Yes, this is a review about the new Star Trek movie, and yes it's a week late. Sue me, I don't like crowds.

To start, let's give some numeric scores:
Plot: 3.5/5 botches
Effects: 5/5 botches
Casting: 4.5/5 botches
Music: 4/5 botches
Overall: 4.25/5 botches

What does that mean?

The Plot: Not an original idea, but used in an original fashion. Without giving too much away, they used a fairly overdone Trek trope as a catalyst to open up a re-imagining of Star Trek. The plot from there is a mix of great story telling and equally obvious railroading. Overall I thought it was above average and was definitely more emotionally grabbing than any previous Trek movie.

Special Effects: It's a sci-fi movie . . . what do you expect? That being said, the actual amount of huge "whoa" effects were minimal. The set designs were nicely done, but also limited in scope. What grabbed me, however, was a re-imagined (you'll see this word/concept a lot) warp sequence.

The Casting: Well, you have Harold (George Cho) of Harold & Kumar fame as Sulu, so rock on that. Scotty? Oh, yeah, remember Shaun of the Dead? Hot Fuzz? That's right, Simon Pegg. Spock the young is played by Zachary Quinto (Sylar from Heroes), and Leonard "Bones" Mccoy is played by Karl Urban (Eomer from The Lord of The Rings franchise: Two Towers and Return of the King). Chris Pine (young James Kirk) is really the only unknown quantity in the equation.

How do they work together? Like a well oiled machine. Karl Urban (Mccoy) does a fantastic job of portraying Dr. Mccoy's eccentricities and keeping the "soul" of the character alive while still adding his own twist. Chris Pine starts out rough (in my opinion), but finishes strong. He even start developing Shatner-esque dialoge
patterns towards the end (good or bad, you decide).

I will say this: having watched the first season (only) of Heroes, seeing "Sylar" as Spock took some adjustments. Zachary Quinto plays the part beautifully and is a great pick for the role. I just kept waiting for him to slice someone's head open with his finger.


Overall I have to agree with the critics; this is a film for Trekkers and non-Trekkers alike. I myself fall in the middle category and was extremely entertained; both by the movie's bold approach to the future and the homages to the past. As some critic said before: "This ain't your daddy's Star Trek"!