Reviews of Star Trek

Star Trek review

Posted : 3 weeks, 2 days ago on 9 December 2009 08:00 (A review of Star Trek)

I didn't really want to see this film at all because it rivals with Star Wars and I am a huge Star Wars but after hearing all of the positive reviews and glory this film has been getting I changed my mind. After seeing it at the cinema, I am not surprised and the film totally deserves it! I have to say that Star Trek is one of the biggest surprises that I have ever seen in my whole life. This film is referred as The Dark Knight of 2009 and I really do think it is. Watching Star Trek at the cinema was one of the best experiences of my entire life. It was like watching another Star Wars film because of the space atmosphere within the film and also the things that are on the planets too which remind me a lot of the Star Wars series. What I really loved about this film was that it was tense, funny, explosively intense and quite dramatic too. Star Trek is a film that is filled with excitement of what is going to happen and how intense the film is going to be. Star Trek wasn't one of my most anticipating films of the year but after seeing it now, I think it's going to be one of the best. What I find to be so good about Star Trek is that despite almost the whole cast has changed around with different actors, effects and director and producers there is a real taste of originality to the series which is absolutely great which is something that the Star Wars prequel trilogy slightly lacked. This is a complex film and so is probably the whole series as well as most science fiction films but despite how weird it was, it didn't become a massive mess or disappointing in any way whatsoever. I enjoyed this film so much; I didn't want it to end.


Chris Pine was absolutely fantastic as Jim Kirk! Pine is an actor who proved Kirk to be reborn so to speak after the other films in the series. We see Pine as a baby and a young child at the beginning of the film. He becomes part of Starfleet and begins to grow deeper into the trust of Captain Pike. Zachary Quinto was absolutely fantastic as Spock in this film. Spock is half-human (human mother) and half-vulcan (Vulcan father). He was an absolutely fantastic choice for Spock because he looks just like the actor who played Spock in the original films who was also in this film playing the same character but a lot older. Leonard Limey was awesome as older Spock with a very powerful performance that goes into great depth of personal moments especially with all of the stories Spock tells about the galaxy and the fate of the galaxy too. I'm going to see him in the previous Star Trek films which I am looking forward to. Eric Bana was really terrifying as Captain Nero who seems like a pure evil guy. One thing that left me a question was whether Nero was human or Vulcan or was both like Spock. Winona Ryder made a mild appearance as Spock's human mother. Simon Pegg made me laugh a lot in this film. He looked and sounded very different than usual because he has a Scottish accent instead of a very English accent and also he has black hair in this one where he is naturally blonde. Karl Urban was pretty funny as Dr. Leonard 'Bones' McCoy who was a good friend to Kirk.


Star Trek was filmed absolutely amazingly by a director who has not done any space films let alone any science fiction films at all. In fact they picked the perfect director for this film. This was a space opera like the Star Wars films but Abrams shows that he can direct them better than George Lucas despite I like Revenge Of The Sith more than this. He sort of shows George how to do it so to speak because George didn't do greatly in Episodes I and II even though they're good films. One thing that Abrams did that was amazing was that not only did he make it like an action-packed thrill ride but also an epic story that was very realistic and mind-blowing.


Despite how much I like Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace and loved it as a kid, I feel now that Star Trek has literally replaced it as an amazing science fiction film within a space franchise. I've never seen a Star Trek film other than this one and now I have become very interested in it. In fact, I'll watch one as soon as I can. Star Trek is a masterpiece that I believe to be the dark horse of 2009 just like The Dark Knight was in 2008. It is the best film of 2009 so far. I think there are only 3 films now that can overtake Star Trek and they are Avatar, Public Enemies and The Lovely Bones. Star Trek is a masterpiece of science fiction films and is now one of my favourite science fiction films of all time and it is number one on most surprising films of all time list.

