star trek

Every once in a while, you see a movie that just rocks. STAR TREK could have been a terrible movie - I mean, with highly mockable source material, a huge amount of complex special effects, and a relatively unknown cast, there was HUGE potential that it would be awful. Instead, it was fun, funny, moving (I totally cried), stressful, exciting, exhilarating, and fantastic! The story is a bit far-fetched, with time travel and vengeance, and perhaps that is the weakest part of the film. However, watching the crew of the Enterprise assemble is just so satisfying that any leaps of logic you have to take putting the plot together, you just don't mind. JJ Abrams has found an unbelievable cast. Chris Pine is the right combo of cocky and self-sacrificing to bring Captain Kirk to life. His love/hate relationship with Quinto's Spock is a pleasure to watch. Add in John Cho kicking *ss as Sulu, Anton Yelchin (my new fave) as the brainy Chekov, and the brilliant laugh-out-loud Simon Pegg as Scotty, and you can't help but root for the Enterprise. Zoe Saldana brings some nice girl power as Uhura, and Eric Bana makes a groovy villain. I guess what I'm saying is that the cast is just perfect.

I liked STAR TREK, I thought it was a fun show, and my favorite cast member was always Bones. (By the by, Karl Urban is amazing in this movie as Bones. The vocal inflection, the spiciness....loved it!) However, my mother and godmother are totally trekkies, and I knew that their reaction would truly be the way to judge this movie. To be blunt, they loved this movie. My mom seriously cried for like 20 minutes after it was over, being so profoundly moved by the film, their journey, and the overall experience.


Final thoughts: I am sure die-hard Trek fans found lots of things to hate about this movie - but I thought it was brilliant! It paid homage to the show while infusing it with a fresh energy, and was super fun to watch to boot. What a fantastic way to kick off the summer movie season!

photo credit: www.movieweb.com