I was overall pleased with this remake, Too many times remakes seem to fall flat because we expect the new actors to emulate the originals and they can’t be expected to do that. but sometimes they are better or just as good as their original counterparts.

If all else fails, just sit back and enjoy the alternate universe theme.

And so it was with this preconception and a skeptical outlook that I went to see this movie when it came out. Imagine how stunned I was to learn that in fact, this is a gripping, loving re-imagining of the series that not only retains most of the important elements of the original, but actually improves upon and delves deeper than Star Trek has ever delved before, albeit in somewhat different directions than its creator would likely have gone. To those who say it is not faithful to Gene Roddenberry’s vision, I have to say I agree. Unfortunately, I also have to say that when a movie gets made that is 100% faithful to Gene Roddenberry’s vision, it ends up being Star Trek The Motion Picture. I therefore patently disagree with the outlook that Star Trek bereft of layers and layers of syrupy self-reflection is not Star Trek at all. Remember that Roddenberry absolutely HATED what they were doing with The Wrath of Khan, arguably the best picture in the series.

Well, it WAS arguably the best. Until now. I cannot praise the decisions made by Abrams and his crew enough in every single casting choice. These people could not possibly be better in their respective roles. They seem like a smart young bunch, and that being the case, I’ll bet you dollars to donuts they were all, to one degree or another, scared to death of what they were doing. They had every reason to be. But they all pulled it off, to a man (and woman) – nailing the roles and yet each one making it their own. How they managed to do this must owe in great part to Abrams’ skillful direction. When the man is tending something, it can be great – the worst Lost moments were when he was distracted, and Cloverfield, well… see what I mean? Chris Pine is to be commended most of all here, his brash portrayal of Kirk is exactly what the character needs… no DEMANDS… without even a HINT of a trace of being a parody of Shatner. I stand in awe of this feat.

I stand in awe of this movie. While some disappointing choices were made (I really didn’t get the Big Planet Moment, it does kind of look a lot like a smack in the face to purists – and yes, Nero’s motivation was weak) nothing can detract from the pure joy of having Star Trek back and on top of its game to the extent that this film has succeeded. In addition, the brilliance of the storyline that takes advantage of Nimoy to veer this series off into an alternate reality not bound to canon is absolutely spectacular. I never saw that coming and it is among the best ideas to be had here. To everyone who has complained that Abrams has turned Star Trek into Star Wars, I’d like you to take a moment to think a bit about that comparison. Star Wars, a franchise run by its creator, makes some prequels – how exactly did that turn out for you? Star Trek is the exact opposite. Its creator is no longer around to bore the socks off of everybody with his “vision,” and instead, younger, more creative minds have succeeded in making this series more relevant than ever. Cheers to J.J. Abrams. I hope he gets to make a bunch more of these movies.

This Blu Ray seems to be chalk full of goodies! Isn’t this why us noble film geeks have Blu Ray, because when movies like this come along you have to see it on Blu Ray for that crystal clear picture and sound! There are certain movies that one must have in their blu ray collection and this is one! I plan to pick this up when it is released.

And you’re wondering…how is it?

Not bad…But did it knock my socks off? Nope…not really…no. Should you buy it? YES!

What’s the problem?

Muted colors. The film has a kind of browny, sandy washed out look to it. If I remember correctly, in the cinema the film looked more stunning. The bridge of the enterprise had a clean glassy and super colorful look to it. On Blu Ray, The reds, yellows and blues of the uniforms don’t have the same striking color – they look dull and washed out. Skin tones are more grey and brown here with a hint of blue. Disappointing

The Blu Ray lacks that visual pop of the better recent releases. Think the intro sequence for Watchmen (stylised but stunning). This image is kind of soft and inconsistent. Some scenes are sharper, others flatter and softer. The space battle scenes should look a heck of a lot better. Given the kinetic energy of the movie, especially in combat, the detail can tend to get lost in the softness. You’ll know there’s a problem in the opening scenes with George Kirk with all the worst quaities I describe here.

Lot of people here commented on the lousy image quality of the original 6 movies on Blu Ray. In my book, at least the original Star Trek the motion picture on blu ray looks better than this.

Also, this film wins the award, hands down for the most overuse of lens flair…ever. If you don’t believe me, check it out when you get it. You’ll count at least 75% of the shots with some excessive flare glare on the screen. This is a major distration. Lens flare drowns out detail, overblows contrast frequently, etc etc. Related to this, the film also shows the worst elements of the anamorphic film process (drifting focus, exacerbated by those damned lens flares!!). JJ here’s a tip. Please find yourself a new cinematographer!