0 comments, Reply to this entry

Star Trek review

Posted : 3 weeks, 2 days ago on 8 December 2009 07:53 (A review of Star Trek)

I didn't really want to see this film at all because it rivals with Star Wars and I am a huge Star Wars but after hearing all of the positive reviews and glory this film has been getting I changed my mind. After seeing it at the cinema, I am not surprised and the film totally deserves it! I have to say that Star Trek is one of the biggest surprises that I have ever seen in my whole life. This film is referred as The Dark Knight of 2009 and I really do think it is. Watching Star Trek at the cinema was one of the best experiences of my entire life. It was like watching another Star Wars film because of the space atmosphere within the film and also the things that are on the planets too which remind me a lot of the Star Wars series. What I really loved about this film was that it was tense, funny, explosively intense and quite dramatic too. Star Trek is a film that is filled with excitement of what is going to happen and how intense the film is going to be. Star Trek wasn't one of my most anticipating films of the year but after seeing it now, I think it's going to be one of the best. What I find to be so good about Star Trek is that despite almost the whole cast has changed around with different actors, effects and director and producers there is a real taste of originality to the series which is absolutely great which is something that the Star Wars prequel trilogy slightly lacked. This is a complex film and so is probably the whole series as well as most science fiction films but despite how weird it was, it didn't become a massive mess or disappointing in any way whatsoever. I enjoyed this film so much; I didn't want it to end.


Chris Pine was absolutely fantastic as Jim Kirk! Pine is an actor who proved Kirk to be reborn so to speak after the other films in the series. We see Pine as a baby and a young child at the beginning of the film. He becomes part of Starfleet and begins to grow deeper into the trust of Captain Pike. Zachary Quinto was absolutely fantastic as Spock in this film. Spock is half-human (human mother) and half-vulcan (Vulcan father). He was an absolutely fantastic choice for Spock because he looks just like the actor who played Spock in the original films who was also in this film playing the same character but a lot older. Leonard Limey was awesome as older Spock with a very powerful performance that goes into great depth of personal moments especially with all of the stories Spock tells about the galaxy and the fate of the galaxy too. I'm going to see him in the previous Star Trek films which I am looking forward to. Eric Bana was really terrifying as Captain Nero who seems like a pure evil guy. One thing that left me a question was whether Nero was human or Vulcan or was both like Spock. Winona Ryder made a mild appearance as Spock's human mother. Simon Pegg made me laugh a lot in this film. He looked and sounded very different than usual because he has a Scottish accent instead of a very English accent and also he has black hair in this one where he is naturally blonde. Karl Urban was pretty funny as Dr. Leonard 'Bones' McCoy who was a good friend to Kirk.


Star Trek was filmed absolutely amazingly by a director who has not done any space films let alone any science fiction films at all. In fact they picked the perfect director for this film. This was a space opera like the Star Wars films but Abrams shows that he can direct them better than George Lucas despite I like Revenge Of The Sith more than this. He sort of shows George how to do it so to speak because George didn't do greatly in Episodes I and II even though they're good films. One thing that Abrams did that was amazing was that not only did he make it like an action-packed thrill ride but also an epic story that was very realistic and mind-blowing.


Despite how much I like Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace and loved it as a kid, I feel now that Star Trek has literally replaced it as an amazing science fiction film within a space franchise. I've never seen a Star Trek film other than this one and now I have become very interested in it. In fact, I'll watch one as soon as I can. Star Trek is a masterpiece that I believe to be the dark horse of 2009 just like The Dark Knight was in 2008. It is the best film of 2009 so far. I think there are only 3 films now that can overtake Star Trek and they are Avatar, Public Enemies and The Lovely Bones. Star Trek is a masterpiece of science fiction films and is now one of my favourite science fiction films of all time and it is number one on most surprising films of all time list.

0 comments, Reply to this entry

Star Trekking across the universe

Posted : 2 months, 2 weeks ago on 19 October 2009 07:51 (A review of Star Trek)

Star Trek has officially been Re-Booted. Abrams has revamped the Enterprise & brought Gene Roddenberry's classic world into the 21st Century.

