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☆☆ 

I just don’t understand. Where are the seat belts? People getting thrown all over the main bridge of the ship every time a space torpedo hits. You’d think someone would come up with a space restraint that protects without chafing… The USS Enterprise doesn’t have any space restraints, but director J.J. Abrams does an incredible job of protecting the series without chafing fans by paying homage to Gene Roddenberry’s original vision even as he blows up your father’s Star Trek.

If you loved the original Star Trek, you’re going to love the relaunch of your favorite characters in a fresh perspective. If you’ve never seen any Star Trek before, you’re going to love a summer blockbuster that delivers across the board.

This movie is a two hour, jam packed, epic that doesn’t waste a minute with anything frivolous. When you’ve got the birth of Captain James T. Kirk (Chris Pine) with the childhood of Spock (Zachary Quinto -Heroes) and the back-story of Dr. ‘Bones’ McCoy’s (Karl Urban) sour attitude, on top of a time-traveling space baddy Romulan named Nero (Eric Bana), mixed in with new perspective on the size of the Enterprise, spaceship fighting and black holes – well, you better buckle up! I came out of the theater overstimulated. Between the IMAX screen and the amount of story told so masterfully, you won’t need coffee to keep you awake long into the night talking about your favorite scene.

The majority of the movie focuses in on the destruction of a planet and the attempts by the USS Enterprise to keep the same thing from happening to Earth. Unfortunately, there’s a gigantic Romulan mining ship that’s been retrofitted with enough firepower to take out as much of the fleet as the Federation is willing to throw at them. Nero’s been nursing a grudge against Spock since before this Spock was born and wants his revenge. But James Kirk and company are fresh from the Federation Academy and looking to test the capabilities of their Constitution-class ship. Getting there is going to require friendship to overcome the disdain and antagonism between Spock and Kirk.

This is a giant prequel that gets everything right. The supporting characters are fantastic. From some great action with a not-so-subdued Sulu (John Cho) to a smart and sexy Uhura (Zoe Saldana) and her love interests, engineer Scotty (Simon Pegg) says it all, in his deep Scottish accent, with the line “this ship is excitin!” But – his accent is second fiddle to navigator Chekov’s (Anton Yelchin) hilarious accent woes. Seriously, it gets me laughing every time I think about that scene.

The other character that needs to be mentioned is the future/original Spock played by the erstwhile Leonard Nimoy. This is some great writing that pulls everything together. When you hear his line to the new Spock, “Put aside logic, and do what feels right,” you almost wonder if it’s more of a blessing on this new adaptation than merely wise words to a young protege’.

If there’s anything to pick on at all, for me it was the scenes on Hoth, er, I mean, Delta Vega. That was the only time I felt the movie veered from ‘everything essential’ to ‘we need to add a monster chase scene for the kids.’ It’s not bad. And it sets up the encounter that ties it all together. But, my 13 year old son, who’s never seen Star Trek, looked at me and said, ‘Oh, it’s the old big monster gets eaten by a bigger monster chase scene.’

Despite that hiccup, I think this movie is going to be hard to top this summer. If it does, I guess it will be just another example of one big monster of a movie getting eaten by a bigger monster of a movie. And really, if that happens…we all win.

Rating: ★★★★½ 

Star Trek is the anti-Watchmen. Most of you will scratch your heads, but the two share much in common. Both were handled by directors whom the fans were either against or didn’t think could do it. Each property is hard science fiction that isn’t as accessible to the common folk as would be Batman or Star Wars. Where they begin to differ (aside from one being a comic and another a television show) is how Zack Snyder and J.J. Abrams approached their respective material. Snyder chose to honor the Watchmen novel as best he could without trying to alienate people who never read it. My thoughts on his masterpiece aside, the general audience didn’t take well to it. Enter J.J. Abrams who went for the opposite, and has crafted a Trek film made clearly with a Star Wars mentality but hoping to keep what was so loved about The Original Series.

As a film, J.J.’s Star Trek is one of the most entertaining films of the year. It’s thrilling, exciting and the cast gels perfectly together. Those afraid that something would be lost due to Abrams’ modernization of the material need not fear. There are some liberties taken (more later) but overall they honor what worked about the original series to craft a film that’s sure to get people watching the original crew’s adventures. The biggest reason Star Trek works is due to its leading man and, dare I say, Chris Pine is James Kirk to a T. His performance isn’t as comical as Shatner’s (no “we…must…GET over there”), in fact he makes the role his own. It’s a wonderful thing to watch as Pine battles wits with Spock or has his way with a certain green alien. I expected Simon Pegg to steal the show when in fact, this is Chris… no, KIRK’s film. There’s no denying Shatner will always be Captain James T. Kirk, but Pine deserves to be in the conversation with him. It’s tough coming up with words to describe how great he is so I’ll leave it to the audience to discover his brilliance this weekend.

