In case you haven’t been following along, I was a former Star Trek newbie. After seeing the trailer for the new film a while back I decided it was time to see what all the fuss was about. I chronicled that enjoyable (for the most part) journey here:
http://www.brightestyoungthings.com/movies/my-attempt-at-becoming-a-trekkie-update/
Now that time has come where I’ve seen the new film, and all I have to say is…
Fuck Star Wars.
The End.
Ok, well maybe a little more… The new Star Trek is one of the most engaging, exciting, funny, and jaw droppingly awesome big budget summer blockbuster popcorn movies I have ever seen. Everything about it oozes quality. It’s like a bunch of competent people got together and actually spent 150 million dollars wisely on pop culture. It fulfills every nerd fantasy of what a new Star Trek movie should be while entertaining the balls off everyone who doesn’t have a clue what a Klingon is. The movie is bright, optimistic, and just so much fun it makes you want to watch it at home so you can stand up and cheer at the screen without embarrassing yourself.
What I learned from becoming a Trekkie was that it was the ensemble cast that made the show and subsequent movies work. Sure there were aliens and ray guns, but the relationships between these same characters for 30 years made you stick it out when the chips were down (I’m looking at you odd numbers). So obviously this is what is going to make or break a reenvisioning of the series. And make is what they did. The new crew is so wonderfully cast that I want to stick it out with them for another 30. Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto ARE Kirk and Spock. Karl Urban and Simon Pegg make a great Bones and Scotty. The movie was so good I didn’t even hate John Cho as Sulu. The new Chekov is hilarious. The only slight miscast is Zoe Saldana as Uhura who can’t hold a candle to the sexy chocolate of the original Nichelle Nichols.
Then there is the Enterprise. Gone is the lumbering beast of the past, now she’s a nimble dog fighting force to be reckoned with, while not feeling disingenuous and still holding on to a great retro look . And JJ Abrams wasn’t kidding when he said the interior redesign makes the Apple store look uncool. In the past the Enterprise would get nailed by a torpedo and then the cameraman would jiggle around as Ensign Expendable fell out of his chair and ate computer console. Every time this happened you rolled your eyes. In the new Star Trek the scene plays out in pretty much the same way but you’re like “oh shit, watch out!”. The crew is in that ship. That ship is in space. You can feel it. You care.
I hate movie reviews that give a plot summary. Why would you want to know what happens before going to see a movie? Plus it’s just lazy. But I will say this, remember how time travel was used in the most asinine way possible to pass the torch from one crew to another in Star Trek VII: Generations? Well let’s just say that same mistake wasn’t made again. In a stroke of genius the writers have opened up endless possibilities of where they can take this franchise without ever compromising what has already been established. There has been a little grumbling about the lack of political or social commentary, a commonplace aspect of previous Trek films. But so what? This was the origin story, Part II is where they can get more cerebral. Let’s hope they take it in a more 2001 direction than space opera. But let’s not forget one of the most important aspects of classic Trek; it’s funny. Sometimes without trying to be sure, but most of the time humor has been a primary reason the old films were enjoyable. They have also somehow made all the inside jokes still work even if you don’t know the reference. Being familiar with the history will definitely add to the fun, but is by no means necessary to fully soak this spectacle in.
Everything in this movie shines, real lens flares explode all over the screen, the epic size and scope of space is felt. Never once does your mind drift with thoughts of CGI and rendering times. It’s seamless and gorgeous. Subtle visual touches demand second viewings, like the missing spokes on Kirk’s motorcycle (apparently powered by some sort of magnetic force field) just barely noticeable in the corner of the frame. The creature effects are original, and it wouldn’t be Star Trek without some alien babes. The sound design is oscar worthy, not since Wall-E has space sounded so good. You would have thought that at this point in sci fi movie making you couldn’t come up with an original sounding phaser blast, but they did, and then some. The score is lush, so do yourself a favor and see it in a theater with a nice sound system, and preferably digital projection. The dazzling sights just unfold in front of you for 2 hours and don’t let up, you can’t help but squeal in delight and go along for this magnificent ride.