Whether you are a die hard Trekker or not, this movie will not disappoint. A fun & visually stunning film with just the right balance of action & storyline. The crew are great & by the end of the movie you really want to go on more adventures with them.

The special effects for the Enterprise are out of this world & have fantastic attention to detail. On the bridge the technology reminded me of the instruments used in the film Minority Report, which gave it a more realistic rather than futuristic feel. Nicely done...Can't wait to see it on the IMAX screens.

TOS fan's can be rest assured the writers have kept to the Star Trek Canon, & in my opinion given it a good hyper-spray to the neck. Truly the movie all Trekkers have been waiting for; the one to share with the rest of the world. Watch for classic references throughout the film... More on Star Trek at Preview Films

0 comments, Reply to this entry

Entertainment, nothing more, nothing less

Posted : 2 months, 2 weeks ago on 19 October 2009 07:26 (A review of Star Trek)

The attraction that this Star Trek has is that it's very, very truthful to the tales of ye olde Trek. All the characters shown here are believable in the sense that atleast I believed each of them could grow up to be the way they were in the old show. That, the action being pretty nice and Eric Bana being a very good villain, make this an alright action movie. But that's it. There is not a damn thing here to transcend this film from all the other good summer action blockbusters, and it kind of shocks me that it's here. It's a well made picture, sure, but there is very little that could be referred to as original in it. It's also clamped with scenes that are useless and not very entertaining either, such as the comic sidekick Scotty getting stuck into a sewage pipe of some sort for several minutes. In the end this is a film that does entertain it's viewer, but only for the duration of the first viewing. You will not find rewatch value or any other value really from it aside from the fact that it is entertaining to watch most of the time.

0 comments, Reply to this entry

Star Trek

Posted : 3 months ago on 1 October 2009 04:09 (A review of Star Trek)

Oh Star Trek, I wanted to like you a lot more than I ended up liking you. I found you to be quite often over-hyped, slightly generic and a serious case of flash and style over very little substance. I heard a lot of people talk about the rejuvenation of the franchise with this film, but I felt like it was too often just another Star Wars-lite tale of a farm boy making good on saving the universe from a vengeful, wounded bad guy. That and the lense-flare bothered after the third or fourth go round in the Enterprise. There’s no new ground being explored here, it’s just been pumped full of steroids and ignoring real science, which science fiction was based upon, and telling everyone that black holes make time travel much quicker! And the characterizations are beyond paper thin. Kirk is as cliché ridden as any other generic action hero as of late: troubled childhood, I’m told he’s a badass but he spends the entire movie getting his ass kicked, rebellious nature, ladies man, I’m also told he’s very smart but he keeps making stupid decisions (or he needs very obvious plot points pointed out to him). The best part of the entire movie is Leonard Nimoy showing up as the deus ex machine…I mean…Old Spock. He comes in to wrap up plot points, spoon feed information and basically act like the only intelligent human being in the entire film, which is saying something since he’s an alien who’s not supposed to have human emotions. I didn’t hate Star Trek, but it wasn’t the movie that everyone hyped it up to be. I do have a theory as to why that happened: in a summer with so many terrible films (Transformers 2 and Wolverine being at the top of the list), everyone was probably very glad to see a decent summer film. And that’s all that Star Trek was – perfunctory, generic, loud, slam-bam, brainless popcorn entertainment. I expected something more.

0 comments, Reply to this entry

They're Baa-aack.....

Posted : 3 months, 3 weeks ago on 11 September 2009 12:51 (A review of Star Trek)

After watching this movie, it becomes obvious that space it not the final frontier,
time is.
While the story was simply okay & the villian pretty forgettable, the use of time-travel as a way of rebooting the series with the original crew & yet, still keeping in with the continuity that has been built up til now, was ingenius.
Now, the potential has been opened up to relaunch the entire franchise using brand new stories but still with the old gang of Kirk, Spock, Sulu, Uhrura, Bones, Chekov & Scotty.
The sets & technological designs of this installement, IMO, were bright, stylishly updated & detailed, but still kept with that particular flair that made the early series uniquely it's own.

