Star Trek Review
May 6, 2009 by Vic HoltremanWill you like the new Star Trek movie even if you’re not a geek?
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.
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…
Our Rating:
4 out of 5
Around the web:
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Oh man, Iknew that was going to be too easy for you!
You’re up.
Then I’ll return the favor with an easy one
“Don’t bury yourself in the part.”
@Doc
Yep, that is easy. McCoy to Scotty in Trek 4.
There you are, then. You’re up!
@Doc
Okay, this should be a bit harder:
“Even when he doesn’t say it, he does”
That would be Edith Keeler to Kirk when Spock fails to call him “Captain” in “The City on the Edge of Forever.” That’s my guess, anyway.
@Doc
Did we do some type of mindmeld or something? If so, I got robbed because your quotes are a lot harder than mine.
You nailed it! I purposely left off:
“Captain. Even when he doesn’t say it, he does”
I’m going to have to give you some TNG quotes instead.
Mindmeld? Me? Are you out of your Vulcan mind?
I’m a doctor, not a psychic.
“When I peek, it’s in the line of duty.”
@ Doc:
Oh, man! I know that was McCoy, but I cannot remember what episode!
Was it to Kim Darby in Miri?
~Johnny
@ John and Big D
I agree, In A Mirror, Darkly is very good, completely action packed, and I loved the opening music.
I like your picks Big D. Shockwave has some pretty heart-wrenching parts.
~Ingenue
@Johnny – nope.
@Ingénue – Hi! Long time no see.
@Kahless – no guesses from the Klingon Academy?
~Doc
@Doc
That’s McCoy to the female leutenant in Shore Leave.
Lieutenant Tonia Barrows… you are correct, sir. You’re up!
Alright, Doc, I’m going to stump you this time:
“You would never have been afraid of me”
@ Kahless:
That is Balok of the First Federation starship Fesarius – The Corbomite Maneuver
But first, the Tranya! …That’s right, go ahead and drink a strange liquid from this little sucker who just tried to take you all prisoner…genius!
~Johnny
You got it, Johnny! You’re up.
@ Kahless:
Boy,m that was fast! YOu must be online right now! That was one minute, f’Chrissakes! Boy, you’re fast, hahahaha!
Now I have to come up with a quote, lol!
Let me think about for more than like a MINUTE, over a hot cop of traanya, care to join me, Kahless, or do you only imbibe in Klingon Firewine, hahahaha?
~Johnny
It’s bloodwine, petaQ!!
Now now Kahless. You know you also drink prune juice.
@ ALL:
New quote: “Pull the plug, Scotty!”
~Johnny
@ Kahless:
Hey, you know, my dad used to drink prune juice – of course, for humans it’s usually to, uh, loosen things up a little – come to think of it, John, I think that explains a lot about Klingons, now HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
I always knew Klingons were full of crap!
Hahahahahahahahahaha!
~Johnny
Hey, we need some TNG, DS9, and ENT qoutes too.
Are you sure that was the quote, Johnny? Kirk says “pull out the plug, Spock” in “The Ultimate Computer.”
@ Doc:
Well, I remember it as “Pull the plug, Scotty!” but yeah, close enough – and you get the next quote!
Steve, are you sure you’re not Jewish? You should be a Talmudic Scholar – the way you split hairs! Hahahahaha!
One word, damn! I didn’t know they had to be verbatim…
Make it a good one, Paisan.
~Johnny
“I don’t remember another thing.”
@ All:
Fury2701 is absolutely right – with all appreciation for Doc Steve – in the words of Scotty when offered Chief Engineer of the Enterprise in ST-III – we should come up with quotes from the movies beyond ST-VI and the other series as well – after all, golden as they were, the TOS episodes covered only three years, a total, I believe, of less than 80 episodes, and they’ve been repeated more than once on here in our quote game.
I imagine we will still use TOS quotes from time to time, but Voyager, DS-9, and especially TNG had a lot of good quotes on there! Enterprise did too.
We should use them, agreed?
As Capt Picard would have said, “Comment is invited…”
~Johnny
@ Doc:
Oyyy, that IS a good one!
Kudos to you, I’m well and truly stumped.
~Johnny
Scotty to Kirk in Wolf in the Fold.
& the prize goes to Fury.
OK – let’s start of with an easy TNG quote:
“Data, Data somethings got me!”