My experience with Star Trek consists of catching a very few episodes as a kid. The series never grabbed my attention for I was too much of a Star Wars fan to consider any other sci-fi series to be in its league. So while a review of this movie is far better off in the hands of a Trekkie, I’d still like to share my thoughts.
I think JJ Abrams’ revival of the series is great. It’s certainly the best way to start off a nice looking Summer. A popcorn movie displaying a dazzle of special/sound effects. As of late, I’ve been having a gripe with special effects in movies. Everything seems too computerized for me; before the movie, trailers for Land of the Lost, Transformers, and GI Joe all appeared, and all of them had lackluster effects. Granted, these films are not yet finished, but still…everything seemed blatantly spawned from the glossy touch only a computer could provide.
However, Star Trek, while heavily CGI, is nearly flawless in its execution, showing the care and precision that went into making this film; it certainly feels real. The grandeur of space that Abrams captures is mesmerizing to watch. The epic scope of space almost devoured me whole while in the theater. Oh, and seeing a planet collapse into itself made me smile.
With the obvious out of the way, let’s focus on the story. The plot involves some intracices of time travel that are spolierish to the movie, so I’ll refrain from going into detail, but it focuses on James T Kirk (Chris Pine) and Spock (Zachary Quinto) aboard the USS Enterprise, and their entanglements with each other and the protaganist, Nero, a vengeful Romulan who uses red matter, a subtance that creates a black hole after contact with matter, to destroy planets. The plot, as will any plot involving time travel, is a bit contrived, but according to two friends of mine, it’s something very Trekkian and JJ Abramsish. Thankfully, the pace of the film doesn’t really allow you to think about what’s happening chronologically. Instead, it just asks you to hang on for dear life because it’s such a fast paced and fun ride. So the plot, while bothersome to others, works fine for me.
The characters are all fun to watch. While a few exchanges of dialogue are terrible, the banter back and forth between Spock and Kirk is great, and the acting done by the two wonderfully delivers a great tension between the two beloved characters. The acting overall is splendid, and there are certain moments that just seem iconic. I feel like I’ll never forget the first time I saw these certain moments/characters on screen.
The film isn’t perfect though. Abrams binges on lens flare, which becomes abundantly annoying within the first half hour. And speaking of the first half hour, it isn’ all that good. It’s too rushed and cliche, and the entire car scene in the desert is overdone. Parts of this movie definitely could have been cut/changed. For instance, when Kirk lands on Delta Vega, he gets chased by monsters, but this, I thought, was absolutely unnecessary. Let us enjoy the vastness of what seemed like a really breathtaking planet. Another problem for me is the villain, Nero. He was poorly written. At times, I felt sorry for him and not in a sympathetic sort of way. He appears whiny, desparate and reckless, things I don’t want to see coincide with the word Villain.
Besides my nitpicking, Star Trek is an overall great movie. The acting, the action, the sound, the music, are all part of an experience I encourage you to take. The revival of Star Trek is surely happening, and I’d definitely want to see what can come out of this franchise. It’s funny; if I compare this to say, Revenge of the Sith, I’d choose Star Trek. I never thought I’d say something like that, but my, did Trek deliver on so many levels.
9 out of 10
The Ender Play 