Star Trek

On Friday night I went into Reading to watch the new Star Trek movie. I had some apprehension as any film that tries to remake an old concept but with new actors playing the same characters is immediately suspect in my book.

I grew up with Star Trek and loved the original series. It began in the year of my birth (1966) and whilst I have always resisted being described as a “Trekkie” or “Trekker” I have enjoyed each of the new series and the successive films. I hasten to add that I have never dressed up or attended a convention!

The trailers for J.J Abrams’ new Star Trek looked amazing and the pre-publicity promised “a film that everyone could enjoy”. So I sat with my popcorn in Reading Vue Cinema and waited for the trailers for other films to pass.

From the moment the film began I was spellbound. The effects are amazing and the pace of the film and the action left me on the edge of my seat almost throughout. It starts with George Kirk having to take command of a star ship and save the life of his unborn son James T. Kirk.  The story unfolds to explain how James Kirk joins Star Fleet, meets Spock and the rest of the famous original crew and then goes on to tackle Romulans and eventually take command of the USS Enterprise. I am skimming through so I don’t spoil anyone’s fun watching the film. The space scenes are mind-blowing and unlike the original series there is no wobbly set. Elements of the film are reminiscent of the best of Star Wars and due to better graphics, often surpass it.

The casting is simply superb. Chris Pine is great as James Kirk and Zoe Saldana was right as Lt Uhura but the greatest tribute must in my view go to Zachary Quinto who play Spock. He may have been slightly helped by the fact that Leonard Nimoy (the original 1960’s Spock) appears in the film but I could not fault his credibility as the young Vulcan science officer. The other more minor part that really convinced was Karl Urban as Dr McCoy. He had the nuances of accent and expression spot on.

Interestingly in reading up for this review I discovered that the film had several fake names in its early stages in order to throw those that might seek to leak elements off the scent. One such fake name was “Christa and Christan’s Big Adventure” and another was “Wet Paint”.

Whether you like or loathe the Star Trek TV series’ and previous films you should see this one. It is one of the best films I have seen in years and I fully intend to see it again as soon as possible. It is an experience you will not forget in a hurry.

About these ads