Movie Grade: B+

Star Trek: A Second Look

Review By: Ryan Hamelin
RyanHamelin@TheCinemaSource.com

Movie Grade: A

The last film that managed to exceed my abnormally high level of fan-boy expectation was The Dark Knight. That should give you some context when I can say, unequivocally, that J.J. Abrams Star Trek left all of my preconceptions in the dust. The movie is a phenomenally solid sci-fi epic that boasts an incredible cast, beautiful visuals, and one of the best scripts of any film to come out this year. I mean it, this film is the kind of event that Trek fans have been waiting for since Star Trek the Motion Picture, and it’s a movie which manages to be entirely respectful to its source material while simultaneously opening its arms to the entirety of the movie going public (Watchmen screenwriters take note).

What works? Just about everything. From the pitch-perfect opening sequence, easily the most emotionally charged opener of any of the films, to the final bars of the classic theme with Leonard Nimoy delivering the “Space, the final frontier” motto, this film maintains a level of quality in every facet of its production that continues to astound me hours after leaving the theater. The sets are wonderful, even the updated bridge took a grand total of three minutes before it became familiar and homely, and the U.S.S. Enterprise has never felt more real. The space battles have been kicked up through the roof, and though they’ve acquired a more visceral Star Wars aesthetic, I think it’s truly a good thing, because they are spectacular on a big screen.

Enough can’t be said about the cast of this film. Everybody nailed every line, every nuance, while managing to never look like they were imitating anybody. Karl Urban, in particular, is quite literally channeling DeForest Kelley the majority of the film and the interaction between him and Chris Pine’s Kirk along with Zachary Quinto’s Spock really shines through from the original series. I spent the majority of the movie grinning from ear to ear as each classic line flew out of the mouths of characters I knew and had grown to love throughout my childhood. The familiarity was so tangible and real that I’m amazed something didn’t happen to disturb the near endless stream of terrific moments by the halfway mark of this film.

What didn’t work? Well, I know Dan’s going to have quite a few more criticisms than I do, but given he went in prepared to hate the film and came out enjoying it, that shows you just how solid ...