Review: Star Trek (2009)

[Steve Rhodes]

STAR TREK
A film review by Steve Rhodes
Copyright 2009 Steve Rhodes

RATING (0 TO ****):  *** 1/2

Director J.J. Abrams (the co-creator of "Lost") has finally released his 
much anticipated take on the classic "Star Trek" series, which consists of 
an almost uncountable number of television episodes as well as numerous 
movies.  Before reviewing STAR TREK, I think it behooves me first to admit 
where I fall in the fan spectrum.  I've probably seen most of the movies, as 
well as many of the original "Star Trek" episodes, but, the original series, 
which I watched decades ago, made such little impression on me that I've 
long since forgotten it.

My son Jeffrey, in contrast, is a huge fan who says that he has seen all of 
the episodes, which he tells me number over seven hundred.  Living in a 
household with such a rabid fan has probably influenced me to be predisposed 
to like the latest STAR TREK film, which I did, albeit not quite as much as 
Jeffrey, whose one word review of the film was, "Epic!"

I certainly agree with my big-fan son that the new STAR TREK film, which is 
a prequel to the other films, is extremely well cast.  Although I thought 
the movie tried too hard to please non-Trekkies by emphasizing the big 
action sequences too much, especially in the first half, the film was 
consistently entertaining and the story involving.

I found myself easily drawn into the adventure as Captain James T. Kirk 
(Chris Pine), Spock (Zachary Quinto, Sylar on "Heroes"), Sulu (John Cho), 
Uhura (Zoe Saldana), Dr. Leonard 'Bones' McCoy (Karl Urban), Scotty (Simon 
Pegg) and other crew members of the Starship Enterprise fought Nero (Eric 
Bana), their excellent new villain.

Don't be surprised if you feel just like me when you leave the theater.  I 
was ready and eager to see my newfound friends in their next space 
adventure.  And, probably the best thing that Abrams accomplished with this 
film was to breathe new life into the STAR TREK franchise, which some had 
feared was on its last legs.

The movie is being billed as not "your father's STAR TREK."   Well, it 
certainly was this father's STAR TREK.  I found it consistently intriguing, 
as we meet the young and rebellious James T.  Kirk as he enters the Academy. 
Almost kicked out forever for cheating after he does the impossible by 
solving Spock's unsolvable problem, Jim eventually makes captain, as people 
come to realize that he is a risk taker who is smart enough to even outsmart 
Spock, without the need for cheating.

The movie is best in its moments of character drama and logical reasoning 
and is least interesting when it only wants to blow something up.  Certainly 
the special effects, as when a planet is transformed into an instant black 
hole, are spectacular.  But, I found I was most drawn into the narrative 
when the special effects were absent entirely and the characters simply 
tried to outwit each other.  The film is intentionally funny too.  In fact, 
if I had one change to make, I would have included even more of the humor 
since it is effective.

STAR TREK runs 2:07.  It is rated PG-13 for "sci-fi action and violence, and 
brief sexual content" and would be acceptable for kids around 7 and up.

My son Jeffrey, age 20, went gaga over it, giving it a full ****.  His 
funniest comment was that all of the fighting in it sometimes made him think 
that the movie was like STAR WARS crossed with "The O.C."  He said that he 
had a blast and was on the edge of his seat the entire time.  He remarked 
that he had not enjoyed a movie this much in a long time.  His only 
reservation was that he wasn't sure how this story fits into the STAR TREK 
canon.  However, he said that he was absolutely enthralled by it.

The film opens nationwide in the United States on Friday, May 8, 2009.  In 
the Silicon Valley, it will be showing at the AMC theaters, the Cinemark 
theaters and the Camera Cinemas.

Web: http://www.InternetReviews.com
Email: Steve.Rhodes at InternetReviews.com

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