Husher315
"Are you out of your Vulcan mind?! Star Trek Review!"
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J.J. Abrams reboot/prequel to the "Star Trek" film franchise.
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I am not a hardcore Trekkie. I used to be, back in the day. I've seen every episode of the original series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine and Voyager and tolerated most every episode of Enterprise before I lost interest. I own a few of the DVDs, including all the good movies, and I do watch them from time-to-time. But I'm not obessed, like I used to be. I no longer own any of the novels, for example, and can't remember the last time I attended a Trek-specific convention.
+3
But I do still enjoy the show. Like I said, I have some of the episodes on DVD as well as the good movies, and I have a few episodes downloaded onto my 360. I mention all of this so that you know where I am coming from in my review of this, the 11th film in the series. Sort of.
For all the continuity whores out there, let's get this out of the way now: this is not the same universe as the regular Trek reality. It's made very clear about halfway into the film that since the opening credits we've been in an alternate reality. If you, like me, start wondering why the Farragut is launching without Kirk on board, don't worry; it just happened differently in this reality. Same with certain larger events that clearly never happened in the continuity that we're used to. If you're a hardcore fan of the series, keep this in mind and you'll be ok.
For the rest of you, yeah, you'll have a good time, I think. There's plenty of action and a feeling quite different from any of the other movies or TV shows in the series. The acting by everyone is top-notch, particlarly Zachary (Spock) Quinto and Karl (McCoy) Urban. The plot is at times a little iffy (centering around this movies Khan wanna-be as he sets out for revenge against Spock), but that's ok. It accomplishes what it set out to do, and that's good enough.
This is a far from perfect movie. It features way too much action and not nearly enough of the emotional and scientific core that made Trek such a great program. The villain isn't much of much, and most of the lower-tier characters don't really have a lot to do. There's also a very unnecessary romance between a couple of the characters that I did not care for.
But that said, there's a lot in this movie to enjoy. Rather like Doctor Who and Battlestar Galactica, they've kept a lot of what works and, if nothing else it does do a great job of getting all the pieces on the board for the next film in the series, meaning that the franchise shall, once again, live long and... oh, I just can't bring myself to type that. Just enjoy the movie.
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More Star Trek (2009 film) reviews
review by Stephanie_Smith19.
December 12, 2010
Let's just be clear, I am not a trekkie nor have I ever been a trekkie, and this film did not make me a trekkie, but that didn't stop me from enjoying this reboot of the franchise. The acting was great, the special effects were great, the story was great, and I recently found out that this was the only Star Trek film to win an Oscar (best makeup). It did tend to drag/ be too talky and sometimes hard to follow in some scenes, but for the most part, the movie worked. … more
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review by Husher315.
May 03, 2009
Just as a warning, this review is going to be very spoilerific, so if you hate spoilers don't read this, but I just can't help myself. Now then, may I just say that this might be the BEST Star Trek Film ever?! And that's not comparing it to The Wrath of Khan or First Contact. This Trek film stand alone among all of the other ones. When J.J. Abrams set off to make a Trek film that was accessible to both non-fans and fans, he apparently knew just what he was doing. This film was also an ensemble piece. … more
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To be honest, I didn't think it could be done. I'm one of those old-time fans. I grew up on episodes of Star Trek in syndication. I cheered the return of the original cast to the movies. I followed closely -- at times more with a sense of loyalty than enthusiasm -- the various series set within the Next Generation, and I even stepped back in time to the early days of Enterprise. But when Hollywood chatter turned to rebooting the saga from the start, placing new actors in the roles of … more
Comments (1)
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I grew up with "Star Trek: The Next Generation." Since I didn't have cable, I rarely got the chance to watch the original Star Trek series. As I grew older, however, I got to watch TOS and found myself preferring it to TNG. It didn't matter how many new incarnations of Star Trek hit the television or the big screen, so long as no one messed with the original characters and the actors who portrayed them, I was fine. Then comes along J.J. Abrams. I have to admit that I followed the developments of … more
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review by kagami.
May 07, 2009
Honestly speaking, Star Trek is something I had never gotten into, though that slightly changed when an online friend of mine kept posting episode commentaries on the original TV series she was rewatching.. Of course, when I saw the trailer for the new movie in the cinemas, and seeing how amazing Zachary Quinto looked as Spock(I personally love Quinto), I knew it was a movie I had to see. The fact that J.J. Abrams was directing was a bonus. After watching … more
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review by DavidLeavitt.
