Was there a Gorn fight? No, but I'll restrain myself and not hold that against the movie.All things considered, the new Star Trek is a truly epic movie. I loved every minute of it, and I really think that you will too. This is easily the most public-friendly Star Trek movie since The Voyage Home (AKA the one with the whales). You don't have to know jack about the Star Trek universe to understand the film, though there are dozens of little tidbits thrown in for those of us who have a better understanding of the border disputes between the Federation and the Cardassians on Setlik III than any real world political situation.
I didn't think that I'd truly buy the new cast. Oh sure, I figured they'd be fine actors, but I thought that I'd constantly be comparing them to the originals. But after a few minutes, you completely believe that Chris Pine is a young Captain James T. Kirk. He even beds an green Orion girl. Despite his public reputation, Kirk never actually did hit on any Orion Slave Girls in the TV series, so new Kirk already has one up on Kirk Prime.
The new movie doesn't completely disregard the old Star Trek universe. Nero, the primary villain, is a Romulan from the future in the original universe (like the timeframe of The Next Generation movies or thereabouts). The Romulan sun goes supernova and obliterates Romulus. Nero happens to be near the black hole that was created by the star's explosion and is sent back in time. He's really jacked that the Federation did nothing to help the Romulans, and he's going to take his revenge by blowing shit up real good. Meanwhile, someone else from the original timeline (a fairly well-known someone) has traveled back in time to help defeat Nero.
The dialogue offers a lot of very clever and funny bits. Bones and Scotty are particularly hilarious, and they even manage to make fun of Chekov's inability to pronounce the letter "V" (a dilemma that Batmite will sympathize with, I'm sure).
The movie has a relentless pace, which is both a plus and a minus. On the one hand, there is never a dull moment, so if you're checking your watch at any point, then you're either in the wrong theater or suffering from some serious OCD. However, the fast pacing of the movie also keeps the emotional impact of some moments from being fully realized, and Nero's motivations are occassionally glossed over. For instance, I don't think that the inital "planet-shattering" distress call early in the movie builds the tension as well as it should; however, the payoff to this part of the movie is phenominal so I can deal. Also, if you have a problem with spinning and hand-held camera shots, you may want to bring a vomit bag. It's not that distracting, but it's noticable enough that I could imagine some people being sensitive to it. This is, after all, the same director who brought us Cloverfield.
The audience wasn't quite the cavalcade of costumed freakdom that I'd been hoping for, but they certainly didn't seem out of place at a Star Trek screening. One gentleman several rows behind me looked like a Klingon in human form - complete with a burly beard and long flowing locks. The only person in costume was one guy that I saw entering the theater just as I was leaving. He was wearing an old school Captain's uniform as his shirt with faded blue jeans. I commended this man's half-assed commitment to his ensemble. It's like he said to himself, "I'll wear the Captain's tunic complete with rank insignia and Starfleet logo, but I'll be damned if I'm going to wear the black pants and boots. I still have my dignity!"
While waiting for the movie to start, I heard the general plot summary to the next movie that I have to see. As the gentleman behind me explained to his friend on the phone, a humanoid alien played by the guy who played Jesus in The Passion of the Christ comes to Earth to join forces with Vikings to take down an alien creature from the future. Is there anything in that description that doesn't sound sweet? By Googling "aliens" "vikings" and "space," I was able to determine that the movie is called Outlander. This B-movie is definitely going on my A-shelf next to Santa Claus Conquers the Martians and Death Bed: The Bed That Eats.
But that's a movie for another post. For the time being, do yourself a huge favor and buy a ticket to the new Star Trek movie. They won't make another movie for me unless enough of you go see this one. And in this case, the needs of the one outweigh the needs of the many.
----------------------------------
"My ship, whom I love like a woman, is disabled."
3 comments:
El Hijo and I saw this movie the other day.
It was Teh Awesome! I was really impressed at how they had woven aspects of the old series into this movie. It was really good.
I know. They really nailed a lot of it. They alluded to some obscure stuff too. McCoy's ex-wife is only mentioned I think once in passing in a single episode, and they use that to give him the backstory for his nickname (which was never once mentioned in the old series). Loved that part.
I liked the green girl as Uhura's roommate. And her romance with Spock was a twist, to say the least.
Post a Comment