Ok that’s it for the rant. Let’s get onto the good stuff.

This movie sounds damn good. Here’s the thing – there’s less surround whiz bang than you would expect but the sound mix is very good and highly effective. Dialogue is exceptionally clear. You can watch this move at a low level and still enjoy the dynamic range and hear every word of what is said. Important for us with a little baby at home. The music mix is subtle and smooth, and striking when it needs to be. Crank it up and you’ve got a great action movie soundtrack.

Despite what I said above the picture is not bad. There’s no edge enhancement, there’s no compression artifacts, there’s no excessive grain and I have not noticed any noise reduction (or at least no excessive DNR). As a result there’s no static grain pattern that I noticed. Shadow detail looks good, without excessive black crush. In summary apart from those damn lens flares (sorry last reference) it’s watchable.

So should you buy it? Absolutely but please don’t expect fireworks on the picture front and it will do the job. Besides, whatever issues there are with the picture, the DVD would be worse and it’s not like you want to wait a few years for this be re-released again. I’m sure Paramount knows this. Whether this disc is an outstanding or an ok transfer, it will sell by the truckload.

Oh, and by the way the movie is really good. But you already knew that from the other reviews…

Enjoy

Star Trek always mostly appealed to a certain type of fan. It was a particular science fiction vision that was not, like most summer blockbusters (I’m looking at you Transformers) 75% action and 25% bad humor. It was science fiction that actually had a vision, and some action, yes, but in the service of a broader, more philosophical perspective. Indeed, it WAS a philosophy, not a money-making scheme like this movie. I think Gene Roddenberry would be horrified to see that his creation has been turned into the worst kind of crass, soulless, commercialist hollywood dreck.

What’s wrong with it? I honestly don’t know where to start… every single scene can be just picked apart and critcised endlessly. They took all existing mythology surrounding the series, everything that was coolo about Star Trek, and dumbed it down into a cutesy, pop-culture mess. From the fact that Spock is about 80 years old in the original series, yet looks as young as Kirk in thios movie (I guess Vulcans just suddenly age a lot between 65 and 80) to the fact that Spock is boning Uhuru, and has STRONG EMOTIONS about whether he should continue with their relationship or devote himself fully to Starfleet, to the fact that the Federation’s Flagship gets it’s ass kick by a danged mining vessel… J.J. Abrams should be hanged for producing this offense to Trek fans evertywhere.

And these are pretty harsh closing words for this review but, it has to be said… if you consider yourself s Star Trek fan and you actually liked this movie? You never understood Star Trek in the first place.

Thsi is Space 90210… not Star Trek. Too bad I coudn’t have given it a negative score… 1 star is more than it deserves.

For years leading to the release of Star Trek XI (Now conveniently rebadged Star Trek AR) we were told by Abrams and crew the focus here was to make a great film – more so than great Star Trek. The intent was to make a “realistic” space epic and a great film. In trying to do both it may have succeeded in wetting long time Trekker appetites for their film fix but a closer inspection shows a failure on both fronts.

The story was a contrivance of convenience and happenstance, where an untested and inexperienced command crew finds fleet’s brand new flagship falling into their hands. To me these occurrences are not very realistic – are they? The film asks the viewer to suspend belief on two many different levels in order to make Star Trek happen. While to my surprise the cast turned out to be best talent one could have hope for in a Star Trek reboot (even Peg and Urban pulled off their performances despite my early skepticisms), it is rather unbelievable how the story unfolds. Preferred might have been a streamlined, allegorical, version introducing new (or previously unexplored) characters with the center formed around the big three – Kirk, Spock, and McCoy. And, yes, perhaps they could have left the Enterprise out until the very end.

If they were truly making this movie for those who know Star Trek and those who are newcomers to the experience alike, why did the story have to be crammed with unsubstantiated character development? Were they truly trying to make a great film or were they making a great cash cow? The motives are suspect; it comes to mind that Paramount never did have the great financial success with Star Trek that Star Wars brought to FOX; and here, I think we have an instance were maybe they have reached too far with the beloved icons from one legendary genre trying to bridge into another. For me, this just did not work; maybe the next one will seem less contrived.

3 out of 5 Stars.