This movie is so epic it hurts. Go see it. Now.
Spock: best character in the film by far. Really well done.
I want more Winona Ryder!
May 12, 2009 at 10:49 amfrom my inbox right now:
I saw star trek last night and have the biggest crush on Spock- he is so complicated
Michael,
Don’t be silly. Phasers hit Romulans, not people.
OK, I saw this on Saturday and while I thought it was a lot of fun, I definitely didn’t have as superlative an experience as Cale did. This is coming from a non-Trekkie, by the way.
The acting was great. I particularly liked Chris Pine, Anton Yelchin, and Zachary Quinto. The character development of Spock was interesting – I liked how the writers made him a jackass for the movie’s first half. The effects are beautiful, and Cale is absolutely right that the sound design is top-notch. Like other Abrams movies, the pace is relentless. It’s never boring.
For me, what was missing was any sense of suspense. This partially due to the fact that some plot developments (the circumstances of the parachute sequence, for example) were clearly a writer’s contrivance for action. The violence did not grow organically from the story. Also, because of my lack of familiarity with the universe, the enormity of certain plot developments was lost on me. And the climax felt a bit rushed.
These are minor quibbles. Star Trek is breezy funny, cleverly set up a franchise, and I’m sure the sequels will outshine the reboot. You should definitely see it.
May 12, 2009 at 10:53 amSeriously, this is one of the best movie-going experiences that I’ve ever had. I ate popcorn and junior mints with my friends and had an absolute blast. I will go see this in the movie theater at least two more times. And Simon Pegg as Scotty was BRILLIANT.
May 12, 2009 at 10:57 ami still wish they would make a movie based on DeepSpaceNine, totally the best Star Trek series.
May 12, 2009 at 11:00 amThe phasers kill Romulans big time, and unlike any other sci fi I’ve ever seen, these ray guns look, sound, and feel real.
The Enterprise is upgraded with laser beam weapons too that actually hit stuff. It’s not just like 1 torpedo every five minutes when Kirk counts it down, it’s more like the Battlestar Gallactica arsenal.
May 12, 2009 at 11:23 amthe best movie theater experience i have had in a long time. I grew up watching Star Trek with my dad and went to this with pretty high expectations. and the movie exceeded them. My fiance, who only went to the movie with me because he didnt want to marry a girl who would go to a Star Trek movie alone, wants to go back and see it again next weekend.
Also, i now have a crush on Dr. McCoy.
May 12, 2009 at 11:28 am@Svet – Amy was creaming her panties over Spock too when all this time I thought it was Kirk that was the heart throb.
@Jeff – I actually hate going to the theater. Every time I go the experience is awful. This was no exception. I go only about once or twice per year. There was a woman who was sitting next to me and she kept leaning over to talk to me, a stranger, throughout the entire movie. And half the time it would be to tell me how nice it was to sit next to me because I wasn’t talking…. ? Then she took a bunch of napkins and tore them into strips and rolled them into little balls and took off her shoes and stuffed them between her toes. Then tapped me on the shoulder and apologized for “the foot thing”. At one point she played Snood on her phone and it was really bright. Her husband eventually told her to stop. At the end of the movie her husband bolted out of there and left her. It was weird.
May 12, 2009 at 11:29 amGotta speak my peace… I thought this movie was overrated. I’d give it a B/B+. It was entertaining for sure, and I was never bored, but it never once blew my mind. Why should it?
The visual effects were very well done, but nothing new. I mean, who hasn’t seen warp drive ships and black holes and huge explosions and ice planets at this point in Hollywood. Well done, but recycled.
The story line was fun, but again nothing new. The most exciting twist was a time warp aspect, which just has plain been done many many times before. There was something very b-movie quality about it, especially the “red matter”
Then the bad guy was just silly. I could never take that tatooed face diva seriously.
All in all, a fun hollywood movie, much better than most the crap out there, but I highly disagree with people wanting to build this up as one of the best hollywood movies EVER.
Sorry.
