J.J. Abram's reboot of the classic sci fi franchise was even better than I expected and I expected a lot! How could I not? Every trailer has made this look like the greatest action movie ever made. Star Trek didn't disappoint. Every actor fit into their role nicely. The movie is a perfect blend of familiar characters, sets and catchphrases thrown into a great new story. Star Trek is really everything that a franchise reboot should be.
The casting is spot on. Chris Pine, who honest to God I had never heard of, is great as the young James T. Kirk. His performance combined with a strong script really make William Shattner's older Kirk seem a little more human. Captain Kirk was a rugged, arrogant jerk on the original TV show. Pine plays Kirk as kind of a dumb kid. A "too big for his britches" type that gets smacked down over and over before he gets the strength and knowledge to back up his bravado.
Zoe Saldana is a pleasant surprise. She is barely in the movie (which is weird considering the amount of press photos and Burger King glasses she is on), but her Uhura comes across like a female version of the young Kirk. It's easy to see why she and the Captain butt heads and why she and Spock work so well as a couple.
Speaking of Spock, writers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman took a real chance writing a part in for Leonard Nimoy when they had already cast Zach Quinto to play the young Spock. The two Spocks work. The script keeps them apart for long enough to make their meeting something we look forward to rather than something we know has to happen, but expect will suck.
Oh and speaking of Zach Quinto, how perfect is he to play Spock? We know from watching Heroes that he is a master of the emotionless, deadpan delivery. And it's creepy how much he looks like a young Leonard Nimoy.
And by the way, Leonard Nimoy looks like hell these days.
Star Trek is the perfect summer movie. You really don't get new, original scripts these days. The summer movie slate has become littered with sequels, reboots, and superheroes. Star Trek is good enough to turn haters into fans and casual fans to Trekkies.
There's plenty of humor in the script. Look, it would be ridiculous to make a Star Trek movie and not acknowledge how campy the original series seems now. That's what Tim Burton did with his first Batman film. Like that movie, J.J. Abrams has created a movie that is funny enough for people that can take a joke, but not derogatory in a way that pisses off the hardcore fans.
The summer of 2009 is off to a good start. I liked X-Men Origins: Wolverine and I loved Star Trek. We're two weeks in and I have already seen as many blockbusters that I like at this point as I did all of last summer.
The Greek gives it an A+.
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