Star Trek Reviews

While it was not a perfect series (William Shatner's overacting, less than great production values and an iffy Season 3), the original 'Star Trek' series was a genre landmark and hugely influential and ground-breaking, also a mostly great series in its own right especially for the characters, the relationships and Leonard Nimoy's Spock.

The films based on the original series were a mixed bag. A few great ones with 'The Wrath of Khan', 'The Voyage Home' and 'The Undiscovered Country', one in-between film with 'The Search for Spock' and disappointments with 'The Motion Picture' and particularly 'The Final Frontier'. There were ten 'Star Trek' films before this 2009 reboot, four being based on the 'Next Generation series where the only outstanding one was 'First Contact'. 'Generations to me was another in-between film and 'Insurrection' and 'Nemesis' were two other particularly problematic ones.

'Star Trek' (2009) is neither one of the best of the films or one of the worst, if anything it's another in-between effort while being marginally better than the other two in-between films. There are a lot of impressive elements and some major flaws that stop it from being the great prequel that it had potential to be.

Visually, the film mostly looks great. Particularly good is the set for the Enterprise which not only amazes visually but one of the elements that sticks close to the original series. The special effects are mainly fantastic and leave one in awe, while there is audacious and suitably moody cinematography and atmospheric lighting. By all means it is not perfect visually, there is the distracting overuse of lens flares that was in serious need of a toning down, it was a technique that was abused somewhat, didn't feel necessary in some scenes and is not particularly comfortable sometimes to look at.

Michael Giacchino delivers another winner of a music score, don't remember ever being disappointed by this man. Sure it is familiar, but it fits very well with the film and its mood and is unmistakable Giacchino, a beautiful score to listen to and has a lot of atmosphere.

There are some thought-provoking moments in the script and it doesn't feel too talky which is true in spirit to the original series. Where it doesn't fare so well is the comic relief, there is a little too much of it and some of it wasn't particularly funny and seemed superfluous as well.

Regarding the story, 'Star Trek' (2009) evoked mixed reactions from me. It is rich in atmosphere and has some thrilling moments and truly exciting action, while the interplay between Kirk and Spock is brilliantly written and makes one feel quite nostalgic. Most of it is easy to follow. Less good are some bogus science, some parts that are convoluted and could have benefited from more explanation and Nero's plan and motivation being underdeveloped, confused and inconsistent. It is also too big and noisy in spectacle and could have quietened down to give room for more characterisation. One of the original series' strengths too was the characters and how they were developed and interacted, other than Kirk, McCoy and Spock there wasn't enough of that with most of them like Nero being far too one-dimensional.

Casting is mostly good but with a couple of misses. Zachary Quinto in particular nails it as Spock with huge shoes to fill, capturing perfectly what was so iconic about the character in the first place. Another great contribution is a suitably cantankerous Karl Urban, who remains loyal to DeForrest Kelley's interpretation without being an impersonation. Chris Pine did very well and is certainly more subtle than William Shatner, the character isn't likable at first but evolves and Pine brings that out. Zoe Saldana is fiery and sexy and Bruce Greenwood is good fun. It was nice to see Nimoy again as Old Spock and brought a nostalgic and affectionate element. Bana has some menace and does his best, but there are admittedly far more interesting villains in other 'Star Trek' films.

Not everybody works. Simon Pegg, who is usually a very entertaining guy, is beyond irritating comic relief with Scotty coming over as a caricature. Anton Yelchin has also given much better performances, he badly overdoes it as Chekhov.

In conclusion, fun and impressive often but with some major flaws at the same time. Nothing comes over disastrously though. 6.5-7/10 Bethany Cox

Music in this movie is awesome ! Michael Giacchino one of my favorite modern composer. Zachary Quinto also great.

It's true that I ain't no Trekkie, and it's true I couldn't tell who's who in the universe, but since J.J. Abrams proved himself as a more accessible version of Joss Whedon, I didn't need to bother myself with extensive past knowledge. This is modern film done right. Those who grew up with the series or those who still hold the original series in high regard of everything else, I cannot say for sure how their feelings were, but for me, a true newbie, I was simply mind-blown; and it had almost nothing to do with the mythos of Star Trek. It was the execution style, the easy to follow storyline, the strong casting and brilliant script-writing that held my attention.