@Jeremy – I thought the special effects, while presenting familiar subject matter, did so with a unique visual identity, primarily through the use of real lens flares. Also they were Spielberg quality in their seamlessness, which to my knowledge hasn’t been done yet with a sci fi movie with this much space battle action.
Star Trek = b-movie plots, you shouldn’t expect more, no matter what the Trekkies say.
I do agree with you on Eric Bana. He overacted and was too predictable, but not enough to ruin the movie for me. His ship was a cooler character than he was.
What would you say are better films in the genre?
May 12, 2009 at 12:20 pmCale,
Off the top of my head, Galaxy Quest, Serenity, and Sunshine are better space operas (although I’m not sure the last qualifies).
I see what you mean about the lens flares. Here is an interesting opinion from a guy who disagrees with you: http://blogs.suntimes.com/scanners/2009/05/why_the_enterprise_matters_and.html
May 12, 2009 at 12:35 pmBy genre I meant what Jeremy and I said/meant earlier – big budget hollywood blockbuster popcorn summer movies.
While I love Galaxy Quest I don’t think it falls into this category, I haven’t seen Serenity, and while I enjoyed Sunshine I liked Star Trek better, sorry.
I guess I can’t really argue with that guy, but for me, it worked and I agreed with the cinematographer:
Taking advantage of the 35mm 2:35:1 anamorphic stock film, cinematographer Daniel Mindel caught as many lens flares (a photographic effect where light sparkles everywhere) in the film as possible, to create a sense of wonder that enhanced the film: “There’s something about these flares, especially in a movie that potentially could be incredibly sterile and overly controlled by CGI, that’s just incredibly unpredictable and gorgeous.” Mindel would create flares by shining a flashlight/pointing a mirror at the camera lens, or using two cameras (and therefore two lighting set-ups) simultaneously.
May 12, 2009 at 12:53 pmWelcome to the fold. I saw this in theaters twice, by the way.
May 12, 2009 at 4:41 pmdid anyone see the entertainment weekly where the compared all the characters to the obama administration? obama is spock. schwing!
can’t wait to see this.
May 12, 2009 at 4:42 pmCale,
I personally didn’t find the lens flare to be too exciting, but I do appreciate directors trying to do something a little different. But again, I just found all the overall images to be too recycled, nothing really excited my imagination.
About the movie plot, I’ve never actually seen another Star Trek movie per say, but I’ve seen a heck of a lot of Next Generation (I haven’t seen much of the original). I found the majority of Next Generation plots to be way more thought provoking than this movie as well as fairly deep philosophically, at least for a TV show. All in all, Next Generation plots consistently excited me, but this one did not really. I found it mostly predictable and I thought it would be Next Gen. quality. (Damn, do I sound like a nerd, how did this happen?)
I agree that this is a big hollywood flick, and thus should be judged as such. But that being said, I still use the best blockbusters as setting the mark. Raiders of the Lost Ark or the original Star Wars series would all get A’s from me. So a B/B+ isn’t like a total dis or anything. I thought this movie was about as good as Men In Black or Independence Day. Both were entertaining but not mind blowing Hollywood summer blockbusters. Star Trek was heck of a lot better than, let’s say Armageddon.
Peace
May 12, 2009 at 9:29 pmupdate: I have now seen Serenity, here is my review…
Serenity
Two hours of sci fi cliches and TV quality acting/effects. Never seen the show, so maybe that would have helped? Dunno, this was just so amateur in every respect I don’t think it would have mattered.
2 Stars
Update: I watched Star Trek a second time and loved it. 5 stars.
I think my earlier ambivalence was a residual from the being annoyed with a not-so-massive IMAX screen.
January 11, 2010 at 11:34 amim disguted with the both of you
go read robert heinlein and jerk eachother off
January 11, 2010 at 12:04 pm
Ok – I have to ask. Do the phasers actually hit people? When ships fire do they actually hit their targets?
The one thing that always struck me about Star Wars is that of all the technology they had: ships as big as planets, light speed, robot technology, the fucking Death Star, yet hardly anyone could hit anything with their laser guns.
The most functional weapon they had was nothing more than a sword.
May 12, 2009 at 10:40 am