December 01, 2009
It's 2233, and the USS Kelvin is researching a space anomaly. George Kirk (Chris Hemsworth) is left in charge of the ship when Nero (Eric Bana) orders Captain Richard Robau (Faran Tahir) to board his ship. When Robau tells Nero the star date, Nero kills Robau and attacks the USS Kelvin. When Kirk realizes that he cannot save the ship, he orders an evacuation or everyone else. His pregnant wife Winona (Jennifer Morrison) begins to give birth, and asks Kirk what he wants to name his son. Kirk decides … more
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review by newtonooi.
September 07, 2010
If there is one industry that puts out better products every year, it would have to be the global movie industry. In the past decade, Hollywood has put out the best comic book movie ever (Dark Knight), the best zombie comedy ever (Zombieland), the best pirate movies ever (POTC 1-3), and now the best Star Trek movie ever. Coming after a series of so-so Trek films from both the original and Next Generation genres, this is the first Star Trek movie not based on a TV serial. Instead, all the actors … more
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review by Steveo.
April 06, 2010
Reinventing Star Trek, a much adored franchise by all of its dedicated fans, was a brave move to make and one that few had ever dared and J.J. Abrams finally took the dream to the next step. Abrams, producer of the much loved Lost TV show seems to be the next big name in the moviemaking business and is truly a man with great talent. His last film, Cloverfield, was a massive blockbuster success and this, regardless of actual story quality, was bound to achieve the same. Luckily, this wasn't … more
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Relaunch of the series and it seems to be set in an alternate universe.
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review by heyzeus7.
May 20, 2009
I remember vividly the first time I watched Star Trek as a young boy. It was the movie "Generations" and it was utterly bewildering. I had watched "Star Wars" some time before that and in comparison Trek seemed artificial, a bit dull and just plain weird. But the series eventually grew on me with its infectious optimism about the future, its vision of human potential and-for a TV series anyway-its outstanding visual effects. My brother and I would get into bitter arguments over which was cooler, … more
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About the reviewer
C R Swanson (CRSwanson)
I'm an aspiring writer and reviewer. I run a blog, I'm working on a novel and spend my free time reading and playing video games. I also spend waaaaay too much time and money on movies. … more
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About this movie
Star Trek tells the story of James T. Kirk, Spock and the rest of the Enterprise crew, following their time together at Starfleet Academy as well as their first mission together.
Cast:
- Chris Pine as James T. Kirk
- Zachery Quinto as Spock
- Leonard Nimoy as Spock Prime
- Bruce Greenwood as Captn. Christopher Pike
- Karl Urban as Leonard "Bones" McCoy
- Zoe Saldana as Uhura
- Simon Pegg as Scotty
- John Cho as Hikaru Sulu
- Anton Yelchin as Pavel Chekov
- Eric Bana as Nero
- Ben Cross as Sarek
- Winona Ryder as Amanda Grayson
J.J. Abrams Star Trek represents the first time in sixteen years since Leonard Nimoy has played the character of Spock.
Originally, Star Trek was slated for a Christmas 2008 release, but it was decided that the film would fair better as a summer blockbuster. It would also allow for more media coverage as well as more time to work on the films visual effects.
This Film also represents the last time that Majel Barrett Roddenberry played the voice of the Enterprise Computer. She died shortly after she had finished her work on the film.
J.J. Abrams' 2009 feature film was billed as "not your father'sStar Trek," but your father will probably love it anyway. And what's not to love? It has enough action, emotional impact, humor, and sheer fun for any moviegoer, and Trekkers will enjoy plenty of insider references and a cast that seems ideally suited to portray the characters we know they'll become later. Both a ...
Movies, Action, Adventure, Science Fiction Movies, Science Fiction, Scifi, Star Trek, Sequel, Hype, Adaptation, Jj Abrams Movies
Cast:
Eric Bana,
Ben Cross,
Leonard Nimoy,
Karl Urban,
Winona Ryder,
Anton Yelchin,
Bruce Greenwood,
Zoe Saldana,
John Cho,
Simon Pegg,
Chris Pine,
Zachary Quinto
Director:
J.J. Abrams
Genre:
Action,
Sci-Fi
Release Date:
May 8th 2009
MPAA Rating:
PG-13
Screen Writer:
Roberto Orci,
Alex Kurtzman
DVD Release Date:
Unknown
Runtime:
126 minutes
Studio:
Paramount Pictures,
Bad Robot
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