A sci-fi at heart with action as its soul and humour for brains, Star Trek is one of modern cinema's great "young" films - casting young actors who more or less fall somewhere near the late 20's/early 30's line, and are crafted specifically for modern audiences. Not films like the remake of Nightmare on Elm Street or Avatar or Cloverfield, but the ones although specifically and directly aimed for the modern audiences, can also be enjoyed by old-timers and the untargeted ones. This film has a sleek as a silver concept car look to it while adopting a shiny razor-edge atmosphere that gives a two-finger salute to "older", "humdrum" films like Indiana Jones and I Am Number Four and Hulk, just to name a few. Anyway, it is brilliantly crafted, has several rewindable moments, and although it does for a moment fall into a melee free-for-all mode with several predictable moments and a Spock-ception climax, it manages to end on a great note that altogether makes you wish the Star Wars prequels were more like this and less of the misshapen clay pieces they unfortunately became.

From the performances, Chris Pine totally won me over by his charismatic performance as Kirk. Although initially introduced to us as a reckless playboy, he almost quickly rejects the cliche path and becomes the main highlight of the film. Zachary Quinto, in an equally impressive performance as Spock, too won me over. Their chemistry was immaculate and their combined screen presence was at times mesmerizing and at times a ying-yang clash, like a space version of First Class's Magneto and Prof. X. From the supporting, everyone was highly charming, charismatic in their own ways and energetically spirited, with Karl Urban, Anton Yelchin and John Cho stealing the side spot-lights. Simon Pegg was a welcome surprise, adding a whole new crazy level of humour and personality to the film. Zoe Saldana made the best of her screen-time but seemed too confused to set on a specific path. As if she was unsure whether to transit from the previous attitude to another or to not. But still, this is one of her best screen roles to date. Chris Hemsworth, in his cameo at the beginning, was surprisingly full of personality and development. Not bad for a guy who only has 15 minutes of screen time. Eric Bana, although brilliant in his role as Nero, did not bring anything new or unique, but I still say this: Nero is definitely one of modern cinema's best acted villains, even if the character wasn't exactly original nor sympathetic, especially when his tragic past is revealed.

In conclusion, Star Trek is definitely one to watch. It's well written, well acted, has humour, has action, and should make for a perfect popcorn-and-soda night!

8.5/10

One word: Awesome. I can't believe I loved this movie so much. I've never seen a Star Trek episode in my life, and I had never seen a Star Trek movie. I barely knew who Spock was. And yet, I found Star Trek to be a perfectly satisfying and exhilarating experience.

Star Trek is the story of James T. Kirk and Spock, two seemingly unconnected beings, that find their stories intertwined when both find themselves aboard the USS Enterprise in order to battle the story's villain, Nero, who threatens to destroy many plants in a dramatic act of vengeance.

There's so much that works in this movie, it's hard to know where to start. The action scenes are always fun. Even suspenseful at times, Star Trek boasts a perfect blend of space flights and individual combat. But the key here is that Star Trek doesn't let the action scenes or the flashy effects take over.

The story is just as important in this film, than the action; a trait that's becoming increasingly rare in modern film. The story is by no means revolutionary, but it's told with enough depth and enough punch that it doesn't feel like filler.

Still, the main reason Star Trek works so well is the excellent characters. It's been a long while since I've seen a film with such a likeable group of characters. You become attached, and I wanted to see more of them. As strange as it is to say, 2 hours with these characters seems much too short.

The two main characters, James Kirk (Chris Pine) and Spock (Zachary Quinto), didn't agree with me at first. But they grew on me as time went on. Kirk's cockiness and arrogance is reminiscent of Star Wars' Han Solo. Spock seems almost personality-less at first, though the character's depth is developed over the course of the film.

The supporting cast is actually a lot more likeable than the two leads. Dr. Leonard McCoy (Karl Urban) is delightfully crabby, whilst John Cho as Hikaru Sulu has an all-too-small role. Scotty (Simon Pegg) has a very memorable role here with a killer Scottish accent, and tons of energy in his screen presence. Anton Yelchin portrays Pavel Chekov; another energetic character that, like Scotty, owes a lot of his charm to his accent.

The only weak point in the characters is Nyota Uhura (Zoe Saldana). This may be more of a me-problem, but I just didn't like her personality. When she wasn't boring, she was boasting a cliched, tough girl character. At any rate, I was less enthralled by this Enterprise member.

