Star Trek

Rating: 10/10 (19 May 2009)

First of all, I would like to start off by saying that many of the films I review for this site are not films that really have an everlasting effect on me, or for the most part would be films that I would watch again if they were on television, rent them at the video store, or public library, or buy them on video, or DVD. I live in a town with pretty much just one theatre that only caters to the people who like the big, loud and obnoxious Hollywood films that for the most part are a piece of garbage and a lot of the time I have no interest in seeing them. Often if a film gets good reviews I will go and see it to see what all the hype is about, but largely I have found that the critics nowadays have gotten a lot more conservative and tend to go for the non threatening and what I would call "light entertainment" films, rather than something with more substance, or artistic importance. The films with artistic importance and that are thought provoking and sometimes controversial, or with non linear story lines is the type of films I prefer and seeing as my theatre does not get them, I have to order them, or buy them when I am in bigger cities that do carry such good films. I have reviewed some very good art, foreign and independent films which I was able to see in bigger cities and put the reviews here. Films like Mister Lonely, Saraband and Vicky Cristina Barcelona are an example. With that in mind I am getting really tired of all of this Hollywood trash and yet I go see it anyways because like I said the critics now seem to go for them more than the independent, foreign and art films which is a real shame. I guess what I am trying to say with all this is, when I review a mainstream and very Hollywood type film such as Star Trek, even if I give it a moderate to really good review, please remember that I mostly rate these films as Hollywood films and they do not even compare to a lot of the films I would see in a bigger city or a university theatre that would cater more to my taste. I rate these films as Hollywood films. If they get a 9, or a 10 that means they are pretty good for a Hollywood film and if they get less than 8, you should forget about them. With all that said, now on to Star Trek. This version of Star Trek is a prequel to the 1966 television series created by Gene Roddenberry. I would not call myself a very knowledgeable, or loyal fan to the Star Trek series. I have seen some of the original episodes from the 60's and I enjoyed them as well as the animated series that followed a few years later. I have seen documentaries such as Trekkies, or some television specials about the Star Trek fan universe and just how loyal some of those fans are. That being said, I don't know how many of those fans would like this remake of the original series because the original series was quite philosophical and dealt with moral issues as well as science and I think this was one of the big attractions to many viewers. There was some action in the original series, but I at least, found it more thought provoking for a series of that time and genre than most other science fiction shows, or movies and that is probably why I could get into it more than the Star Wars franchise. Not knowing all that much about the Star Trek world, or past characters and story lines, I mostly review this film as mostly a newcomer to all of this. The film did have quite a bit of action in it, but I didn't feel it dominated the film and neither did the special effects, which I appreciated. The characters were developed quite well and the chemistry between them was well written I thought and the few yet minor scientific, or philosophical points I did enjoy, but there is not as much here as in the series. I mostly felt that the film had a good pace, it was entertaining and well written and structured for a film of this kind. I was overall impressed and liked it quite a bit for a Hollywood mainstream release (note: Hollywood mainstream release). I thought it was better than most other sci-fi action films of recently and if there was a sequel this is one case where I would be tempted to see it. Take in mind that I have heard some die hard fans were displeased with the film, but seeing as I do not know everything they know about the series and the ones that followed, I am rating it as a newcomer and what I saw I liked quite a bit.