Star Trek (2009)

I went to see the latest Star Trek movie this evening.

First, a disclosure: I’ve seen every episode of every Star Trek series at least once – and often more than once. Yup, all of them: The Original Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager and Enterprise. (I have them on DVD.) I even watched the Animated Series when I was a kid. (I also have those on DVD but have not re-watched all of them yet.) And, I’ve seen all the Star Trek movies that came out before this new one.

So, obviously, I’m a fan of the Star Trek franchise/genre. However, I don’t own any Star Trek clothes. I’ve never been to a Star Trek convention. And, I don’t have any Star Trek toys or games – sans the holiday ornaments that Hallmark sells for Christmas Trees. (My wife and kids think those are cool – and I agree.) Therefore, I’m not a “Trekkie” – by any means. Again, I just enjoy watching the shows – because I find good sci-fi storylines to be entertaining.

When I first heard that they were going to do a Star Trek reboot movie, my initial reaction was “This could be good – but, there’s a great chance that it’s going to be terrible.” And, when I saw the very first trailer for the new Star Trek, immediately, I thought, “Oh, no, this looks as bad as when they made Lost In Space into a movie.” From that quick peek, via the trailer, it just appeared like the movie was too jumbled, commercial, etc.

But, then, the movie was finally released – and the reviews, from both the pros and the viewing public, were very good. As such, I became anxious to see the reboot…and made it happen today…one week after it opened in theaters.

Now that I have seen it…I can share that I was not disappointed. In fact, I thought it was great.

I’ve always felt that The Wrath of Khan and First Contact were the two best Star Trek movies of all time. However, now, I’m thinking that the Star Trek reboot is the best of the bunch. It had a great story. The cast was near perfect. The action and effects were top notch. There was drama and comedy to be found. And, best of all, it did what a great movie is supposed to do: While you watch it…you become so engrossed that you lose all track of time and space…meaning that it seems like you’ve been watching for minutes instead of hours and you totally forget that you’re sitting in a movie theater because you’re so focused on what’s on the screen.

I didn’t even mind that, in the reboot, they changed the storylines behind the development of some characters and their relationships with other characters. And, this is shocking to me – because that type of change usually ticks me off. I suppose it’s just another credit for this movie – tweaking things in the reboot and pulling it off successfully.

Now, if you’re a fan of Star Trek, you’re going to see this movie. So, anything I’m sharing here doesn’t matter. But, if you’ve never been much of a Star Trek fan, I would still recommend checking out this flick. It’s stand-alone enough that you don’t need to know much about Star Trek to follow along, etc. (You may not get some of the inside references and jokes – but that’s no biggie.)

I hope they do another movie after this one…as long as it’s just as good or better…and that they release it soon…like in 2011. Until then, I can’t wait for this one to come out on DVD – so that I can watch it again.

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