Zachary Quinto’s Spock is another matter altogether. He was my biggest concern coming in after hearing reports he was dull but that’s not the case. He honors Spock well and while he doesn’t do what Pine does with Kirk, Quinto is far from dreadful. His take is a little different than Nimoy’s which rings especially true toward the end of the flick. Whereas Nimoy’s was laid back and had a sense of cool about him, this Spock is quiet, a stickler for logic, and more feminine. Some things don’t work but overall he’s serviceable and hopefully will grow into the role with the later installments. Maybe it’s not his fault though because along with Pine, Karl Urban fits like a glove into Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy. He’s essentially channeling DeForest Kelley but you can tell he’s enjoying the part. He’s probably the second best to enjoy next to Chris Pine. Much was made of Simon Pegg playing Montgomery Scott and he, like always, delivers. He’s the opposite of the laid-back Scotty we all know and love but it’s barely noticeable. If James Doohan was alive, he’d be proud of what Pegg does here. He also gets one of the most memorable lines in the film. Zoe Saldana is decent as Uhura, but for a good part of the film she feels like just another plot device. She’s independent, sure, but they sort of take that away from her when she they show her relationship with Spock (again, more later.) Anton Yelchin is just as good as Chekov while John Cho is pretty nice as Sulu although not as memorable as George Takei. What helps us remember who these people are, though, is that every character is given a moment to shine but in a different way. Yes, it’s the Kirk/Spock show for most of it but the film allows enough time for Sulu to show off his skills or Chekov to make the save in the nick of time. Special mention has to be given to Leonard Nimoy who still proves that he has been, and always shall be Spock. It’s one of the best moments of the film to see him light up the screen once more with that bowl cut and those pointy ears.

Star Trek’s action has always been more naval to Star Wars‘ air force action and that rings true here. It’s faster paced and understandably so, but the Enterprise can’t move like an X-Wing. The action is classic Trek complete with ship-to-ship communication and photon torpedoes being fired to finish off a ship. In fact most of the hyper action takes place away from Enterprise rather than on it. None of it feels like it’s too much but it’s just enough to keep both classic and new fans happy. The real treat are the visual effects which are some of the best I’ve seen in a film. Every dollar of their budget is spent on the screen as everything looks like it was shot in space using the real Enterprise. I don’t know if it’s set the new standard like Transformers was, but I do know if this doesn’t get the Best Visuals award then shame on the Academy again. Also, I’d like to know where J.J. is hiding the Enterprise so I can take her out for a spin. As for the references to the original show, they are in there but none of them feel forced. I geeked out a couple of times for some (notably a couple of Wrath of Khan ones) and I appreciated how organic most of them feel.

Star Trek has always been about the characters first and while the actors do a fine job, the story that’s around them isn’t half bad. Nero is a sort of one-note villain but Bana raises him above being one of the worst Trek villains. His plan isn’t that illogical in the grand scheme and he is sort of an interesting character. There are some things that don’t work, starting with Spock being the programmer behind the Kobiyashi Maru test. As much as I loved seeing Kirk beat the test, I felt indifferent to Spock being the one who designed it. It feels like it’s there just to give more tension to Kirk and Spock’s relationship and not because it’s an interesting idea (which it’s not.) Things are also fumbled with having Spock and Uhura in a relationship which just happens. It’s hinted at so quickly as things get underway that it feels random and out of place when the two engage in a kiss. They also have a golden opportunity to utilize the chemistry Pine and Saldana have together and instead pair her with a fire extinguisher. It’s not that Spock is devoid of all emotion, it’s that there is no sparking from the actors. There are other things I want to get into, but as to not reveal spoilers, I shall remain silent. The other distracting thing in this film are the lens flares. I’m not too sure why J.J. or cinematographer Daniel Mindel decided this was a good idea but it gets really distracting, really quick. A friend turned to me and said you could make a drinking game out of how many lens flares are in this movie and he’s right. I’m all for a director using a gimmick as long as it makes sense within the film he’s trying to tell. Here, I don’t see the purpose or need other than to blind the audience.

Overall this Star Trek works largely due to it’s leading cast and especially Chris Pine. The real captain, though, is J.J. who did a tremendous job of updating this franchise for new fans while keeping everything we love about The Original Series intact. I’ve seen the film twice now (once on IMAX) and at the end my feelings largely remained unchanged. It’s one of the best times I’ve had at the theater all year and is really enjoyable to watch unfold on the screen. In my book, the summer movie season starts here and kicks off with a bang. There are problems, yes, but the film is simply too fun to let those bog down an otherwise entertaining flick. Beam me up for the sequel, J.J.

Rating: ★★★★☆ 

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.

Paramount Pictures has released 20 totally new photos from JJ Abrams’ Star Trek.  Five photos can be found on the Star Trek website.

A young Spock is tortured over his mixed heritage, the emotions he fights to control and the very different paths he has before him. He must choose between the Vulcan world which will never accept him as anything other than ‘half human’ and Starfleet Academy, worlds away from everything he has ever known. We meet Dr ‘Bones’ McCoy and a young linguist Uhura at the Academy and watch as a headstrong Kirk wreaks havoc on Starfleet’s rules and regulations.

Stay tuned to Atomic Popcorn for a few reviews of the movie come May 8th.

Click on the photos to enlarge.