Agnew's Mind He's got a long journey ahead of him.

Abrams Boldly Goes…

    by Mike Agnew Jr.

I honestly don't know what took me so long to write about this movie. It instantly sky-rocketed to my personal Top Ten among the likes of Rocky, Superman, and Back to the Future. I originally saw the movie as a better-than-average-quality bootleg. I downloaded it and watched it by myself. At the end of the movie... I stood up... and clapped... in my family room... by myself.  I have since raved about the movie to my friends and loved ones.  I have since watched the movie 11 12 13 times. (I watched it a few times since starting this post.)  If you want to watch it... come over... and I will gladly make it 12 14.  What follows is my review of Star Trek:

Well, we are back again... we are welcomed to the bridge of Starship Enterprise. But wait... these are not the faces we know... oh no... no, no, no... Are we about to watch a re-make? Well, yes and no. Yes, this is a Star Trek movie with new actors portraying the mantles of Captain Kirk, Spock, and Dr. McCoy as well as the rest of the Enterprise team we have come to know and, for some, love. But please do not be fooled. This movie does not simply whore its trademark and characters with the goal of making a movie that makes a video game that makes a puff daddy remix and video. This movie stands alone and single-handedly re-defines the Star Trek Universe.

The Star Trek Legacy

Making a new Star Trek movie is a very difficult task.  You have to worry about the reception from millions of Star Trek Fans.  It's not like any of them could actually beat anyone up or cause any physical harm, but I'm sure they are quite annoying.  I fit more in the middle... well... maybe a little closer to the Trekkie side but I can't speak Klingon or cite episodes or anything like that.  I started watching Star Trek the Next Generation afternoons after school, but before you judge, I was also watching Batman the Animated Series, Power Rangers, and Breaker High.  But, I am a science fiction junky, especially when it deals with stories that cross paths.  When new Star Trek shows started coming out, I had to give them a go.  I still remember Star Trek Deep Space Nine's premiere.  It was actually in prime time and there was a handful of Next Generation stars to give it the Star Trek cred it needed.  eventually the show started repeating itself and I stopped watching.  Then I decided to go backwards and start watching the original generation...Kirk, Spock, Scotty.

I went right into the films.  To my surprise, they were really good.  I mean, you had to wait through the "city council" scenes where something I didn't understand was being decided or something. But once that was over you could get back to the action and back to the characters.  There was something about this team that was different from the rest.  Sure, in the other shows the characters went through space, got in a problem, solved it, and learned a lesson. But they never did it with style.  Kirk... he was the man.  And it was fun to watch him work.  I was instantly hooked. I even liked the one where they traveled back to the 80s to get a whale... that was the whole movie... but it was fun.  The original Star Trek Team: Kirk, Spock, Chekov, Sulu, Uhura, McCoy, Scotty.  Time after time they beat the bad guys and did so in the coolest way... as friends just hanging out on a spaceship.

Star Trek: The New Class

If you are even vaguely familiar with all things Trek you will be sitting through the movie with your character checklist, and don't worry they are all there.  Also, the casting was... perfect.  I had a few reservations before seeing the movie for the first time.  Sylar as Spock had me the most worried but after the opening scene I was so into the story that the poop that is the show Heroes left my mind completely. (I will be tackling that review shortly).  Another hiccup was Sulu played by Harold of Harold and Kumar. But, then again, would anyone really expect Abrams to be able to find someone with a voice even close to George Takei.  All-in-all, the new cast is terrific.

Music and the Sounds of Silence

The Music, Sounds, and Silences of this film were the key to the story of this movie.  Within the first 5 minutes of this movie you will be emotionally pulled in one direction and then thrown in another.  Abrams takes pwhew pwhew out of fighting in space, turns down the volume on your TV, and replaces it with a wondrous orchestra.  Instantly you become more focused on the visuals and the emotion than the fight itself.  Abrams uses silence to fill the emptiness of space, a feeling that we rarely see in films set in the void of space.  There are times when you will hear gun fire outside a ship and then from inside the ship.  My personal favorite note about the music of Star Trek is how close it relates the music of LOST. When I first watched the opening scene I whispered to myself, "Claire's baby."  Keep your eyes out for the scene where the Enterprise rises out of the dust of space and the music was almost exactly the same as the "We are going on a hike around the Island and it will take 3 episodes" theme from the show.

Lensflare.com

If you are looking to be a photographer and want to see the proper use of lens flare then this movie is for you.  What I am trying to say is that Abrams uses lens flares a lot in this movie.  But don't worry you don't need shades....unless you are from Miami and wear shades to bed. <insert 80's riff>  The flares give the sense of feeling the sun, the brightness, and the warmth.  Since, as you might have guessed, most of the movie takes place in space.  Space has suns and stars.  They are bright.  The twinkle.  And they get in the lens.  Also the new Enterprise bridge is setup with some 200 Ikea lights increasing the amount of lens flare indoors as well.

Final Thoughts

To Non-Star Trek Fans: Watch the movie.  You don't need any Star Trek knowledge to understand this story.

To Star Wars Fans: Suck it up.  Yes, Star Wars is better, but I've got to be honest. Round 2 of Star Trek is much better than the second round of Star Wars movies.  Nothing will ever beat Han or Yoda but for normal humans and half-vulcans these guys are not half-bad. bah doon, chiiich...

To Non-Science Fiction People: Sit quietly and look at the screen.  Do not scoff or walk out at any point.  Once everyone else has enjoyed the movie, spend the after movie discussion smiling and nodding.  You can get back to the Ugly Truth.  You might need to watch it twice if you never "get" time travel.

To Star Trek Fans who date someone who hates Star Trek: Rent 21 or The Ugly Truth on DVD and offer it as an alternative.  Once you throw both movies out at 10 minutes you will be able to pop in Star Trek and enjoy.

To LOST fans : You have less than a month before your next LOST fix.  This is the best substitute I can provide.

This is one of the best movies I have seen in a while.  The story is cyclical, which I love, and even though it starts a new Star Trek timeline it still leaves the original where it belongs, as legend.

In the words of the great Captain Kirk......"Buckle up."