The acting behind these characters are mostly solid. No one gives a bad performance, but there is an obvious range of quality in the portrayals. Quinto's performance (as Spock) is decent, but I found Pine's (as Kirk) to be more impressive. Simon Pegg is brilliant as usual, as is the rest of the supporting cast. It might be noted that some of the dialogue is a bit silly, but I suppose it's all in the Trek spirit.

Michael Giacchino's score is excellent, as always. Incorporating the original Star Trek themes, Giacchino has composed a very Giacchino-score, employing most of his best score characteristics. While not as diverse, or as character-influenced as his best work, this is still grand and melodious Sci-Fi beauty.

I may be no Trekkie, but I know a good movie when I see one. A roller coaster of effects, action, and great characters, this is superb popcorn entertainment. I missed seeing Star Trek in theaters, but based on how much I enjoyed myself watching it 4 years later, I won't be making the same mistake with Star Trek: Into Darkness.

What a blast! Unlike most of the viewers, I made sure I watched every single Star Trek movies before watching this reboot (I know, I'm a very obsessive person...). To be honest, before watching this, I was actually a little bit worried that this approach would ruin this viewing for me but it was just the opposite. Indeed, if you are familiar with this franchise and those characters, I'm pretty sure it is actually even more enjoyable. I mean, I thought it was mind-blowing to see how much effort they took to create such recognizable and believable younger version of those beloved characters. Furthermore, one thing I really dreaded while watching those Star Trek movies is how really cheesy the whole thing looked, even the installments made in the 90's. Not this time though. Indeed, J.J. Abrams had a huge budget and it clearly shows on the screen and, as a result, there were some massive action scenes and the special effects were finally really neat. Still, was it really such a masterpiece like many pretend it to be? I mean, the story was definitely fun and entertaining but, like all the other Star Trek movies, it was also terribly convoluted and many things barely made sense (the time-travelling, the black holes, the way Kirk ends up being Captain,...). Is it the best Star Trek movie ever made? Yeah, definitely. Is it really such a masterpiece? No way... Still, I had a really good time watching this, it was the perfect way to end up this journey through the Star Trek legacy (I will definitely watch the next installment coming up in 2013) and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

I was a little wary of a reboot of a classic franchise, but JJ Abrams did an excellent job introducing a new time line, and now new possibilities for a whole new storyline in the Star Trek universe. The movie is well cast, in terms of the actors playing the key roles we are already familiar with, and I hope there are more movies to come with this group of actors.

I have now seen this movie five or six times, and my enjoyment of it has not yet decreased on each subsequent viewing. I had high hopes for this, was a little afraid it would fall flat, but was definitely impressed that it not only held up, but was an overall excellent job, from the writing, to the effects, to the casting, to the acting.

So I managed to go to the world premiere at the Sydney opera house last night. While I will not ruin the film before its release by delivering a shot by shot review here I will say that JJ Abrams is quite possibly the smartest film maker on the planet. Managing to poke fun at some of the sillier aspects of the original series/movies while still being completely respectful, action scenes that easily rival anything in Transformers, and space battles that are breathtaking. Now let me just say that while I do consider myself a big fan of Trek in all its forms, i don't have a uniform hanging in my wardrobe and I cant speak Klingon, but having said that I will say the movie is F###ING AMAZING...!!! Honestly, incredible film, do yourself a favour and see it as soon as it comes out

James Tiberious Kirk (Chris Pine) é um jovem rebelde inconformado com a morte de seu pai. Certo dia, recebe convite para fazer parte da formação de novos cadetes para a Frota Estelar. Uma vez lá conhece Spock (Zachary Quinto), um vulcano que optou por deixar seu planeta porque é metade humano e discordava do preconceito. Durante o treinamento, e também na primeira missão, os dois vivenciam novas experiências provocadas por seus estilos diametralmente opostos. Assim, Spock, o cerebral, e Kirk, o passional, viverão uma grande aventura ao lado de outros tradicionais integrantes da tripulação da U.S.S. Enterprise, a mais avançada nave espacial da época.

I'm still amazed at how exciting, kick-ass and thoroughly well-made this movie is. The bar has been set so high for the upcoming "summer blockbuster" films that I really can't imagine that any of them will surpass Star Trek in terms of quality, even if they match its box office performance. J.J. Abrams' re-imagining of the classic series is the best kind of summer blockbuster: its title and the entertaining trailer would've been enough to bring in the big bucks, but the team behind this new version of Star Trek have gone way beyond the extra mile by creating an incredibly engrossing story that benefits from a surprisingly great sense of humor and likable characters. Combine that with a fast-paced sense of fun and A+ special effects, and you've got a superior piece of mainstream entertainment.