I think that while fans of Star Wars are going to continue to grumble all over the internet & at sci-fi cons of how low their beloved franchise has fallen,
with this latest movie, Trek fans, old & new, have been given A New Hope for a future filled with the possibilty that, as Trekkies, they will now truly be able to....well, y'know.....
live long & prosper.

Sorry.
I had to fit that in somehow.




8.5/10

0 comments, Reply to this entry

A franchise is revived...

Posted : 6 months, 1 week ago on 22 June 2009 11:09 (A review of Star Trek)

"Space: the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Her ongoing mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life-forms and new civilizations; to boldly go where no one has gone before."

Materialising in the shadow of such cinematic reboots as Casino Royale and Batman Begins, J.J. Abrams' Star Trek is a dynamic resurrection of the decades-old franchise of the same name. The studio heads at Paramount Pictures clearly perceived the Star Trek property as a cash cow, and to capitalise on this money-making potential they elected the most popular path for franchise revivification. This Star Trek reboot is therefore a fresh start, disregarding prior instalments and introducing new players on both sides of the camera. Furthermore, 2009's Star Trek has been designed with the lofty goal in mind of retaining current fans, repatriating lapsed fans as well as opening up Gene Roddenberry's Trek universe to a new generation of film-goers. A well-crafted blockbuster, Abrams' motion picture is incredibly ambitious in scope while also being concerned with intimate details of the relationships at play. Star Trek is packed with vibrant action sequences, immaculate special effects and well-defined characters. However this isn't a cerebral experience. The movie isn't exactly empty-headed as it indeed has its smarts (although there are some barely acceptable contrivances), but the high-mindedness of the Roddenberry years is ostensibly disregarded.

Star Trek simply chronicles the early days of the crew aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise, functioning as a proverbial origins tale that reveals the genesis of the franchise's trademark characters. The story mainly focuses on the undisciplined young rebel James T. Kirk (Pine) who enlists in Starfleet, following in his father's footsteps. Spock (Quinto) is another prime focus, and the complex relationship between Kirk and Spock lies at the heart of the story. The major narrative thread of the movie, however, concerns the confrontation between the U.S.S. Enterprise and a Romulan spaceship headed by Captain Nero (Bana).

To reveal further facets of the plot would unfairly spoil half the surprises to be uncovered within. Unfortunately, Abrams' film stumbles in the narrative department - the plot is a total mess. It's a complicated plotline which requires substantial exposition merely to keep it barely comprehensible. Despite the well-scripted character interactions, there's a distinct lack of edge-of-your-seat tension. Never is there a sense that the crew are in genuine peril, which is probably because Nero's evil plans are unclear. As an action movie, Star Trek lacks dramatic momentum and frankly doesn't make a whole lot of sense. Crucially, the flick is visually impressive but emotionally hollow.

Similar to most origin pictures, Star Trek displays a few narrative cracks as it goes through the obligatory process of assembling the characters, providing each character with a perfunctory back-story, and generating a suitable story which can facilitate space battles as well as action in general. Like all movies tasked with reworking established universes, it's disappointing that the characters only seem primed to move in new and interesting directions once the film concludes. The work of Abrams and his screenwriters (keen Trek fans Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman) is hindered by the constraints of the "origin" format, and the material feels rushed from time to time. Nevertheless, the characters remain extremely well-developed and the dialogue is explosive. There's a fortunate shortage of unnecessary melodrama as well. Refreshingly, this is also primarily a character-driven feature. As a result, you'll never confuse a supporting player like Leonard "Bones" McCoy (Urban) with some incidental background character.

