May 6, 2009 | by Vic Holtreman 

Star Trek Review

Rating:

4 out of 5

Short version: While hard core Trekkies may have some problems with it, this long time classic Star Trek fan found this reboot fun, fresh & exciting.

 

Zach Quinto and Chris Pine in Star Trek review
Screen Rant reviews Star Trek

Where to start? (This is going to be a long one, folks. If you want to skip the preamble and get right to the review itself click here.)

Some people are Star Wars fanatics, others go nuts over Transformers or X-Men. While I’m a huge Iron Man fan, Star Trek is my true love going back well over 30 years. My favorite of all the shows? The Original Series (aka TOS). You may look at it now and think it looks cheesy (however I highly recommend you check out the digitally remastered version with brand new visual effects on DVD or Blu-ray), but remember the original Star Trek is over 40 years old.

At the time the other big Sci-Fi TV show was the cheese-fest called Lost in Space – so keep that in mind as a comparison. :-)

I have Star Trek prop replicas on my bookshelves (some pretty damned nice ones) along with a copy of the original Star Fleet Technical Manual by Franz Joseph and a set of blueprints of the original U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701 (which shows the location of a bowling alley on the ship!). I’ve memorized every episode of the original series – I can tell you which one each one is within seconds of any of them starting. And I’ve seen every movie.

Yes, I’m into Trek “canon” – tracking all the little details that tie the whole Star Trek universe together, however I’m also aware (though some fans seem to be in denial about this) that over the course of hundreds of episodes across five different series, Star Trek itself has violated its own canon many times.

Why am I telling you all this? So you have some context for my review of J.J. Abrams’, Roberto Orci’s and Alex Kurtzman’s reboot of the Star Trek universe. However this is not a review just for “Trekkies,” and that’s appropriate because neither is this film just for that group of die hard fans (among which I include myself).

Also, I did read the four part prequel comic that tells the story which leads to the events that take place in the film. If you have a chance I recommend you find it and pick it up at your local comic book store as it really fleshes out the “villain” in the film, Nero.

Some fans may disagree, but this franchise was in desperate need of a reboot, re-imagination, fresh “take” or whatever you’d like to call it. Star Trek, as a brand, was whithering on the vine and was in danger of being put on the shelf for who knows how long – until Paramount might decide enough time had gone by to give it another go. This was due to a number of factors, among which included the subsequent series being taken in directions by Rick Berman (and to some exent, Brannon Braga) that the fans did not agree with. Essentially it was a case of “the fans don’t know what’s good for them – we’ll tell them what they want.”

From this we gained the ignoble death of Captain Kirk in a transition movie with a stupidly weak plot device, Star Trek: Voyager, the Lost in Space of Trek, progressively crappier movies and finally Enterprise: At least an attempt at something fresh in Trek, which unfortunately went off in some half-assed direction – and Manny Coto’s efforts to bring the show back to what it should have been in season 4 were too little, too late.

So… when it was announced that the new film would go back to before the original series crew had met I was both excited at the prospect and terrified of how it might turn out. I mean we’re talking about recasting iconic roles. Bill Shatner? Leonard Nimoy? DeForest Kelly and James Doohan?

Sacrilege!

But I tried to be cautiously optimistic over the course of very early news, pre-production and through the production. I listed this film as my most anticipated of the year…

And I was NOT disappointed.

So finally – the review…

Click here to continue reading our Star Trek review…

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Tags: 4 star movies, star trek,

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  • Bright Eyes
    The thread is still very much alive, albeit at a reduced metabolic rate. Likely folks are afraid that their next post will be the one that causes another Fatal Error. My next ST13-VR installment could well be the proverbial straw that breaks the camel's back.

    Quentin Tarentino would certainly be the go-to guy for a Time-Travel story, having re-written the rules on cinematic temporal mechanics and all. Sure, he isn't known for doing stories that focus on the good guys, but he's damn good at pulling out surprises, which is something that this franchise could sure use more of.

    Tarantino started out as a film geek who picked up the gauntlet that every creator throws at every critic "And I suppose you can do better." It has been this little (well not so little anymore) conversation thread that has inspired me to do a little creating of my own.

    As long as the site holds up I'll be dropping by to check on things, and so, I suspect, will all the rest of you. It seems that the disruptions come and go, but such is to be expected when you boldly go where no SR thread has gone before.
  • Oh, kick-butt segueway, Bright Eyes, I liked that, hahahaha!
    Glad you liked my Tarantino reference, the thought occurred to me after he made Inglourious Basterds, he had a keen sense of history ("Nein! Nein! Nein! Nein! Nein!" "Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!"), and then pairing him with JJ Abrams - just seemed like a natural, I dunno.
    Yeah, I loved the story of how Quentin started out, working in a tape rental store, and as you say, he said to himself, "Hell, why couldn't I do this?" And behold, it was so - Make it so, lol!
    Don't know what caused that Fatal Error nonsense, but I wouldn't be so quick to blame myself, if I were you, BE - let's face it, it's routed thru your choice of third-party Disqus piggy-back vendor, I think that likely has more to do with it that your long-winded posts, hahahaha!
    But then what the Sam Hill do I know?

