"Star Trek" Movie Review
By Christian Toto www.whatwouldtotowatch.com
Reboot, remake, re-envisioning. Whatever label you slap on the new “Star Trek” film ultimately doesn’t matter.
What counts is that it’s a slam-bang adventure with old friends who’ve been away too long.
J.J. Abrams, the mind behind “Alias” and “Lost,” delivers summer entertainment with the right dose of nostalgia.
And that’s before Spock himself, Leonard Nimoy, shows up for an extended, and poignant, cameo.
“Star Trek” opens with Captain Kirk’s father commandeering a space ship on a suicide mission to save his cast and crew. The move bides enough time for Mama Kirk to deliver a tiny James T. Kirk into the world.
It’s such a wondrous sequence, full of blistering special effects and heart, but what follows is so clunky the spell is quickly scattered.
A boy named James T. Kirk is cruising down a dusty road in a stolen car, the Beastie Boys “Sabotage” playing in the backdrop.
Yes, Abrams’ reboot has a few major flaws, and this scene ranks among the most glaring.
But we quickly flash forward, and a teen Kirk (Chris Pine) begrudgingly joins Starfleet after a barroom pitch made by Captain Pike (Bruce Greenwood). Kirk and his classmates are barely out of training when they’re thrust into a breaking crisis.
A mad Romulan named Nero (Eric Bana) is threatening the Federation, and Kirk and his new crewmates must figure out a way to stop his fiendish plans.
That plan involves time travel, the appearance of an older, wiser Spock and an introduction to “Trek’s” old crew during their formative years.
Let’s get the performances settled first. Pine is his own Kirk, and while he gets the swagger down pat he’ll need another film to flesh out the Kirk we know and love. Quinto is near perfect as Spock, and Karl Urban’s Doctor McCoy comes the closest to being an outright imitation. Yet it works beautifully.
The secondary characters are hit and miss, with each one given a scene or two to shine.
Abrams keeps insisting hardcore “Trek” fans should stay away for fear of being disappointed, but given the current state of movie making it’s hard to imagine another reboot being as faithful, and as fun, as what we’re given with the new “Star Trek.”
In 2009, it’s cool to have pointy ears again.
Reboot, remake, re-envisioning. Whatever label you slap on the new “Star Trek” film ultimately doesn’t matter.
What counts is that it’s a slam-bang adventure with old friends who’ve been away too long.
J.J. Abrams, the mind behind “Alias” and “Lost,” delivers summer entertainment with the right dose of nostalgia.
And that’s before Spock himself, Leonard Nimoy, shows up for an extended, and poignant, cameo.
“Star Trek” opens with Captain Kirk’s father commandeering a space ship on a suicide mission to save his cast and crew. The move bides enough time for Mama Kirk to deliver a tiny James T. Kirk into the world.
It’s such a wondrous sequence, full of blistering special effects and heart, but what follows is so clunky the spell is quickly scattered.
A boy named James T. Kirk is cruising down a dusty road in a stolen car, the Beastie Boys “Sabotage” playing in the backdrop.
Yes, Abrams’ reboot has a few major flaws, and this scene ranks among the most glaring.
But we quickly flash forward, and a teen Kirk (Chris Pine) begrudgingly joins Starfleet after a barroom pitch made by Captain Pike (Bruce Greenwood). Kirk and his classmates are barely out of training when they’re thrust into a breaking crisis.
A mad Romulan named Nero (Eric Bana) is threatening the Federation, and Kirk and his new crewmates must figure out a way to stop his fiendish plans.
That plan involves time travel, the appearance of an older, wiser Spock and an introduction to “Trek’s” old crew during their formative years.
Let’s get the performances settled first. Pine is his own Kirk, and while he gets the swagger down pat he’ll need another film to flesh out the Kirk we know and love. Quinto is near perfect as Spock, and Karl Urban’s Doctor McCoy comes the closest to being an outright imitation. Yet it works beautifully.
The secondary characters are hit and miss, with each one given a scene or two to shine.
Abrams keeps insisting hardcore “Trek” fans should stay away for fear of being disappointed, but given the current state of movie making it’s hard to imagine another reboot being as faithful, and as fun, as what we’re given with the new “Star Trek.”
In 2009, it’s cool to have pointy ears again.
Labels: Star Trek Christian Toto Movie Review Chris Pine JJ Abrams
posted by Ron Futrell at
8:05 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home