Star Trek (2009) - Rating: 4 petals out of 5

Something new has been added

Pictured above: Anton Yelchin (Chekov), Chris Pine (Kirk), Simon Pegg (Scott), Karl Urban (Bones), John Cho (Sulu), Zoe Saldana (Uhuru)

(Spoiler Alert - this review may contain spoilers)

For me, the beauty of Star Trek was first, the Enterprise, second, the crew and third, the storyline of political and racial/species interactions. And lastly, Star Trek is always fun to watch. So, I love Star Trek - and when I heard they were making a new movie I could hardly contain my excitement. Having never forgiven the franchise for destroying the Enterprise D, I was waiting, hoping and longing for them to make a good come back. And I was not disappointed.

I was not utterly blown away, but I was not disappointed. Hence the 4 petal rating. (4 petals are good.)

But why 4 petals and not 5? Here is why:

The movie starts out with the birth of James T. Kirk and the death of his father. A very touching, tear jerking scene which the movie could have done without. Why the drama? His dad dies, that is bad enough. (They did not have to add the "oh poor baby, now he has to grow up with only a mom" effect. Plenty of very well adjusted kids grow up with only a mom. )

Anyhow, we move forward to Kirk as an young man who meets his future crew mates, Uhuru and Pike in a bar. The bar scene is okay and does it's job of getting Kirk to join starfleet. But the movie, for me began when Karl Urban, playing Bones, arrives aboard the shuttle craft and meets Kirk. Chris Pine and Urban play off each other very well and all their scenes together are enjoyable to watch. And they do have some funny scenes.

Kirk and Spock (played by Zachary Quinto) on the other hand, are at each others throats, literally and figuratively from the time they meet. Quinto plays a good Spock, even though Leonard Nimoy placed his stamp on that role some 40 years ago. It must have been hard to play Spock, not like Nimoy but still channel Nimoy enough to play a young Spock.

Spock, like Kirk, Bones and Scott are well known characters and playing young versions of these men must have been challenging. But the new cast does a very good job. Pine's Kirk was spot on, including the macho sprawl in the captain's chair. Cho had some action sequences which I am sure the original Sulu would have liked to play. Saldana, the lone female adds alot to Uhuru's character. It was great to see Uhuru play a major role in the film.

Back to the story (Spoiler Alert):

The story, was credible and gave the franchise license to take Star Trek in a new direction. This new path includes a romance between Spock and Uhuru (that is new) and continues with Kirk sleeping with green women (consistency is needed to link the old to the new).

And the story in brief, is that in the future Spock (played by Nimoy) tries to help the Romulans and fails., causing Nero to become enraged. Spock and Nero are swept into the past and arrive about 25 years apart. Nero arrives first, kills Kirk's dad and hangs around until Spock turns up. He destroys Vulcan (again, something new) and forces future Spock-Nimoy and younger Spock-Quinto to watch. Spock's mom and a few billion Vulcans die in the process. So now Spock and Kirk have Nero to blame for killing one of their parents. And the revenge fest ensues.

Along the way the action is great, the crew picks up Scott in the most amusing way and everyone is on the edge of their seats. Coming into the theatre we thought we knew how the story ended, after all, Star Trek the original series was around in the sixties, so these fellows survive - RIGHT?

Or maybe not. With the new plot twists and alternate time line, no one quite knows what is going to happen next. Which makes the movie great!! And exciting!!!

Wow, who knew that they could revive the franchise in such a spectacular fashion? And I am grateful. Everyone should have the pleasure of being hopelessly hooked on the adventures on the Starship Enterprise like I am.

So I forgive them these few things, which I would otherwise find utterly unforgivable:

• the Star Wars type creatures (which I really do not like)


• the obvious changes made to the Starship Enterprise NCC-1701


• the Enterprise coming charging out of warp drive, photon torpedoes blazing (very Star Warszy)

Some pluses:

• It was great to see the Enterprise on the big screen again


• It is always great to see Nimoy play Spock (I almost cried)


• Bruce Greenwood is fantastic as Captain Pike. But when is Bruce Greenwood not fantastic? Does he age? Yeah, he looks older, but he looks awesome too. He is rivalling Brosnan and Patrick Stewart for the best looking man over 50 award.


• Eric Bana was a good Nero.


• Yelchin was funny with his Russian accent.

My advice - go watch Star Trek. It is fun and funny; exciting and suspenseful. Even if you never watched Star Trek and hate the idea of seeing talking creatures on the screen - I think you will enjoy it.