Star Trek (2009): Movie Review

An anomaly in the neutral zone of the planet Vulcan has been detected which appears to be some lightning storm in space similar to what the federation ship, Kelvin's crew detected 25 years ago. The federation's mission is to give aid to the planet Vulcan. They have to assist evacuations if necessary. Now, Jim (Jim Siberius) Kirk must warn the the crew of the spaceship USS Enterprise that it isn't just an ordinary lightning storm but some unrecognizable advance technology by the Romulans from which his deceased father Captain (for 12 minutes) George Kirk had experienced and that which Jim outlived as a newly born baby that fateful day. With Commander Spock (half- Vulcan half-human himself) aboard the Enterprise, the fates not just of the Enterprise but of the whole federation Universe will change.

Review

The Cast

Seeing Chris Hemsworth (Thor of Marvel films) as Captain George Kirk in the first eleven minutes of the film is like an icing to a cake. Having Chris Pine play as his son, Jim Kirk, is just too fascinating. It has something to do with their smoldering deep-set eyes. Moreover, Karl Urban (Eomer of the Lord of the Rings trilogy) playing as a Medical Pilot, Bones is another giveaway (there are just lots of familiar actors to me)!

Leonard Nimoy is coming back as the Spock Prime (the old one) whilst Zachary Quinto (the bad guy from tv hit series, Heroes) plays as the current Commander Spock. Zoe Zaldana will be a love interest (for new viewers, guess whose!). Playing Spock's beautiful mother is Winona Ryder. I have to mention how beautiful she is because she ages gracefully. To cap it off, Eric Bana (the lineup just gets better and better) as Nero is the sinister enemy of the film.

image courtesy: startrekmovie.com

Visual Effects

Everything about Star Trek is just so amazing! Let's say that based on the director, J.J. Abrams' style is light-flaring on the screen! The flares are everywhere--the star, the ship, the sun, the glass, behind a cast, wherever! You might need a pair of polarizing glassed watching the film. Ironic though, if old geeks consider Star Trek as Star Wars' nemesis back in the 70's, this film had its visual effects and animation done by *drumroll* none other than Industrial Light & Magic, A Lucasfilm Ltd. Company, Star Wars' company that is.

My Views

The film was done very neatly. I couldn't say anything bad about it. The actors' acting are even amazing. Of course there will always be flaws with regards to futuristic space travel but overall their deal with Physics is good. One will encounter supernova and black holes in this film and some Quantum Mechanics. Also included are some probable paradoxes in time continuum with time travel. And for the red matter introduced, it might be an antimatter in real life.

Some Character views:

Beware: Contains Spoilers from hereon

I love the way how the filmmakers make the secondary characters (i.e. the pilots) well-rounded. Just before Enterprise's voyage to the planet Vulcan, you would like to underestimate the Asian pilot, Sulu who due to some misgiving in his pilotry (like missing to push the necessary buttons in the ship--to disengage the external initial dampener) made the Enterprise's take off delayed. But it's also thanks to this mishap that their ship didn't end up in wreck like the ships that went there in time, unprepared for what's coming. And when he said he's trained in hand-to-hand combat in fencing, one would raise brows. But seeing him fight the bad guys with his sword-wielding and acrobatic skills, he could have said that he's a samurai.

Next, the Russian navigation Pavel Chekov. How can someone like him be an admission broadcaster and relay orders with his almost indiscernible accent? The ship's AI commanding center almost can't recognize his words. But near the end of the film, when he said he's still 17 but at such a young age can do advance Physics algorithms and delimiters for the Enterprise which would help the fate of Earth and of other federation planets, I couldn't help but gawk in awe.

My experience

I don't know why but I had a smile plastered on my face while watching the entire film! Maybe because I was too giddy with the casting. But I squeaked when that horrible alien animal chased Jim and a bigger monster spurt out of nowhere!

95%91%8/109/10