Star Trek — guest movie review
Craig Merry’s back with another guest review! I haven’t had the time or interest to see the new Star Trek picture, but he just might have swayed me. Read on for his review.
Not too long ago I was sitting in “Watchmen” and saw the trailer for Star Trek. My brother was in awe and gave that elbow rub in the rib cage. He wanted to see it. Me, not so much. The first and last episode I watched was when I was 10, and it bored me to tears. For most of you reading this, you’re probably taken aback that a non-Star Trek fan would be allowed to go see an advance screening for this film. Honestly, it was a Thursday night and the Office has been sucking. Plus JJ Abrams directs. I’ve liked most of the projects with his name attached to it, so it was the perfect reason to get away. I expected an suitably established sci-fi sensibility, with some action and geekiness. But I also expected JJ Abrams to try to appeal to 20-something semi-geeks like myself. That he did.
First off, there were some things that weren’t carried out all that smoothly, and that’s probably because of the writing and directing not being as coherent (or one-sidedness from the writer or director) as possible. Being a Star Trek/sci-fi film trying to reach a massive audience, the film’s forced to strike a delicate balance between the influence and expectations of Star Trek fans and those of the more accessible JJ Abrams productions. Thankfully, the writing and direction seems to have accomplished that in all aspects of the film. Huge props for that team able to complete a project of this scope.
The plot was interesting enough to hold my attention and maintained a consistent feeling of tension throughout the film. The beginning was a bit comical but after awhile I let reality go and fantasy take over. That’s where the film became immensely enjoyable and entertaining. For you Lost fans, there’s bound to be some conspiracy theories about the parallels of the film and the show.
For some of you Trek fans, you may object to the casting selection of Kirk. I’ve never seen Shatner as Kirk, but the man is extraordinarily unique and had a style that would be near impossible to duplicate. Chris Pine seems to do a decent job of filling those shoes. The rest of the cast seemed to play their roles and character sets as they are supposed to.
It’s hard to say if Star Trek fans will be disappointed from my perspective. But I can say it’s an entertaining film that surely will do well in the box office. It doesn’t have the visual tension as Sunshine did. It gets most of its tension from the dialogue. That doesn’t mean these visuals aren’t any good, it’s that Sunshine that much more intense focus of appealing to the senses in using a pattern that evoked that sense of tension. I like Star Trek for what it is: a space joy ride. The adult glib would be: “A sci-fi fans wet dream!”
With all that being said, where can I sign up to get Captain Kirk’s motorcycle?
About the Author
