Satisfied but still hungry for more

Rating: 7/10 (7 May 2010)

I admit I got sucked in by the great reviews and that my expectations were probably too high. I had a good time but I wasn't blown away by it. Why? Weirdly, it might be some of the plot elements (mostly scientific) that hindered my enjoyment. They seemed illogical as Mr. Spock would say. I know Star Trek is supposed to be space opera but the thinking man's humanistic space opera and those seemingly illogical elements created plot holes and coincidences that bugged me. I was even thinking of including most of them in this review with an attempt at explanations but it would make this too long and way too geeky ;-) (read the lower-rated reviews on IMDb if you're curious). Don't get me wrong, the script is fun with enjoyable character moments, a few good surprises, its fair share of adventure and space scenes but enjoy the ride and try not to think too hard.
I loved the introduction in space. I thought it was great, dramatic and surprising. The young years of Kirk would have benefited from a little more time but one shouldn't be too greedy and it would have taken time from somewhere else. The casting of the movie was very strong with the highlights for me being the new Spock (the guy actually made me forget his other famous role as Sylar in Heroes) and Dr. McCoy (cynical and even looking very similar). It's amazing how Star Trek references have seeped into modern culture and I think almost anyone, even non-Trekkers, will enjoy the references and homages, especially how the younger actors play their iconic counterparts without turning them into bad caricatures (some might disagree about Chekhov and Scotty but I personally loved them). Almost every crew member besides Kirk and Spock has its moment in the spotlight and yet you wish you would see more of them which is a compliment in itself. The villain would have benefited from being better; he was definitely the weak link. He was underwhelming and stupid. I'm not sure if the culprit was the writing or the interpretation by Eric Bana, probably a mix of both. I also disliked the little alien partner of Scotty and I have no idea why he was included except perhaps to add a cutesy factor and sell action figures.
Most of the introductions, meetings and interactions between the adult crew members were joyous and sometimes surprising. The story does keep you guessing as to what will happen next after a particular major event. The pace was good, it was filmed dynamically but the fight scenes were victims of zoomed in shaky cameras preventing us from really seeing them well. Not as bad as other recent American films though. The visual effects were very good except for a few blinding lens flares. There were a couple of moments where I got the shivers (good ones) but then that's because I've been a fan of Star Trek for so long. One was when I saw the Enterprise for the first time (very well modernized yet faithful to the old exterior look, not really so in the inside) and the other time in the middle I cannot reveal except to say that this line made me realize that anything could happen. One could argue that the writers could have been bolder making for a stronger dramatic story but at the risk of alienating the hardcore faithful who might be offended by the reboot anyway. Those trekkers might say the new Star Trek movie invalidates every other Star Trek story out there. I prefer to think that those stories might still be mostly valid (especially those from Next Generation and after) or at least valid in a parallel dimension/universe/timeline whatever. The new Star Trek does free the writers to boldly go where no one has gone before. It was a valiant fun effort well worth watching but I do hope the next instalment is more clever and logical while retaining (or improving) emotional resonance.
Rating: 7 out of 10