the masses alike. Considerable effort has also been put into in maintaining the 'treknology' aspects which is such a core feature of Star Trek (ie jargon, technical aspects etc) and although there are aspects which diehard fans will take issue with, I felt as though Abrams and co successfully struck a fine balance in keeping the fans interested and not confusing newcomers to Star Trek.
The CGI and action sequences in this movie are top notch and really add to the overall 'Trek' feel of the movie. The sight of the redesigned Enterprise with it's lights and deflector dish ablaze set against the darkness of space is really something to behold. One thing I did find though was that the action sequences do move very fast and lots of camera cuts back and forth, so it can be difficult to follow the action at times.
Overall, it was an absolute pleasure to watch Star Trek, and it was even better to see the Star Trek franchise muster up something of this quality on the big screen once again. Regardless of whether you are a fan of Star Trek or not, I'm fairly sure most people will be able to walk away from the movie thoroughly entertained. Whilst we all wait for the sequel to (hopefully) come out, if you haven't already seen it, go see it now!
Rating: 9/10
Comment by Fadi Ali
You might be one of the ones who missed the StarTrek Saga and have considered it too old to watch. You might also be one of the ones who are fed up of non-sense movies hitting the cinemas these recent months.
StarTrek has the PERFECT mix of SciFi action and Special Effects, it has funny scenes and dramatic scenes. The mix was perfect. It has been a long time since a worthy movie hit the cinemas and I would say StarTrek is very worthy.
I am not a StarTrek Saga Fan, I might have only watched one or two episodes more than 10 years ago, but rating the movie from a non-fan point of view, I would say 9/10.
So in Conclusion, StarTrek was a Terrific Film!, you don't have to have watched any before to enjoy the movie. If you are a fan of SciFi or just a fan of high quality movies then hit the cinemas and give this movie a go. You want regret it.