I Liked it Very Much

Rating: 9/10 (27 May 2013)

I cannot say I LOVED it, but I did LIKE it, very much. It is a 21st Century reboot of a beloved series. Let me first say that there is no way the any director or group of actors can recapture the magic of the original Star Trek series of the 1960s. Mr. Spock's subtly sarcastic and thinly veiled elitist tone played by Mr. Nimoy is untouchable. The egotistical yet fiercely caring and loyal, calculatingly yet impulsive, Captain Kirk played William Shatner was done brilliantly with a figurative *wink* at the audience. Therefore, it would be utterly ridiculous to even attempt to duplicate the magic of William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy. And, the story lines were also fantastic, considering the limited time and budget the writers/producers had to work with. I think that is why they keep rehashing them, because they were so well written and thought out in the first place. If you check all of the Star Trek series, many of the stories of the 1960s were redone in some shape or form in each of the series of the 1980s on, including the movies.
However, JJ Abrams and the actors have managed to capture the essence of Star Trek; good acting, action with some humor thrown in. I do like the new Spock and Captain Kirk. I like the fact that they are still the major players, because that is true to the series. I like the fact that the key to their teamwork is their friendship and eventually mutual respect. Zachary Quinto has managed to emote some of the sarcastic tone of the original Mr. Spock as well as his inner struggle. Mr. Quinto does have a hard act to follow, as does Chris Pine as Captain Kirk. But, he does have the charm, good looks, wicked humor to pull it off. And yes, Kirk for the most part gets every girl, except Lt. Uhura. Benedict Cumberbach looks nothing like Richardo Montalban who played Khan in the series and movie. Yet, he managed to make the role his own; the commanding, fierce ruthlessness and physical presence. Lithe, lean yet muscular enough to convince us of his physicality. Eloquent, elitist, dismissive of others, his body language and facial expressions appropriately communicate his attitude of superiority.
The special effects were fantastic. I saw it in 3D and I must say the visual effects people had a field day. But, there was still enough focus on the story so that you did not feel like the whole movie an orgy of explosions and CGI. There was some creative license taken with the story line, so if you are a purist, it will upset you. However, if you listen carefully, there are hints and allusions (details) in the story that only hardcore trekkies would recognize, which I won't give away (the movie has just been released less than two weeks ago after all). I do not think that Star Trek has lost its way, the essence of Star Trek is still there -- if you look closely enough. I could not give this movie a ten because of the changes to the original story line surrounding some of the characters.