"Star Trek" 2009 Movie Review

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In the Star Trek universe, The Undiscovered Country to be exact, Spock (Leonard Nimoy) once asked Capt. Kirk (William Shatner) if they have outlived their usefulness. Have no fear folks, in the new Star Trek reboot, director J.J. Abrams found a way to make all the characters useful once again.

The greatest aspect of the film is its intelligent script. Like Spock, the screenplay is part emotional, part logical and 100% amazing! Abrams film boldly goes where no other remakes have gone before. He actually made a compelling and fresh film from a source material thats over forty years old.

Star Trek is an entertaining story about two bitter rivals born worlds apart. One, James Tiberius Kirk (Chris Pine), is a smart but hotheaded Iowa farm boy whos a rebel without a cause. The other, Spock (Zachary Quinto), grows up in the planet Vulcan and is an outcast due to his half-human background.

Spock is the first of his kind to be accepted into the Starfleet Academy. His meticulous logic becomes the antithesis to Kirks unmitigated passion. Both are fighting each other to be among the special few chosen to join the crew of the most advanced starship ever created, the U.S.S. Enterprise.

Written by Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, the duo who gave us Transformers, the script is smart for focusing on the characters. If youre a fan of the Star Trek franchise, you will love the way each character is introduced into the narrative.

The U.S.S. Enterprise is headed by Captain Christopher Pike (Bruce Greenwood). Joining him are the ships Medical Officer Leonard Bones McCoy (the funny Karl Urban); the ships eventual Chief Engineer, Montgomery Scotty Scott (Simon Pegg); Communications Officer Uhura (Zoe Saldana); Helmsman Sulu (John Cho); and the 17-year old prodigy Chekov (Anton Yelchin).

The crews untried loyalty is put to the test by the arrival of Nero (Eric Bana), a time-travelling Romulan whos holding a really mean grudge. But the crew has a time-tested ally in the form of the old Spock, played by the great Leonard Nimoy.

Nimoy is the heart of the film. His presence is the glue that binds the original Star Trek with the 2009 reboot. Your heart will flutter with joy when you see the old Spock (hes now credited as Spock Prime) giving advice to the young Spock about the importance of human emotion.

By bringing the Star Trek franchise back to its roots, Abrams was able to pump new life to the characters we all know and love. Their hopes, dreams, and motivations are explored. Yes, you even get to see Capt. Kirk as a little baby.

You will love Star Trek whether youre a Trekker or not. But the filmmakers pay homage to the series by infusing familiar tropes in the narrative like the presence of a green Orion girl, Spock playing his harp, or the sight of a red-shirt crew member. Some famous lines also returned such as Dr. McCoys Damn it Jim, Im a doctor not a quantum mechanic.

The technical aspects of the movie are superior. From the cinematography to the special effects, each facet of the production is given ample focus. The pacing of the film is great as well; there is no dragging sequence or hyper-kinetic editing to substitute for poor storytelling.

The performances are also up to par. Its hard to play an established character while trying to put new twists into their very own fabric, and avoiding making their performance be seen as an imitation. Pine as Kirk and Quinto as Spock did excellent jobs, but the rest of the characters are also given enough gravitas.

I dont want to hype the movie to you but I just cant help it. Star Trek is really good. Im calling it one of the best movies of the summer so far. The biggest accomplishment that Abrams made is the acknowledgement of creator Gene Roddenberrys vision of an enlightened future. Theres an optimistic view nestled in the center of Star Trek.

As soon as you hear the words space the final frontier near the end, you will cry with glee! Abrams did something short of a miracle. He made Spock and Kirk live long and prosper.

Star Trek gets 4 kisses

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[Trekfreek]

@nilsen93 I've spent more time with you than I care to. Go and live in ignorance of the facts Kid if that is want. But remember piss on another person’s country and you might start a war. PS. I would like you to remember that Norway is a tinny country, smaller than New York State, and it was saved by the Allies (this includes the US) in WW2. If the rest of your county feels the way you do, we might not save your ass again!

[Trekfreek]

@nilsen93 No! You don't invade countries at all for any reason. You get invaded over and over and over and over and over. Then you cry to America and England to bail you out! You piss ant. Why don't you and your little pansy ass country GROW A PAIR!

[Trekfreek]

@sherlock8898 No. No it did not. And no you don't need to explain to me anymore then I need to explain why I like to point out how bad this movie really is to people who make ridiculous statements like "The best movie EVER".

[sherlock8898]

@Trekfreek Any way didn't me last message make it clear that I didn't want to argue with you anymore?

[sherlock8898]

@Trekfreek I don't need to explain to you.

[Trekfreek]

@Actionguy1 "I don't do Christmas" That's truly sad. Tradition is the very definition of "over done". If it was not "over done" it would not be a tradition. The new Star Trek was not over done but over blown! Everything in it had to be BIG and to hell with whether or not the story was any good. I hope you had a merry Christmas anyway.

[Trekfreek]

@sherlock8898 Why?

[sherlock8898]

This has become my number 1 favorite movie now.

[Actionguy1]

@sherlock8898 Thank you, but no thank you.

I don't do Christmas. It's just another day on the calender. I find the tradition extremely over done, much like Abrams' shitfest called $t@r Trek (See, I can't even call it Star Trek).

I can watch the Lost in Space movie over and over, and it was not a good film. Simply a guilty pleasure.

I could barely sit through this movie once.

JJ has one, maybe two more of these films to go before Paramount/CBS tell him, "GET OUT"!

You'll see!

[Trekfreek]

@sherlock8898 Oh... You had to get the last word in. lol :-)