Star Trek

It would be foolish for me to try to deny my status as a bit of a geek to anyone who knows me or anyone who has read this blog. I guess that’s why so many people have difficulty believing that I’ve never really been into Star Trek. As far as the TV shows go I liked the Next Generation due to the extremely talented cast and interesting one-off episodes, but I don’t think I ever watched a full episode of the original series, Deep Space Nine, Voyager or Enterprise.

It’s the same with the films, I’m fairly sure I’ve seen some of the early Trek movies, but I probably wouldn’t be able to tell you which was which with the exception of Wrath of Khan because who could forget Spock dying or Shatner screaming ‘Khan!’ at the top of his lungs? Even so, I think the only film from the franchise that I’ve seen more than once is First Contact, which I think is a great movie in its own right.

I’ve always had a ‘take it or leave it’ attitude towards Roddenberry’s sci-fi bunch, but I did get caught up in the hype for JJ Abrams’ reinvention of the franchise and was very much looking forward to it by the time I sat down in a very busy cinema on Saturday night. So busy in fact that I was unable to find a seat anywhere but in the front row, and this was before the previews had even started.

Sitting close to a large screen during the first ten minutes of Star Trek is quite an experience. I managed to avoid the onset of epilepsy and, once my eyes had become accustomed to the strange burning sensation in the retinas, settled down to watch one of the most enjoyable summer blockbusters that I’ve seen in many a year.

Great casting, story, special effects, direction (yes, even with the unnecessary solar flares every ten seconds) come together to create two hours of great fun movie. Zachary Quinto steals the show as Spock, but that shouldn’t take anything away from the rest of the Enterprise crew who are all very believable as the younger versions of their original series counterparts. Special mention should also go to Simon Pegg as a very amusing Scotty (although I realise I’m a bit biased here).

If I did have one complaint it would be that, at times, it felt a bit like they fast forwarded through character development in order to get to the next big exciting scene, but I didn’t go into the film expecting a massively cerebral experience so I wasn’t too bothered by this.

Kudos for Abrams for creating one of the best prequels I think I’ve ever see (yes Mr Lucas, I’m looking at you), and for doing enough to keep the Trekkies happy. Well, at the very least he has used the wonders of Science Fiction to explain away a lot of questions they might have had about continuity.

So if you’re looking for some great, enjoyable, popcorn fodder, go see Star Trek as soon as possible.