Josh’s Note: Now that the new site is up and running, I’m hoping to get back to regular updates and to start, I’d like to post my first movie review since 2009! Not really sure why I got away from writing them, perhaps it’s because I just don’t see nearly as many movies as I did back in the 1990s and 2000s or more likely, I just got lazy. Maybe I’ll get ambitious and decide to go back and review the few movies I have seen in the last year and some DVD releases or Netflix movies.
2013
Dir: JJ Abrams
Wow. Just Wow. If you have forgotten my Star Trek (2009) review, let me sum up: Fun first have ruined by lazy screenwriting but overall still an enjoyable film. So going into this movie, I had zero expectations that it would be good. See, I am a trekkie (not a trekker) who loves the Original Series of Star Trek and has seen every episode of the TNG era Trek. I was let down by the last one and didn’t want to be suckered again. In 2009, I was very blase about the movie until the last trailer and for this movie it was the opposite. The first trailer really got me going but the last few trailers were kind of meh.
With some trepidation, Tiffany and I used my gift cards for the 3D IMAX version of the movie and let me just say I was blown away.
I liked this movie so much! I know I am in the minority as I think most people seem to like the 2009 movie better. I felt that the writers really got Star Trek with this one and sent our characters on a great journey to get them to where they needed to be at the end of the movie – to start the 5 year mission. I felt they did a great balance between paying respect to the original Star Trek, but made it their own with very clever twists to events and characters from the classic series (unlike last time!). It also is the first Trek movie that made me want to see it again in the theaters (not yet accomplished).
Unfortunately, it was not perfect – even with 99% less lens flares, they still managed to muck a couple of things. First, there was one line by Spock which completely ruined a powerful scene between Kirk and Spock (the writers seemed to be thinking “Should we do it? Yeah why not!”). Not quite the mess that the Vulcan incident was in the first movie, but still enough to drop me out of the emotion of the scene. Second, it just seemed to end. Things got resolved so fast I almost had whiplash. It seems they struggled with the ending (probably because the rest of the movie was so good) and it’s unfortunate.
Despite those minor quibbles, I wholeheartedly recommend seeing it. Now to the board to see where it ranks with the other 11 Trek Movies:
1 – The trilogy series (2-3-4)
2 – The Undiscovered Country
3 – First Contact
4 – Star Trek Into Darkness
5 – Star Trek 2009
6 – Generations
7 – Star Trek The Motion Picture
8 – The Final Frontier
9 – Insurrection
9 – Nemesis
Looking at the above list, I think I need to re-watch First Contact to see if it stays above Into Darkness. It will be interesting to see as I get older if the new Trek can break my emotional blockade at the top two.