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If Batman Begins was going back to Square One, then the new Star Trek is starting from Square One Version 2. Its the Trek you knew, yet also not the Trek you know and from the get-go you'll see it if you're a long-time fan. If you're not, its not important anyway. See, JJ Abrams made this so dedicated Trekkies and people unfamiliar with Star Trek could sit down and enjoy this movie.
The fun of the movie for Trekkies will be seeing how the story deviates from the original series and why it deviates, while the charm of the cast, the regular doses of comic relief and good acting will draw in the uninitiatied. Most of the cast puts thier own stamps on each character and really make the roles thier own, the only real exception here is Chekov and McCoy who emulate the original actors of those roles pretty faithfully, its clashes a little with the more original portrayals. Steel, eets preety nice to ear about zee planette Wulcan and all the "Dammit, Jim, I'm a doctor" stuff.
Simon Pegg actually does a different Scottish accent for Scotty than James Doohan did, but he owns the role all the same. It was awesome that the cast him for it, he does it justice. He even has this funny little sidekick they just sort of threw in. John Cho (of Harold on Qumar fame) is a pretty cool Sulu, he's given a couple scenes to shine in but remains a minor character otherwise for the time being
Chris Pine makes a really good Kirk, very little of it resembles Shatner's style of delivery, but he tossed in a couple dramatic pauses just for fun. He's cocky, rebellious, in-your-face, passionate, gets it on with alien chicks and even vies for Uhura's attentions, just like a good Kirk should. Zachary Quinto's Spock tends to teeter on the brink of emotion, just beneath the surface of his logic, but its understandable considering some of the plot elements. He does Nimoy proud.
Uhura is also a very good character. She plays it hard to get with Kirk and seems to have a deep relationship with Spock and his emotional anchor. She gets a little more time than Chekov and Sulu do, but remains a fairly minor character with lots of future potential. Zoe Saldana is also smoking hot as Uhura.
The movie is fairly low on the technobabble, but there is a bit of time-travel discussion, which in an of itself can be dizzying. I'll simplify it. Remember Back to the Future Part II and that whole bit where Future Biff goes back in time and gives 1955 Biff the Sports Almanac? When Marty and Doc go back to 1985, Biff is king of Hill Valley.
Well that's why I said this is Square One Version 2 for Star Trek. Events take place with Ambassador Spock and Romulan Mining Captain Nero in the post-Nemesis TNG universe. These events end up having Nero thrust back into the past, driven mad by great personal loss but also unfortunately (for our heroes) armed with technology that far surpasses past Federation technology. He also has a mad-on for the Federation and Vulcans.
Nero winds up emerging from a time-space anomoly just moments before Kirk is actually born and from there is where things start to diverge from TOS cannon. So what we have here is a new alternate timeline. Everything from TOS to Nemesis still happens, but the result for the TNG universe is:
The consequences of these events in the new timeline are pretty major. Some even shocking. This crew will be facing an altered version of the original series' universe, complete with new challenges.
The movie successfully revives cherished characters, brings a lot of great and frequent humor to the mix and while somewhat low on action, its high on special effects and the core principles that made the original Trek so great. Kirk and Spock are the heart of the movie and it shows them go from rivals to friends, the other members of the crew each get a moment to shine, which is just as it should be.
So if you like Trek, you'll like this movie. Easily one of the best Trek flicks ever done.
If you don't know a damn thing about Trek, you'll like this movie.
If you're a Star Wars fanboy, you'll wish JJ Abrams could steal the reins from George Lucas.
The fun of the movie for Trekkies will be seeing how the story deviates from the original series and why it deviates, while the charm of the cast, the regular doses of comic relief and good acting will draw in the uninitiatied. Most of the cast puts thier own stamps on each character and really make the roles thier own, the only real exception here is Chekov and McCoy who emulate the original actors of those roles pretty faithfully, its clashes a little with the more original portrayals. Steel, eets preety nice to ear about zee planette Wulcan and all the "Dammit, Jim, I'm a doctor" stuff.
Simon Pegg actually does a different Scottish accent for Scotty than James Doohan did, but he owns the role all the same. It was awesome that the cast him for it, he does it justice. He even has this funny little sidekick they just sort of threw in. John Cho (of Harold on Qumar fame) is a pretty cool Sulu, he's given a couple scenes to shine in but remains a minor character otherwise for the time being
Chris Pine makes a really good Kirk, very little of it resembles Shatner's style of delivery, but he tossed in a couple dramatic pauses just for fun. He's cocky, rebellious, in-your-face, passionate, gets it on with alien chicks and even vies for Uhura's attentions, just like a good Kirk should. Zachary Quinto's Spock tends to teeter on the brink of emotion, just beneath the surface of his logic, but its understandable considering some of the plot elements. He does Nimoy proud.
Uhura is also a very good character. She plays it hard to get with Kirk and seems to have a deep relationship with Spock and his emotional anchor. She gets a little more time than Chekov and Sulu do, but remains a fairly minor character with lots of future potential. Zoe Saldana is also smoking hot as Uhura.
The movie is fairly low on the technobabble, but there is a bit of time-travel discussion, which in an of itself can be dizzying. I'll simplify it. Remember Back to the Future Part II and that whole bit where Future Biff goes back in time and gives 1955 Biff the Sports Almanac? When Marty and Doc go back to 1985, Biff is king of Hill Valley.
Well that's why I said this is Square One Version 2 for Star Trek. Events take place with Ambassador Spock and Romulan Mining Captain Nero in the post-Nemesis TNG universe. These events end up having Nero thrust back into the past, driven mad by great personal loss but also unfortunately (for our heroes) armed with technology that far surpasses past Federation technology. He also has a mad-on for the Federation and Vulcans.
Nero winds up emerging from a time-space anomoly just moments before Kirk is actually born and from there is where things start to diverge from TOS cannon. So what we have here is a new alternate timeline. Everything from TOS to Nemesis still happens, but the result for the TNG universe is:
TNG universe Spoiler not fully covered by the movie
Early/mid movie spoilers
The consequences of these events in the new timeline are pretty major. Some even shocking. This crew will be facing an altered version of the original series' universe, complete with new challenges.
The movie successfully revives cherished characters, brings a lot of great and frequent humor to the mix and while somewhat low on action, its high on special effects and the core principles that made the original Trek so great. Kirk and Spock are the heart of the movie and it shows them go from rivals to friends, the other members of the crew each get a moment to shine, which is just as it should be.
So if you like Trek, you'll like this movie. Easily one of the best Trek flicks ever done.
If you don't know a damn thing about Trek, you'll like this movie.
If you're a Star Wars fanboy, you'll wish JJ Abrams could steal the reins from George Lucas.
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