The fact that this is undoubtedly an above-average summer movie becomes quite clear during the first few minutes of Star Trek, during which we experience what initially appears to be a standard-order action sequence out of Sci-Fi Movies 101, and concludes with an emotionally-wrenching tragic moment that will immediately make the viewer feel much more invested in this than he/she would be while watching a more superficial film. To make things even better, the movie then proceeds to give us more than just short glimpses at the childhoods of our two protagonists, James T. Kirk and Spock. Before moving on to the story's main conflict, Abrams does a wonderful job of conveying the flaws that afflict each of these two characters and what's at stake for each of them, and the development of both characters is handled brilliantly.

The action sequences featured in Star Trek are impeccable. So many movies of this ilk take the route of having loud, choppily-edited scenes in which it's impossible to tell what's happening, but instead, here we get brisk action sequences that are buttressed by the blazing special effects. Once we get knee-deep into the action, Star Trek takes a rather interesting turn that may confound many, but will reward those who can appreciate an intelligent summer movie: the film brings in an element that has to do with timelines and with the ability to find out what will happen in the future by literally communicating (in person) with people who are from the future, thereby perhaps finding a way to affect destiny. This is a magnificent element of the plot, not only because of the complexity that it gives to the story, but because (especially towards the end) it foreshadows the great relationship of friendship that Kirk and Spock will have, and in turn, this is also a great way of foreshadowing what we can look forward to in a sequel (which I think has all the potential in the world to be astoundingly great, considering the precedent that has been set here).

In the lead role of Kirk, Chris Pine succeeds hugely at balancing humor and charisma with fierceness and vigor, often managing to shift from one to the other in a single scene without missing a beat. It's understandable for people to have been skeptical about him prior to watching the film, as the guy looked like he might have just been another Hayden Christensen, so let's thank God that he's the exact opposite. His comedic timing is excellent, but he's also great in the more serious moments, and also, it has to be mentioned that he's searing hot (if Star Trek weren't such a fantastic movie, seeing him in that black shirt would still be worth the price of admission). As Spock, Zachary Quinto has an even tougher job, because although this looks like a role in which the actor can just easily coast on blank stares, the fact is that the character of Spock is developed by the film into this half-Vulcan/half-Human who is constantly conflicted by the need to avoid his emotional human side, so this makes it a tougher role, and Quinto handles it remarkably.

Though the rest of the cast is also very good, the one issue to be had with Star Trek is that it doesn't quite develop its villain, Nero, as effectively as it should; to be plain, Nero simply isn't in enough scenes in the movie to get us to find him all that menacing. Eric Bana does a fine job of playing him, but the character could've benefited from more screen time. This is forgivable, though, when you consider that, by not developing Nero quite as fully as they could have, the filmmakers instead chose to use more of the movie's running time to do a supremely great job of developing our two protagonists, which is ultimately more helpful in drawing the audience into the story.

Considering what has been accomplished here, I pray that J.J. Abrams' reinvention of this classic series gets to live long and prosper. This movie had the need of dealing with a lot of narrative/background story issues, since it was the first film of the reboot. So, in its future entries, the franchise has all the potential in the world to continue exploring these characters and to move into even deeper thematic territory, and I absolutely can't wait for that. While we impatiently wait for the sequel, though, we can rejoice in the fact that this first film is a nimble, witty and hugely entertaining work of cinema.

When the news that a revamp of Star Trek was coming out I was skeptical. But, what a revamp does have going for it was that Star Trek never took itself too seriously. I thought there was plenty to like in this movie. There was enough of the hokey sentiment, and the essence of most characters was retained and the fun of seeing how it all got started. However, having seen it on DVD I am afraid that most of the special effects were lost. As a matter of fact, when most of the battle scenes were occurring I just got bored and would wander away. As much as I like Simon Pegg, I didn't like the character of Scotty, just too slap-stick like; might as well have used Craig Ferguson for that sort of humor. Although I did develop a little crush on Bones, so it has that going for it. The full storyline didn't quite gel for me, and just blowing the bad guy to bits was soooo not Star Trek. All in all, it kept the essence of Star Trek and that is the most important thing and hopefully in any new movies they can correct these mistakes.