Star Trek Review (Not Mine)

So First off, sorry I haven't been blogging much lately... but I assure you, some is to come soon :]

Anyways, I came across this review of Star Trek from one of my Twitter buddies hank1914 Anyways, check it out, and if you haven't seen the film, you must :]

copied from: The Review Stew

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STAR TREK REVIEW




SLIGHT SPOILERS! BEWARE



Let me preface this by saying I had my reservations about this film from the beginning. Hollywood has recently been on this kick with "rebooting" popular franchises in an effort to introduce them to a new generation. Some have been successful, like Christopher Nolan’s fresh take on Batman. Some have been a dismal failure, such as Superman Returns. So going into this film, I had an itchy feeling JJ Abrams would botch the job. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy the man’s work. TV shows like Alias, Lost and most recently, Fringe have given many a reason to watch network TV again. However, tackling one of the largest science fiction properties in history looked like a fools journey, considering Abrams was never a fan of the original show. After the first ten minutes of this film, I can say: THIS IS NOT MY FATHERS STAR TREK. And that's a good thing.



Abrams did exactly what I hoped he's do: Take Star Treks core mythology, shake it up and make the film his own. While the film keeps the vision of Gene Rodenberry alive, it does something unexpected: It actually has fun doing it. In many reviews, not much is said about the relationships in this film, which I think, gives the film its heart and soul. Zachary Quinto's, Commander Spok and Chris Pines, James T. Kirk, are not the casual acquaintances that meet on the bridge of the Enterprise, but immediate adversaries that push the limits of Spoks half Vulcan, half human emotions. To really throw a monkey wrench in the mythos of Star Trek, we learn that Spok and Uhura, played by the gorgeous Zoe Saldana, have a little "somethin' somethin'" going on. Spok gettin' it on with a fine sister? Who saw that coming?



The film gives us what we expect as far as the visual effects. The space battles are well staged and the actors made the characters their own, instead of coming off as cheap imitations or caricatures of the originals. The story was easy to follow, so this was refreshing, because people that aren’t necessarily Star Trek fans won’t be bogged down by techno-babble and a convoluted story that only a real fan would understand. This film did its job: introduce us to the crew of the enterprise and make us actually care about the characters we are watching.



The real Stars of this film are Zachary Quinto and JJ Abrams. Quintos portrayal of the emotionally conflicted Commander Spok was so good, I forgot there were other characters in the film when he was on screen. The screenwriters chose to make him a fully fleshed-out character instead of a robotic talking head, spouting out logic and equations. Though very short, the turbo lift scene between Uhura and Spok after the destruction of his home planet was not only touching, but I think it put to rest anyone's reservations about this actor. He IS Spok and I think Leonard Nimoy was proud. Speaking of Nimoy, It was refreshing to see the older and wiser Spok. In this character, we not only see a man full of pain and regret, but he actually gets to, in so many words, tell his younger self to lighten up and embrace his human side.



All in all this film was not what I expected, but far more than I bargained for. If I had any gripes about the film, it would be Eric Bana's Captain Nero. While his ship was very menacing, he was never really a formidable screen villain and a character I wish Abrams would have concentrated on a little more. Other than that, I applaud JJ Abrams for looking the fanboys, die-hard trekkies and nay-sayers in the face, shutting them down and having the balls to make a space adventure HIS WAY, which towers head and shoulders over the previous films...except The Wrath of Khan.





**** (Out of Five stars)