Upfront, I am a fan of Star Trek, but I would not classify myself as a 'trekker' by any stretch. I first started watching with my step father on afternoon television, then watched some of TNG and a bit more of DS9, which, was my favorite of the series. Never watched Voyager and saw maybe three episdoes of Enterprise. So, although I do like the story, I am not wedded to the concept that a 70 year old man needs to play himself as a 20 year old.
So with all that caveatting done, I liked the movie. It was a great kick off to the summer movie schedule. There were several things that I really enjoyed tremendously and only a few minor things that I could have done with out.
To start, I thought that the opening sequence was one of the most heart wrenching scenes in science fiction I think I have ever watched. It showed a great deal of depth and set the tone and emotional response that was needed to get the fans engaged. I also liked Chris Pine as Kirk. He did a great job with the character being both brash and self-assured. Well done Mr. Pine. The remainder of the crew were also well cast and played well. I thought one or two of the items were a bit over the top, namely Chekhov's accent and the whole W/V issue, but each of the characters had a few great scenes. Uhura's 'romance' with Spock caught me off guard, but was way cool as was Sulu kicking ass... I want a foldable ninja sword! Finally the Enterprise itself was just huge. I think we hadn't seen the bigger engine parts of the Enterprise before and I liked how they laid her out.
On the down side, like I said, it is pretty minimal and really just nitpicking. I already mentioned Chekhov's accent. As much as I really like Simon Pegg, I think they did Scotty a mis-service as he came in very late to the story and was 100% comic relief. You never see him working, only walking about.
As for the story, I thought it was fine. Yes it is time travel, but how do you expect to 're-boot' a franchise if you must maintain 100% canon or the fans freak? With the exception of the whole ice planet bit, I thought it was fine.
Like I said, a fun summer movie. Will it win an Oscar? I highly doubt it unless it is for effects... Maybe an MTV award... :)
jp
Live long and prosper