    ~John
  • John "Kahless" Taylor
    Where is everyone? Did I miss the memo about a new convention? :-)
  • That's a very good question, I was wondering about that myself; I think everyone is just busy with their lives, spring is coming, etc.

    I've been thinking about this site, though, John, and thanks to Vic we can even entertain it: Don't know when JJ Abrams will wide-release the sequel, and God knows there will be one; the first one, warts, brewery Main Engineering, and all, made such a huge amount of money and was such a critical success, there HAS to be sequel, in perpetuity, probably. The casting was as close to perfect as imaginable, and everybody liked it, at last a truly hip Star Trek, a Trek movie to compete with Tarantino (that would be interesting...maybe a joint Abrams/Tarantino production, lol), so we know that one is coming out, we just don't know when.
    It will probably be next year, with post-production, let's face it, they have to put in all those damn lens flares, hahahahaha!
    My point is, if we can keep this thread alive, or even on life support, we can cruise right into another ongoing critique of what I am sure will be a superior production.
    Good to be back, Kahless!
  • John "Kahless" Taylor
    Oh, the movie is coming, you can count on that. The first made WAYYYY!! too much money for Paramount to say nay. Even if Abrams doesn't come back (not going to happen) it will be made.
  • Yeah I haven't been around for a while, I'm doing my final year of high school and it is extremely busy.
    We definitely have to keep the thread alive. Only two more months and it will have been a year since we all started this conversation. Crazy or what? I can't believe how fast this year is going already. I'll be out in the real world before I know it...
  • It's great to see you, sweetie, and so good to know that you are still here with us!
    I am happy everything is going so well for you, have you been tearing up the streets of your town, driving around, enjoying your freedom? It's a good feeling, ain't it?
    God bless ya, our little Ingenue, glad you are doing so well!

    ~Johnny
  • Haha, not so much on the driving side. I have to get 100 hours of supervised driving before I can get my provisional licence in May but I've only done 9 and a half. Turns out I don't like driving much, haha.

    I hope you're well too :)
  • ~Doc
    New Quote - it gets too confusing when they're buried...

    "Is history your specialty?"
  • John "Kahless" Taylor
    That sounds like Kirk to Lt. MacGyvers.
  • Bright Eyes
    I can confirm that Doc is right, the log-on was a little hinky.

    TOS: "They threw me a few curves"
  • johnstrode
    BE, I believe that was Kirk to Captain Wesley of the Yorktown after the initial exercises of the wargames centered around the Enterprise set up to work as controlled by The Ultimate Computer, the M-5, designed by Dr Richard Daystrom, who was onboard.

    ~John
  • Doc
    Kirk to McCoy: Bread and Circuses.
  • Bright Eyes
    Ka-Ching, Doc. Knew that one wouldn't last. Looks like I wasn't the only one checking back here.
  • Bright Eyes
    Well, looks like they got the page back up. Try again on the quote, Johnny. I think I'll give everybody a chance to get back here before I start giving hints.
  • John "Kahless" Taylor
    Ok, since Doc is back, here's one from TOS:

    I can forgive such a display only once!
  • Bright Eyes
    All too easy. T'pau to Mcoy, Amok Time. (Bones sure knew how to annoy Vulcans, didn't he?)

    I'll still have to catch that Voyager ep when Ponn Faar strikes (title?) In my story it affects only the male much like when some large herbivores go into rut. (T'Pring was as cool as a cucumber, wasn't she? More importantly, nobody thought that that was in any way odd)

    The only known cure is to fight and/or fornicate while breathing Vulcan air, there is some of it left on the Vulcan ships, but not enough to go around, as the surviving Vulcans number in the millions. Remember, that 10.000 figure doesn't account for those living off-world and aboard their many commercial and science vessels.

    Folks throwing quotes out would do well to avoid "Balance of Terror", "Amok Time", and "The Enterprise Incident" so as not to give me an unfair advantage.
  • Doc
    Was anyone else having problems accessing the system? I couldn't log in (or bring upt he site) for about four hours. I even tried replying via email! Anyway, I will confirm that BE is right, because I was going to say the same thing. :)
  • Doc,
    How do I say this - UH, YEA-AAAH?
    I like to NEVER got on here tonight, and I saw a 'fatal error' message at the bottom (what would usually be the middle) of the ScreenRant page.
    WTF? I suppose that's what happens when you have a system that only Scotty could possibly love - "The more they tax the plumbing, lad, the easier it is to stop up the drain!"
    Just like on the Excelsior.

    ~John
  • Beats the Lollopalooza outta me, Kahless, but I agree, Doc should take a crack at it.
    I'm guessing it's a powerful alien, possibly Spock referring to an emotional outburst by an overly excited Human such as McCoy, but damned if I can remember the quote!
    Doc, have at it, it's yours if you want it badly enough.

