The bar for this summer’s blockbusters has officially been set. Star Trek is pure cinematic thrills with a strong cast guiding it and a plot that entertains, even if it’s slightly confusing. You will be having too much fun to even care that the story isn’t making a whole lot of sense, which I’m sure is exactly what J.J. Abrams wants.
This is all coming from someone who hasn’t seen a single Star Trek film or episode on television. Just by the reactions of the people I saw it with though, this movie pleased the diehards and newbies alike. Not an easy feat for an origin story, especially one like this that messes with the timeline of the entire franchise. There are plenty of in-jokes for the die hards from what I could tell, because they were laughing a lot more frequently than I was (although I still picked up on a few of them). Don’t let being a newbie stray you away from this film; it’s perfectly suited for you.
Star Trek uses a lot of special effects much like the Star Wars prequels did, and from what I have heard the franchise has never looked this good or been this vastly entertaining. It does overuse the shaky camera at times in the action sequences, but unlike Quantum of Solace last year, it doesn’t hamper the excitement. The movie is so fast paced the 2 hours fly by liked 2 seconds. I couldn’t believe it was already over, nor did I want it to be.
The cast is great. Since I haven’t seen any other Star Trek material before I can’t make comparisons, but I still thought the movie was very well cast. Chris Pine is full of energy and charisma and makes an entertaining Kirk. Zachary Quinto plays up Spock’s smarts to good effect and even has a little romance with Uhura played by Zoe Saldana, who plays the sexy part well. Simon Pegg and Karl Urban are both funny as Scotty and McCoy (also known as “Bones”). Eric Bana doesn’t get to do much with the villain as Nero, but he does decent with what is given. Diehards will gasp at the appearance of Leonard Nimoy reprising the role that made him famous. He is the bridge to link the old and new franchises together (although his part in the story is the part that is most confusing).
Hopefully this new Trek film picks up a bunch of new fans like it has with me, because the future looks bright and I’m already looking forward to seeing what the cast and crew can do with a sequel. It’s not a perfect film, but it’s an engrossing and highly entertaining sci-fi blockbuster and the movie to beat this summer. Hopefully the box office totals reflect that.
*** ½ out of 4 stars
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