I just got back from the much-hyped reboot of the tired and sullen Star Trek franchise, which ended choking on its own fumes of self-importance and boredom with its last film called Nemesis. The new Star Trek is faster, funnier, and fresher than anything I could have imagined. The casting is note-perfect, the story is engaging, and the effects are top-notch. You could not have asked for a better summer action film. The crowd was really into it as well, and we all had a blast. It was a bit disconcerting to see a geeky young woman around 20 shaking and clapping every 5 minutes or so, a “geekgasm” is not as exciting as it sounds, trust me. If only I could get close enough to do Spock’s vulcan grip I could have knocked her out, saving her the embarrassment and regret she will feel one day for acting like such a tool.
This Trek takes us back to the boyhood of the future James Kirk and Spock. A wonderful early sequence has a little Kirk in a stolen car being chased by an intergalactic cop to a Beastie Boys tune. Years later at Starfleet Academy Kirk (played with charisma and smarm to spare by Chris Pine) and Spock (a perfectly cast Zachary Quinto of Heroes) meet and clash over ideas and “logic”, and how things should be done. After a devastating attack on his home planet of Vulcan, Spock and Kirk go after a vengeful Romulan named Nero (a menacing Eric Bana) who wants to destroy Spock’s planet due to an age-old vendetta. Bana stalks around his gothic ship like a thug out of a Road Warrior flick. The rest of the cast has a lot of fun and Simon Pegg (Shaun of the Dead) is a very funny standout as Scotty. An important and knowing cameo by Leonard Nimoy adds weight to the film and the production design is first-rate, especially the gothic and impressive Romulan ship.
Star Trek is a quickly paced two hours at the movies. It’s easily the best Star Trek film in light years and with its fresh take on old characters, it feels like the Batman Begins of the franchise. We’ll see if the sequel can be its own Dark Knight.
Movie Grade: A-
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Circus80
May 8, 2009 -
I enjoyed the movie very much, too. I was expecting it to only be okay, but I was surprised by how good it was. I particularly liked the trademark character one liners and
the original series theme at the end credits. Good action sequences, too. Overall, a really good and fun movie to see. 🙂
Charles
May 9, 2009 -
Great review. The emphasis on “anything you could imagine” is important. Whatever you imagine, it’s better than that. I couldn’t agree more.
Cricket
May 10, 2009 -
I was going to watch it tonight but they wouldn’t take passes. I’ll wait until next week to watch it =(