I haven't seen a movie like this in quite a while, but let's give it a go. I just hope no one starts pressuring me to review new releases on a regular basis now. I ain't got the TIME, son!
Star Trek (2009)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0796366/
"Captain Jame T. Kirk (Chris Pine) and his trusted team on the starship USS Enterprise boldly go where no man has gone before in this installment of Gene Roddenberry's sci-fi franchise that follows the early days of the intergalactic adventurers. The crew includes Spock (Zachary Quinto), Chekov (Anton Yelchin), Uhura (Zoe Saldana), Scotty (Simon Pegg) and Sulu (John Cho). Eric Bana co-stars, and Leonard Nimoy appears as an older version of Spock."
I am not a HUGE Star Trek fan, but I am familiar enough with the mythology to catch most of the wink-wink-nudge-nudge moments thrown in for fans all over this movie. And, really, that's where the main appeal of the film lies -- in its several nods to the fanbase. Basically, what we have here is the story of how all of our Star Trek favorites came to be what they were at the start of the 60s television series. We see how Kirk became a captain; how Spock became his first officer and best pal; how Chekov was able to overcome an embarrassing speech impediment....A lot about the characters is fleshed out in this movie.
Here's my problem: when I was a little kid, I would watch the original Star Trek TV series each week, and this just doesn't FEEL quite right. Now, again, I was never DEEPLY into Star Trek; but I did see enough of the show to form an idea of who these characters were -- in particular, Captain James T. Kirk. To me, Kirk was like the archetype of a real hero. He was strong, smart, smooth with the ladies...maybe a bit vulnerable on occasion, but always able to come out of a situation with things well in hand. A man's man.
But in the NEW Star Trek film, Kirk for the most part is just a goofball (and YES, I realize he's supposed to be young). He's chasing chicks, getting in trouble, and acting like an overconfident ass. Although he matures considerably by the end of the movie, Kirk does get annoying in the first 60 minutes or so. And, really, something similar could be said for the picture as a whole -- it's just too goofy. Doctor McCoy and Scotty are basically here for comic relief, and the use of classic Star Trek catchphrases throughout the film occurs at intervals too regular to feel natural. Scotty says, "She's giving us all she's got, captain!" (or whatever) and, as an audience, we're being told, "OK, clap and laugh now."
STILL, the film is fast-paced, the action intense, and the special effects impressive (if you want to compare it to something, I'll say that it reminded me a lot of the Transformers movie from a few summers back). We learn enough about our favorite heroes here to make the story fairly engaging, and there's a whole lot of flashy CG to drool at. Although Star Trek isn't a GREAT movie, it's certainly on par with the usual summer blockbusters, and maybe a little better. I hope they make another one, as I'd like to see where these characters go now that that the introductions are out of the way.
3 out of 5.
b.
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