Same old song

Rating: 2/10 (22 May 2009)

This was not a bad movie, but you get the feeling you've seen it all before. How many times have you seen a brooding smart ass end up being the hero of the movie? The story is amazingly simplistic. It tells us how the crew of the Enterprise first hooked up. The opening scene is quite good with dazzling special effects telling us how Captian Kirk's dad was a great commander, and how he gave his life for the cause. Fast forward to young Kirk, great whiz at galactic war strategy although he seems more at home playing the part of lounge lizard at the local bar. He schemes his way into the training academy and becomes the star of the class. On there maiden training mission, Spock who is the commander makes a mistake, gentlemanly steps aside and lets Kirk be the commander. Leonard Nimoy makes a Back to the Future appearance and helps save the day. BTW he looks like a zombie with all that eye make up. Silly yes, but we are talking about Star Trek. The movie does give us capsule stories of the rest of the crew, but young Kirk and Spock are the stars. This is a well worn plot seen many times in Westerns, Adventure, and Martial Arts Movies, just substitute the back drop. I'll give it 2 stars for the opening scene.