To boldly go where… several movies have gone before?

The new Star Trek film is blasting into theaters, almost literally. There have been plenty of Trek movies, derived from the original television series or its various spin-offs, but this new film is stepping outside the realm of continuing a TV show.  This Trek film fits into the action movie trend, with loud noises, fast-moving (almost too fast to see) vehicles, lots of explosions, and popular music played over action sequences. (The Beastie Boys’ “Sabotage” is used here in the case of a car chase, for example.) The film, as an action movie, which requires a brain turn-off and a bucket of popcorn, works just fine. There’s a villain, loud noises, battles, and the aforementioned pop songs.  So, if that’s what you came for, you’ll walk away happy.

The tone of Star Trek is based upon, well, almost in-action. The most powerful scenes from Star Trek films and shows are based upon logic, emotion, politics, morals, and – you get the idea. Captains Kirk, Picard, and so forth solved their problems by deducing, not destroying. Violence, as a last resort, never resulted in a victory – it just made the friends of your enemies angrier. Revenge, I suppose, is the issue with this Star Trek. Nero, a Romulan in command of a massive, spiked ship, has come from the future (where else?) to exact revenge on Starfleet – and Spock in particular. His plan: Destroy some planets, upset Spock, and… okay, he didn’t say what he’d do after that. Our heroes plan to stop him, of course. Our heroes, in this case, are a pre-TV series (not-yet Captain) Kirk, Spock, McCoy, and the gang. This film appears to explain how our crew came together, and it wasn’t exactly the happy-go-lucky team-up you’d expect. In fact, Kirk and Spock meet in a quasi-court room (presided over by a very unlikely judge – one who’s usually seen in older women’s clothes) on opposite ends of an argument. From there, their relationship only grows colder, literally. Kirk ends up on an ice planet, as a result of Spock, and Kirk’s left to fend for himself against various monsters, until he’s saved by… well, if I told you, you wouldn’t believe me.

And so, the usual action movie formula kicks in, and heroes have to band together to stop the one-dimensional villain from destroying the world. That probably sounds like a giant negative, but it’s not – Star Trek handles that formula just fine, and the result is fun to watch (Even if Eric Bana’s performance, under all that makeup, isn’t.). The only negative I can think of (besides an extremely cliché slow-motion dive out of a careening car by a very young James T. Kirk), is that the film should have been above such things. But, there’s certainly nothing wrong with a very polished blow-’em up.

Trek fans, I can’t speak for you, but time will tell if this film is really part of the franchise’s universe. Sure, it’s the same old characters (and one very familiar actor), and the logo is there, but… something was missing. A good example is Superman Returns – a film I enjoyed very much. I later realized that what I was enjoying was the old John Williams score, the Christopher Reeve-lookalike, and an overall slick reference to old movies I liked as a kid. I get the feeling that Trek fans may end up feeling the same. This isn’t the most terrible thing in the world, but it does raise the question: If this film was asked to stand on its on two legs, without the build-up and history provided by a 30-some year old franchise, would it hold up?

Rating: ★★½☆☆ 

Okay so I would like to put this little bit of fact out there for all of you who are reading this review…I have never seen anything Star Trek! Sorry, I know I know, its a classic, it was great, it actually looked stupid to me. I was into the Star Wars universe and saw nothing else at that time. Granted I was 2 or 3 while the show was on the boob tube.

With the above statement out of the way, I can honestly say I loved the newest reboot, reincarnation, prequel, whatever the hell you want to call it, of Star Trek. J.J. did an excellent job in bringing me into a universe I hadn’t set foot in prior to this film, and really exploring every little detail he could in the time he had.

Star Trek goes where I have never been before.

The back story, the current story, the time warps, the black holes, the immense sets, the beautiful CGI, what else can I tell you about it? It was a visually stunning film. It really was a great movie. Now, I am well aware that purists probably won’t like this as much as the next guy, but I must say I will be in line to buy this on Blu-Ray for myself this Christmas for sure.

The movie starts out showing us the person that George Kirk was. He was an honorable captain for the federation and save many lives including his only son James T Kirk. The beginning is the end for some amongst the Federation, but it’s also the beginning of who becomes James T Kirk, captain of the Enterprise.

The movie then jumps to the present, where we see a young Kirk being a complete ass. Bar fights, racing cars, trouble with the law. A kid who needs to be put straight by something or someone. After getting his ass kicked by a bunch of Federation Cadets, Kirk encounters Capt. Christopher Pike (played well by Bruce Greenwood). The two exchange a one-sided conversation about how Kirk could amount to something if he applied himself.

The story then turns down the path to Kirk, and we see what had to take place for the crew, classmates and others to respect him. We see a back story of Spock which was very well done, a story of growing up with a father in the public eye, a mother who was an outsider, a story that most folks could relate to. We follow both main characters through their younger years, through their turbulent times and into school and training. This is where the film really picks up speed.

The humor in this movie was the biggest surprise for me. Yes, there are the classic one-liners from you-know-who, the classic faces, jokes, etc., but even as a Star Trek noobie, it was a pretty damn funny film. I am not saying it’s a comedy by any means, but there were a few things that were said that I laughed out loud at, along with many other folks.

J.J. Abrams really has an eye for movie making and I love it. From Cloverfield to Star Trek, he has something special that I can’t quite put my finger on. From the visual effects to the camera angles to the cast and crew, it seems he has his stuff together.

As a completely new Star Trek fan, I would recommend this to anyone and everyone! The movie will be a sure hit and make the studios plenty of Benjamins.

Rating: ★★★★½ 

What did you all think? Let us know in the comments below.