Director J.J. Abrams (Cloverfiled, Lost) has created a masterful symphony of sound of picture. Star Trek grabs you instantaneously and never let’s go.

I have to make a confession right off the bat so people know exactly where I stand in the whole Trek universe. I have never seen any of the previous films nor have I ever seen even one episode of the series. So I’m definitely not a Star Trek fan, but that really speaks to the power of this film.  However, unless you’ve been living under a rock your whole life you’ve heard the phrase, “live long and prosper.” So, it almost goes without saying that this film is absolutely accessible to the mainstream audience, but it also serves the fanbase probably in more ways than I’m aware of.

The only way to review this film is to just let you in on the highlights and not go into any summary; because if you do decide to see the film you’ll definitely want to experience everything on your own.

The film starts on an action-packed note with a space battle that is surely one for the books. There is such a perfect mix of music, sound, and visual effects. I know it’s early in the year to be calling the shots, but I suspect that this movie will make a clean sweep of the technical awards. None of the CG stuck out to me as blatantly fake or cheesy. Even in this technological age, that’s really some achievement. For me, even Benjamin Button’s effects had its moments though it was praised all over the place.

J. J. Abrams reboot of the Star Trek franchise is essentially an origin story. Not to delve too much into detail, but the movie explores the beginnings of some of the characters. Star Trek is written by one of Hollywood’s most predominant and in-demand writing partners, Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman (Transformers, Fringe). The duo is definitely making a name for themselves in the popcorn movie genre but Trek is beyond that title to me.

I was somewhat shocked initially to find that Star Trek was written by the Transformer team because of Transformers mediocre writing. It’s funny that the same guys who wrote that cornball intro monologue that Optimus Prime gives wrote this Star Trek gem. Now, I don’t think that the story itself is greatest thing since sliced bread, but it’s obvious these guys have a handle on the Trekverse. They managed to fit in some of the taglines and catchphrases without coming across as gimmicky or clichéd.

All of the actors give solid performances. Let me also say that Abrams has brought together an excellent cast. A lot of the actors you might not suspect to be in a big-budget franchise but they all play perfectly into their characters, particularly Simon Pegg (Hot Fuzz, Shaun of the Dead) as Scotty and Karl Urban (Lord of the Rings) as Bones. I stopped watching NBC’s Heroes after the lackluster season 2 but it felt like Zachary Quinto, who plays Spock, was mostly channeling a tamer Sylar. Also of specific mention is Anton Yelchin (Charlie Bartlett, Terminator Salvation) as Pavel Chekov.

A lot of critics made comments on the usage of lens flares in the film. Lens flares are the beams of light that go across the screen and most people found that the filmmakers overused them and it became distracting. Let me just note that after the opening sequence I had forgotten they were even there. They definitely add an excellent atmosphere and tone to the film but I didn’t find them, in the least, to be annoying or distracting.

When people say, “experience the movies” this is the type f film they’re talking about. Star Trek is more than just a bunch of effects and snappy one-liners; it’s a movie-going experience. I would highly, highly recommend you see it in IMAX. You’ll regret it if you don’t.

This entry was posted on Saturday, May 9th, 2009 at 2:49 pm and is filed under 5, Doug Anderson, Film Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.