With plenty of focus on the action, Star Trek is an agile action-adventure guaranteed to satiate the modern cinematic marketplace and appeal to those unfamiliar with the franchise. J.J. Abrams' film cuts to the chase from frame one, galloping through necessary origin tales while embarking on an amazing visual odyssey. This is clearly an action-oriented motion picture, yet the writers have the good sense to delicately establish the characters before sending them into action. The pace is blistering, and there's plenty of eye candy in the form of expertly-realised space battles. There are also chases, fight scenes, shootouts, and all the other staples one expects from an action-adventure, and it's all packed efficiently into a two-hour runtime. Star Trek has never looked better, with the budgetary restrictions of the prior movies (which limited the action scenes) no longer an issue. The special effects are unreservedly amazing. The spaceships are awesome constructions, with top-notch CGI for the exterior shots and impressive sets for the interior sequences. In fact, the use of extensive interior sets gives the film a more organic feel. Michael Giacchino's score is also suitably zippy, melancholy and grand. Star Trek is a reminder that a Trek movie can be fun, entertaining and slightly thoughtful without being ponderous.

However, the camerawork is distracting during the major action sequences. Abrams rarely inserts crucial establishing shots (or wide shots) into these sequences as he favours the shaky cam/close-up approach, creating a feeling of disorientation as opposed to exhilaration. After an incredible space battle during the film's initial ten minutes, the plot begins to bog down in its labyrinthine narrative and one's mind starts to wander. Star Trek is never boring, but it never takes off in a way that is seriously exhilarating or electrifying. It's superbly cast, and it's loaded with great character interaction in addition to genuine humanity, but it's hampered by a badly conceived storyline and the occasionally humdrum action sequences.

The heart and soul of Star Trek is the duo of James T. Kirk and Mr. Spock. Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto immaculately suit their respective roles. Despite this being both actors' first big movie, they're engaging and natural. Pine looks and sounds nothing like William Shatner (who originally played James T. Kirk), but his performance is not meant to be mimicry. He instead nails the essence of Kirk's character with a combination of charm and cocky arrogance. This is mixed with endearing humour and welcome humanity. Zachary Quinto is equally excellent. His thoughtful performance effortlessly conveys the dichotomy that makes Spock such a fascinating character - his frustratingly logical surface persona concealing a barely suppressed well of emotion. Star Trek is an action-adventure at its core, yet ample time is allotted for Kirk and Spock to engage in verbal battles, founding their friendship in a charming glue of muted aggravation and burgeoning respect.

Amazingly, Leonard Nimoy returns to reprise his iconic role of Mr. Spock (an aged version). Even if he only appears in a few scenes, the aging actor does a tremendous job. It's astounding that after a gap of almost two decades, Nimoy is able to return to the character without missing a beat. The supporting cast is enormous! Simon Pegg, Anton Yelchin and Karl Urban are particular standouts here; making the biggest impression with their limited screen-time. Eric Bana is underutilised and flaccid as the villain of the picture. Meanwhile, a plethora of other names are also in the service of the new crew. Such actors include Christopher Pike, John Cho, Zoe Saldana, Ben Cross, Christopher Hemsworth and Winona Ryder - all of whom hit their marks.

When the end credits begin to roll, we're left with the sense that Star Trek represents a great new beginning. As a film tasked with bringing together all the characters and rebooting the timeline, Star Trek works. It has its flaws, but J.J. Abrams' big-budget revival of a dormant saga is one of the best films of the '09 summer season.

"Live long, and Prosper."

7.6/10

0 comments, Reply to this entry

Star Trek review

Posted : 7 months ago on 4 June 2009 05:33 (A review of Star Trek)

I have never seen any of the t.v. shows for Star Trek. This movie was nothing like I expected it to be! I expected it to be some boring space movie, and it turned out to be one of the best movies I have ever seen!

