J.J. Abrams, live long and prosper.
Before I bore you with all my writing here on CFC, let me clarify that “Star Trek” is good… So good, in fact, to be hailed by me as the best movie this year so far. Now, if you haven’t yer run to the theater to see it, let me now clarify to you why I stay firm to my opinion on that matter.
While other blockbusters this year have surprised me time and again, J.J. Abrams “Star Trek” manages to round everything up into 140 minutes of awesomeness that leaves you wanting more and more. It is one of those movies that you wish didn’t have an ending.
It isn’t a sequel… It isn’t a prequel either. “Star Trek” is a reboot with room for re-imagining of the Star Trek universe, not ignoring all the TV Series and Feature Films released in the past, while at the same time giving it breathing room for a whole new experience. The plot might seem complicated at times, but somehow screenwriters Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman manage to pull you back into the storyline constantly, and while revealing anything would spoil a great deal, it’s enough to say that, when you travel back in time, you can change the future in any way you want. From that premise, this new “Star Trek” allows itself a great number of surprises that don’t offend fans of the classics and keeps those new to the franchise (yours truly included) interested.
The cast is brilliant, naturally with Chris Pine as Jim Kirk and Zachary Quinto as Spock standing out. But the supporting roles, including Leonard Nimoy, his old role as Spock as well (time travel), support the main characters wonderfully. The cast seems well integrated into the story, and at the core of it, which is the development of Spock and Kirk’s friendship, the movie already shines due to Pine’s and Quinto’s dedication to their roles. Eric Bana is a kick-ass, memorable vilain as captain Nero… Something that sets the darker, epic tone of the adventure. Special mention is duly given to Karl Urban, who is absolutely amazing as Leonard “Bones” McCoy and Winona Ryder, who looks fantastic as Amanda Grayson (Spock’s human mother). Oh, and Zoë Saldana looks hot.
But PLEASE, PLEASE, don’t listen to critics who say that this movie is good because it has good character development but lacks action. For christ-sakes, shit blows up every five minutes!!! Are these people crazy??? “Star Trek” is a constant roller-coaster ride, and it isn’t good, it is AMAZING because it features awesome action sequences blended into the epic story and the fantastic character development. And by epic I mean that “Star Trek” has enough scale to dwarf any other iteration of the series by a light-year. We were already flabergasted with the first half-hour, introduction of the characters, story set-up, etc. But after we see the USS Enterprise for the first time, we know we’re in for a treat. The revelation of the Enterprise is sure to stick with you for the following days, and it sets the tone and scale of the rest of movie, as well as a benchmark for other blockbusters hitting the silver-screen this year. Describing it really lacks a better word than amazing, both for geeks and “regular” people alike.
The thing with “Star Trek” is that it starts awesome, shifts into second gear, and with every act, every new character, every revelation, it just keeps getting better and better until it ends. The costumes are an homage to the Gene Roddenberry classic, but don’t look tacky, the characters are all there, but somehow develop themselves differently due to the new parallel storyline that is being set-up, and the action is not silly, but amazing nonetheless. Next to me was a friend who is an insane Trekkie, and he was as amazed as I was, so it must mean something. Why is “Star Trek” the best movie so far this year for me? Because in every aspect I can think of, it absolutely rocks… And that is all a movie should need.
[starreviewmulti id=1]
Popularity: 12%
Out of this world
The Trek is back in a bombastic thrill ride of an adventure. Fans of the original series (like me) won’t be disappointed as indeed the reboot was handled very skillfully. Trekkie geek shame is a thing of the past. And I loved that there were people in the audience dressed up as characters from “DS9″ or “Star Trek Voyager” or some other franchise. Live long and dress up.
There is action (tons of it, stuff blows up every couple of seconds), adventure (well, it takes place I space – take that video pirates, it just does not work on youtube!) and even a little unexpected romance that puts things in a whole other perspective. J.J. Abrams is a master at keeping viewers glued to stories that make no sense and this movie is no exception. The plot is confusing at times but there is always a character present who can sum it up “bite-size” for the overexposed. Eric Bana is a great vengeful villain and the way the crew forms is exciting to watch. Especially seeing the Kirk/Spock budding bromance blossoming is a treat. There is just the right amount of comedy, references and adventure. I like the fact that Captain James Tiberius Kirk gets constantly choked and thrown off things. That Spock showed more than a little emotion. Checkov’s accent. Uhura’s attitude. Bone’s haircut. Live long and love it.
Boldly taking you where no movie has gone before this year. Perfect popcorn movie. Can’t wait for the sequel. Live long, start writing and prosper.