    ~John
  • Doc
    You have to resubscribe in the new system, then you get updates again.
  • Hey, Steve, how're ya doin', brother?
    Sure is good to see you again, Doc!

    ~John
  • Doc
    Just got back from a seminar in Hawaii - well, a 3 day seminar. I decided to add two weeks vacation to the end of it, and it was fantastic. I've been trying to catch up on this, and I'm glad to see that almost everyone is back. I expect we'll start hearing buzz about the next movie pretty soon knowing Hollywood. Vic's going to need a new server by then to hold all of our comments :)

    Cheers,

    Doc
  • fury2701
    Hello everyone. I don't seem to get my e-mail updates anymore.

    Who's still around?
  • Fury, it's easy, buddy!
    If I can do it, anyone can. It was kinda irritating at first, but worth it, and once I figured out what to do, it was easy and with the upgrades, it was SO worth it! A member has edit capability now, and that is very cool!

    Let me tell ya what I did: Right above the main Comment Box, it says you can sign in as a guest, which will do in a pinch but it still kinda sucks, no avatar pic and no edit capability - you're just a guest. You have to fill out your name you wanna use, and yoiur ID address, a pain.

    Whatcha wanna do is, where it says "Post in as guest", it also says "or register below". Now, I just happen to have Yahoo (there're about a half-dozen) as my home page, perhaps you do as well - well, I just clicked on that, and all it requires is my password (the same as your account, but it is that environment, in my case, Yahoo), and then there comes another screen, one that has a box that merely says "Continue". The tab you have just opened disappears, it takes you back to this page, only NOW you can see your handsome, smiling face (or whatever you have in your avatar) and under the right corner of the box, it says (in my case) Post as John now.

    You have to do this each time you come onto Screenrant, but considering the edit capability and the avatar pic, I think it's worth the extra clicks, and all you have to tyoe in is your password, and it's the login you choose.

    I hope this helps, Fury. I wasn't getting any updates either, which was curious, and I just assumed that Vic or someone had shut this thread down, and it was only out of curiosity that I discovered the retooling of SR - I hate to sound like a kissass, but I think they did a first-rate job; I especially like the 'stacked response' setup, which I have seen before, but I think it effectively isolates individual exchanges without disrupting the overall dialogue flow, don't you?

    I hope this helps, my frined, good to see from you - I hated not being on here for so long, what's it been, since before the Holidays, wasn't it?

    ~John
  • fury2701
    I'm going to try to make an effort to figure this new system out and check back more often.

    Is the quote game still going strong?
  • It sure is! I just guessed one from Kahless earlier this week, sent one out there in turn and he guessed it within hours. So he's up, still waiting for him as usual, HAHAHAHA! You know how thick Klingons are!

    That's gonna get me some flak, I'm sure, LOL!

    Somebody else needs to take a crack at it, Kahless is getting kinda surly! He just insulted the Fonz (gulp)!

    I know, I know, how can you tell, HAHAHAHAHA? How can you tell if a Klingon is angry? His lips are moving, lol!

    What does it mean if you see a Klingon smiling? He just eviscerated someone, LOL!

    What does it mean if you see several Klingons laughing? They just blew up a ship full of Halkans, HAHAHAHAHAHA!

    Oh, I kill me, sometimes, lol!

    Later, m'friend,

    ~John
  • John "Kahless" Taylor
    And what do you call a room full of hu-maans?!! A litter of cowards!!! HAHAHAHAHA!!!! Humans, no sense of humor!! :-)
  • Meow?
    Hehehehehehe!
  • Bright Eyes
    Good to have you back, Big D. I just wasted waaay too much time on RedLetterMedia because of you. I never thought that serial killers were all that funny, until today. His other "hobbies" aside, that guy really knows his Trek.

    Trying to write a good villain is never easy, as you have to give them believable motivations without getting into that "Root Causes" BS that just makes the little darlings just a victim of circumstance.

    Whether my Praetrix Janus is truly evil is debatable, because in my treatment the REAL bad guy is, of course J.J. Abrams, who destroyed BOTH Romulus and Vulcan with his lens flares-o-doom for he sake of a cheap plot device, which has to make him more vile than even Parmin of Platonius.

    My Praetrix is simply trying to deal with the mess that JJ left behind and doing so in her characteristically ruthless and devious fashion. Maybe she enjoys her job a little too much, but it's hard to begrudge her a few indulgences.

    Here is a good example of why Claudia Christian would fit the bill as my Preator.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8oF0i5nvPI

    I guess that "guests" no longer have link posting privileges, so you'll have to do it the hard way. I'd appreciate it if somebody gave me a clue as to how the new system works. Big D?... Johnny?....Katherine?...Beuller?...Anybody?

    Some enterprising Trek fans have created an excellent list of things for the bad guys to avoid. I think it should be required reading for anybody who wants to create a believably competent antagonist in this day and age.

    http://www.eviloverlord.com/lists/overlord.html
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