0 comments, Reply to this entry

\\//_

Posted : 7 months ago on 3 June 2009 04:33 (A review of Star Trek)

What a surprise. I really liked the tv-serielike touch on this. This could just be a season finale of a series you are having really fun to watch. For what it is, it is great. Watch it with friend so you can comment on it at the same time, don't get too serious with it.


+ No unnecessary romance
+ Action parts weren't notched down for the PG-Rating
+ Makers didn't get wild with the outfits, they are simpe
+ Multimedia execution

- Simon Peggs char



0 comments, Reply to this entry

Space... the final frontier.

Posted : 7 months, 3 weeks ago on 12 May 2009 01:06 (A review of Star Trek)

''Your father was captain of a starship for twelve minutes. He saved 800 lives, including yours. I dare you to do better. Enlist in Starfleet.''

A chronicle of the early days of James T. Kirk and his fellow USS Enterprise crew members.

Chris Pine: James T. Kirk

To put it simply Star Trek isn't just a reboot of a dying franchise, Star Trek isn't just a summer blockbuster, Star Trek isn't just sci-fi effect laden fun, Star Trek is an adventure, experience and humourous coming together of characters and creatures. This gives Star Wars a run for it's money and ultimately taps into something new the originals and new sequels lacked, spontaneity.

It's not just fresh visuals and new characters the music is new also giving the whole film a fresh, reborn, vibrant feel. J.J Abrams has successfully tapped into his vein of originality, poise and vision with stunning effectiveness. LOST, Mission Impossible 3, the writing behind Cloverfield and now Star Trek show us how imaginative a director Abrams is, and that we can expect more to come from this man.
Star Trek features some of the best effects and action sequences, to rival anything Transformers or Wolverine can throw at us. Indeed they surpass the former attempts in some cases. An example of a fight scene on planet Vulcan, on a very large coil, was an amazing adrenaline rushing experience, with swordplay and fisticuff fighting between Kirk and some Romulan assailants. The space battles were competition for Revenge of the Sith with some of the best visuals to appear to date, reminiscent of the Halo series in terms of looks and execution.

''Live long, and Prosper.''

Characters are relatable and likeable to audiences. Whether it be rebellious Kirk, Intellectual Spock and their fiery relationship and clashing of personas, wonderfully played by Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto, who strike the nail on the head perfectly. Eric Bana plays villainous Nero effortlessly, Bruce Greenwood excels as Capt. Christopher Pike, Karl Urban is likeable as the quirky witty Dr. Leonard 'Bones' McCoy, Zoe Saldana is the beautiful Nyota Uhura, Simon Pegg is the comical Scotty, John Chothe sword trained Hikaru Sulu, Anton Yelchin the Russian Pavel Chekov, Ben Cross as Sarek and Winona Ryder as Amanda Grayson Spock's Mother.

The film has been compared to Iron Man in more than one review the similarities are clear. Both films feature excellent dialogue and character interactions, swift, clever characterization, a minimum of laborious exposition, and also have a common flaw: a rushed plot which overall is almost a side plot. The only reboot to truly escape this pitfall thus far is Casino Royale, which successfully told a very tight story and also consistently developed Bond as a character. Bana is menacing enough and his ship is well-designed but overall he's no Khan or Chang and was much better-written in the Countdown prequel comic than in the film itself. There are also a series of massive contrivances to get everything where it needs to be which will have viewers rolling their eyes, but even these are handled well by the script, which is smooth and fast as opposed to clunky and sterile. Plus, they're necessary for this origin story not to be a typical boring origin story and become what it is.

It's a new directive, yet totally faithful to Trek where it needs to be: in spirit and inspiration. In a world of dreary blockbusters and 'dark' reboots, this Trek, though grittier in terms of design than anything before, shines, from opening to closing, as an example of optimistic, exciting, thrilling, humorous, and thoroughly enjoyable adventure action packed sci-fi cinema.

''Space... the final frontier.''



4 comments, Reply to this entry