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                                 “Star Trek”

Bunny and I went to see “Star Trek [1],” the “reboot” of the Star Trek
universe with the characters from The Original Series but played by younger
actors.

Obligatory Spoiler-filled Reviews

You have been warned!

* On Treks into Heroism and Reclaiming Ashes: Star Trek and the Heroic
 Journey [2]
* STAR TREK and Breaking the Rules—SPOILERS [3]
* Bad Astronomy Review: Star Trek [4] (especially for Bunny)
* On the Antagonist in Star Trek [5]
* Star Trek Movie Annotations [6]


Overall, it was a wonderful movie that (I feel), successfully cast aside the
existing continuity of the Start Trek universe so we can bring back the
characters we all love. It was spooky to watch Karl Urban [7]'s Dr. Leonard
‘Bones’ McCoy that was so close to DeForest Kelly [8]'s portrayal that it
felt like I was watching DeForest Kelly's McCoy. Nice job there.

Zachary Quinto [9] as Spock was also well done, but it wasn't quite the same
take as Leonard Nimoy [10]'s Spock (although, never having seen “Heros [11],”
I can't say one way or the other how much of Quinto's Spock is like his
“Heros” character Sylar, which is one complaint I've seen of his
performance). I also liked how the different circumstances that brought Spock
and Kirk together are leading to a different dynamic between them than in The
Original Series. It'll be interesting to see how it turns out.

I think they did a great job of hiring Simon Pegg [12] as Scotty—it was like
watching a younger James Doohan [13] do a more comedic take on Scotty. I
could, however, do without his smaller sidekick.

Chris Pine [14] as James Tiberius Kirk was good, but different from William
Shatner [15]. Sure, he's a womanizer, brash, head strong and always willing
to cheat death, but he's not quite as hammy as Shatner; Pine is a bit more …
restrained. And less … awkward … pauses than … Shatner.

I'm really happy to see Lt. Uhura not only get a first name (it's Nyota) but
also see her character being expanded. Zoë Saldaña [16] does a good job with
the role, but if you are expecting someone who looks similar to Nichelle
Nichols [17], don't.

And then there's Chekov, played by Anton Yelchin [18] who's only passing
resemblance to Walter Koenig [19] is a thick Russian accent. It was such a
departure from the original character that I'm still pondering if I like this
incarnation of Chekov. It's different. It's more Wesley Crusher, but not as
annoying.

Now, overall, I loved the film (so did Bunny), but I do have a few gripes
about the film.

The first one, the frenetic cinematography—the rapid cutting during action
sequences that 1) makes it hard to follow exactly what is going on, and 2)is
all too common in today's films. I'd be surprised if there was any shot
longer than two seconds in any of the action sequences. Then again, I may not
be “hip” to modern action film asthetics, but it still bugged me.

My second gripe (warning—very small spoiler): Kirk is wandering alone on a
frozen planet when out of nowhere one creature is running towards him. As
Kirk is running away, that chase is interrupted by yet a larger creature that
start chasing him until he safely gets away in a cave. This bugged me as this
whole sequence just seems gratuitous—like the screen writers said, “You know,
it's been ten minutes since the last action sequence, we need a large spider
(Watch the whole thing—it explains the joke) [20]!” It doesn't propel the
plot, doesn't advance characterization, it does nothing but waste about two
minutes of screen time and could have easily been cut without affecting the
film one bit. We know Kirk won't get killed. It's just fake peril (and from
what I'm reading, it appears that the script was affected by the Writers'
Strike from a few years ago, so it may not have been tightened up properly,
so this might explain this rather bad scene).

My third gripe (warning—very small spoiler): Kirk and Scotty beam aboard the
Enterprise (and I must say, I love that new beaming effect) but due to a
miscalculation, Scotty ends up in a very large water pipe and is being sucked
towards certain doom, but of course, Kirk is able to save Scotty. Again, it's
a scene that doesn't serve any purpose other than to mark a ten minute
segment (whoever wrote that scene should die [21], in my opinion).

And that's it. The other flaws in the film (and there are some) do serve to
propel the plot along (however clumsy, and basically, you'll know them when
you see them) so I have less problems with them. And I do think the film is
worth seeing overall.

[1] http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0796366/
[2] http://www.websnark.com/archives/2009/05/on_treks_into_h.html
[3] http://kfmonkey.blogspot.com/2009/05/star-trek-and-breaking-rules-spoilers.html
[4] http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2009/05/08/ba-review-star-trek/
[5] http://demiurgent.livejournal.com/255292.html
[6] http://www.comicmix.com/news/2009/05/12/star-trek-movie-annotations/
[7] http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0881631/
[8] http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001420/
[9] http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0704270/
[10] http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000559/
[11] http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000559/
[12] http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0670408/
[13] http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001150/
[14] http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1517976/
[15] http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000638/
[16] http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0757855/
[17] http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0629667/
[18] http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0947338/
[19] http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000479/
[20] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgYhLIThTvk
[21] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWL0BdmC3ek

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