It's probably been the most eagerly anticipated movie to come to theaters in 2009 and it's here - Star Trek. Released just last week, it's been the subject of intense discussion by Trek fans and nonfans alike. And why not? This is the first Trek of any kind since the end of Enterprise in 2005(?). At this time, the concept had grown so stale that the franchise already had one foot in the grave and the other foot on it's way.
Enter J. J. Abrams, the mastermind behind the hit TV show "Lost". He had been given charge of the franchise. His task - to relaunch the franchise with fresh life while keeping the best of what everyone knew.
Last Tuesday, I went and saw the movie. Let's just say that Abrams succeeds in giving Trek new life.
Here's a point by point look at key features of the movie...
- Plot - two stories are at play here. First is the maiden voyage of the Enterprise (NCC 1701, no bloddy A, B, C, or D) with the crew we have come to love coming together for the first time. Second is a story of revenge from the key villian of the movie. He achieves his goal in a big way.
- Canon - Abrams & Co. has tried to maintain 43 years of established Trek history. Movie viewers will notice some changes and that is nicely explained.
- Characters - a fresh take on characters we've known over the last 43 years. Kirk - a strong rebellious nature we never saw before. Spock - still struggling with his Vulcan / human heritage. McCoy - viewers know right away who they're watching. Scotty - as an eager young engineer who's still working out a few bugs. Sulu - still wet behind the ears but his love of fencing comes out. Chekov - that Russian accent is overdone and almost annoying. Uhura - never looked better in her undies and bra.
- USS Enterprise - 1701 really started to look ancient even compared with it's predecessor, the NX-01. The ship, and any Federation ship, looked great. I would love to see some pics of the entire bridge.
- Nice touches - Leonard Nimoy, who plays a key role as old Spock. Much more than a cameo appearance. Majel Barrett also voices the Enterprise computer one last time, as she passed away just after it was announced that she provided the voice over. Watching the credits at the end, look for the tributes to Gene & Majel.
- Nitpick - Ken Jennings (game show legend) bought this up in his own blog entry about the movie, where in Iowa does one find a deep vast canyon like the one where the Corvette goes over the cliff.
- What next? (aka the future) - There have been some timeline changes. What does that mean for worlds and people encountered in the original series and movies? And what about the 24th Century? Everything is wide open now.
All in all, this was a fun movie to watch. I'm going to say that there is a little something here for everyone.
Grade - A+, the best Trek I've seen in some time.
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