I'm back albeit part time!! Almost settled in completely, so finally able to come back to write and ...
I'm back albeit part time!! Almost settled in completely, so finally able to come back to write and read - and have loads to read!!! Thanks for the r/r/c's much appreciated and will be returned!!!!
Member since:02.10.2005
Reviews:124
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Being married to a Star Trek fan isn't easy. In fact it's blooming hard!! I could swear sometimes I know more about it than he does and it's scary! So to find out there was a new Star Trek movie coming out brought a sigh of "not another one" from me and a lot of excitement from himself. And as soon as tickets were available to order from the cinema, I had to get them in advance for the first night of showings as he decided it just would not do to go on the second night.
And so the night came and hubby donned his precious star trek t-shirt for the momentous occasion. Thank goodness he didn't want to dress up as a character - I don't think I would have left the house! And so we went to the cinema and waited to be amazed by what was hyped up to be one of the biggest movies of this year. And I have to admit that I was not disappointed in the least - in fact, I blooming well enjoyed the movie so much I'm looking forward to getting it on DVD when it is released.
The plot is quite different from the other Trek movies and it had to be - how else could we see the crew of the USS Enterprise as very young individuals and not be confused by it all. Starting off on the day of James T Kirk's birth, we see the USS Kelvin destroyed by a Romulan
named Nero (Eric Bana). George Kirk takes command of the ship and saves 800 people from the crew, including his wife Winona and son James Tiberius.
And on to Vulcan where we meet a young Spock who is tormented by other young Vulcans because of his human mother Amanda Grayson (Winona Ryder). His emotions get the better of him and his father Sarek (Ben Cross) explains that as Ambassador to Earth, it was logical for him to marry Grayson as it enabled him to study the complexities of humankind up close.
Then we see the tempestuous nature of Kirk as a young adolescent. The movie really showed the younger side of Kirk and it was interesting to see. We also fast forward here on Vulcan with Spock (Zachary Quinto) being accepted into the Vulcan Science Directorate but turning it down in favour of a career with Starfleet. This was a bit of a surprise as it deviated from the original series . We then meet Kirk (Chris Pine) in a bar trying to chat up a young Uhura (Zoe Saldana) and getting himself into a bar brawl with a number of young Starfleet cadets.
And so Captain Pike (Bruce Greenwood) gets involved and tries to get Kirk to enlist in Starfleet by giving him a dare. And this was the favourite line of mine throughout the movie - "your father was the captain of a starship for 12 minutes, and saved 800 lives, including your mother and you, I dare you to do better". (Sorry I liked that line so much I just had to include it!).
Later on we go on to meet Hikaru Sulu (John Cho), Pavel Checkov (Anton Yelchin), Spock Prime (Leonard Nimoy), Bones McCoy (Karl Urban) and my favourite Montgomery Scott (Simon Pegg).
Performance wise I would have to say that the performances of the cast were all superb with one exception and that would be Winona Ryder. I'm sorry to any fans of hers out there but I found her performance quite wooden and just did not really take to her as playing the character of Amanda Grayson. I'll admit that I am definitely not a fan of Ryder and this probably clouded my view of her performance but I can't change that, it's just the way I feel.
I would have to say that my favourite performances would have to be those of Quinto, Urban and Pegg. Although Cho and Yelchin were also superb but the others were defenitely my favourites. Quinto really caught the spirit of Spock and that may have had a lot to do with him spending a lot of time with Nimoy but it made for an outstanding performance. Urban really managed to capture the sarcasm and dry with of McCoy superbly.
Pegg's performance would have to stick in my mind as the best of the film. It was long awaited as I am a fan of his work and was interested to see how his Scottish accent would come out and it was no disappointment. Thankfully his wife is Scottish and she did help him, but his accent was very good. I have the pleasure to call the later James Doohan's son Chris a friend of mine and was very proud to get a message from him on a social networking site confirming that Pegg's performance was a hit as far as he was concerned. Chris is also in the movie - he is the ensign sat next to Scotty in the transporter room and it was fun to watch the movie and looking for him. Hubby was surprised to get a rather large dig in the ribs when I saw my friend on the big screen!
There are quite a few little tributes to the original series which only those familiar with Star Trek would notice, but this is a movie that, in my own honest opinion, crosses the boundaries and appeals to fans of the Trek and non-fans alike. It is brilliant film and well cast, and one that I think J J Abrams should be exceptionally proud of. The special effects were absolutely fantastic and I have no problem in watching this movie again and again when it comes out on DVD as I am sure I will be subjected to it several times.
My only qualm would be the lack of time Nero is on the screen. We did not see enough of him for my liking. I do like to get to know the villains of my films and we did not see him enough but from what I did see, Bana played the Romulan exceptionally well.
In all honesty I would have to admit that I absolutely loved the film!!! Yes this non-trekkie is finally being converted! Although it may take longer for me to like the other films just as much!! I am now eagerly awaiting the release of the film on DVD and the next movie. I hope there will be more as this was too good a film not to have a follow up.
Value for money wise, I resented the £15 we spent on tickets but after the film, felt like it was money well spent, and I'm sure the DVD when released will be great value for money, as I'm sure there will be plenty extra features for us all to enjoy.
Many thanks for reading and like the saying goes "Live Long and Prosper". Di xx
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Production Year: 2007 - Science Fiction - Director: Francis Lawrence - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Alice Braga, Charlie Tahan, Dash Mihok, Will Smith, Salli Richardson, Willow Smith
Advantages: Great cast, brilliant action and special effects to keep you glued to your seat Disadvantages: Quick paced so I found it a little difficult to keep up with
frankiefromings13 29.06.2009 ·
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Star Trek
Advantages: Good plot, strong cast, delightful nods at Star Trek mythology Disadvantages: As a villian Nero is rather one-dimensional. Not Bana's strongest performance.
Mountainlilly 26.06.2009 ·
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Star Trek
Jun 3rd, 2009
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