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I’ll just say it straight out: I loved “Star Trek.”
And my love of this, the 11th “Star Trek” movie and a reboot of sorts, comes without ifs, ands or buts. The movie was what it needed to be — both for Trek nerds and, I think, for the uninitiated, too.
The movie basically is a prequel to the original “Star Trek” TV series — the one featuring the rugged Captain Kirk, logical Mr. Spock and cranky Dr. McCoy, among others. The gang’s all there, eventually, but this time, the movie shows how they came to be the intrepid crew of the starship Enterprise.
The movie starts with a slap-bang action sequence of Kirk’s birth, upon a shuttlecraft jettisoned from a ship under attack by rebellious Romulan baddie Captain Nero (Eric Bana). Fast forward to scenes of childhood experiences from Kirk and Spock — which serve both to establish some character traits and satisfy some fan curiosity — and we’re on our way.
The plot revolves around Nero, who has come through a black hole from the future to try to exact revenge on Mr. Spock, who, in the future, failed to stop a black hole from devouring Nero’s home planet. There’s some silly time-travel mumbo-jumbo going on, but the plot really serves one purpose — to get the original Mr. Spock, Leonard Nimoy, into the movie. Even though it’s a little bit silly, it works well.
In order to try to stop Nero, the young Starfleet cadets are assigned to ships and go into battle, and, guess what? All of the characters from the original series get onboard the Enterprise, one way or another.
“Star Trek” is a splendid sci-fi action movie — heads and tails above most in its genre. The action sequences are beautifully done and exciting; the plot is fun and relatively easy to understand; the aliens are interesting and look real.
What really gives “Star Trek” its spark, though, is what made the original “Star Trek” TV series so incredible: the characters, and the chemistry between them. Nobody can quite touch the performances of the original actors, of course, but each actor embodies the spirit of the character he or she plays, and all of them do a great job.
But even if all you know about “Star Trek” is that it starred the Priceline Negotiator and that guy with pointy ears, I still think you’ll enjoy “Star Trek.” Unlike many prequels, this movie doesn’t get bogged down with its own expansive universe, and everything is explained well. There are some inside jokes hidden in the movie, but it’s nothing vital. Instead, the movie is a fun, fresh take on an old standard that trekkies and newbies alike can enjoy.
Jenny’s take: See it tonight.
Rated PG-13 for sci-fi action and violence, and brief sexual content. Runs 126 minutes.
Want to find out more about Jenny’s opinion of “Star Trek?” Visit her blog at www.fwdailynews.com/jenny.
and be sure to leave a comment about what you see!
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