Actually, I sort of liked the look of the thing but it was everything else that I thought was a little off kilter. While far more detailed than the original series, I thought they did a good job of creating a look and feel for the time period which looks like it could be a plausible precursor to the next generation.
The premise for the movie was absolute crap. If it was spock's fault that this happened at all, why didn't he just kill his younger alternate to save vulcan? Or just plain just told him not to play with romulans... but noooo, instead we get some contrived bull shit explaining why the series is being reinvented to fit the continuity of the old series. I would have rather watch a reinvention without the dumb ass back story... I get it, a new version of the old star trek so there's obviously going to be differences but they really didn't need to waste the entire plot trying to justify this. They could have given it a real plotline.
And while I thought it was sort of cool to see nimoy pass the torch and reprise his role, making him be "spock from the future" had a tacked on feel. It ruins the character.
The new kirk seems like an asshole, the script was filled with obvious and painfully cheesy expected quotations, and what the hell is that ewok with eyestalks that they gave to scotty? Other than this I thought it was entertaining enough.
Stefanie wrote:
O.K., I finally saw the film. Spoiler time.
First off, the new USS Enterprise (the main character) really is that ugly (externally - see image in above post). The interior looks O.K., but the exterior looks like it's been pimped out. I could've sworn I saw the rims spinning in one scene. The Romulan ship is even uglier, but being a mining ship (like the USG Ishimura in Dead Space), it has an excuse. The original design of the Enterprise is beautiful. There's no need to keep tampering with it.
Regarding less important aspects of the film...
If you're looking for Star Trek, look elsewhere. In no way did this feel like Star Trek to me, nor did I ever buy that these new guys were Kirk, Spock, etc., although the actors did have some chemistry. Unless Shatner and Nimoy are cloned (or completely digitized), my strong bias in favor of the original series won't let me accept any new stories with a young Kirk and Spock. The old Star Trek gave me things to think and dream about. This new one just gave me pretty lights to stare at for a while.
On the other hand, if you're looking for an enjoyable two-hour action film with lots of excitement, fights, and explosions, this is about as good as anything that comes out of Hollywood... actually, a little better than average, in that regard. Some of it was pretty to look at (but not the ships), and the acting wasn't bad, but the story wasn't very good. The Star Trek franchise should leave time travel to the Dr. Who franchise. Still, non-fans who enjoy Hollywood action films should enjoy it.
I will say that this new film is better than anything else the franchise has offered since the original cast days. That's not saying much, though. I give the 2009 film 2.5/5 stars for shiny new entertainment, but there's not much in the way of depth or rewatchability.
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Fortunately, the Blu-ray set of Season 1 of the original Star Trek series is incredible! Everything has been restored, and there are lots of cool special features. It's even better than the Blade Runner, Godfather, Matrix, and Dirty Harry Blu-ray sets, all of which are great. I highly recommend it.
