Movie Madness: Star Trek (2009)

Hello. My name is the Eternal Optimist, and I am a geek.

"Hi Eternal Optimist"

Okay, now that that's out of the way. I loved the new Star Trek movie. Loved, loved, loved, loved, loved it. But why did I love it? I suppose that's what you're here to hear!

First, the story. Time travel plots are old hat for Star Trek, but this one manages to use time travel for an interesting twist. The time travel involved literally insures that a new universe has been created for J.J. Abrams to play around in without worrying about contradicting future canon. And given that this movie takes place at the beginning of James T. Kirks illustrious career, that was a singularly smart move. Aside from this game changing move, it's a simple origin story combined with a thrilling adventure as the Federation is threatened by an angry Romulan from the future named Nero, who is willing to stop at nothing to wreak vengeance on the past.

The cast seems to revel in their roles with natural accolades going to Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto as launchers-of-a-thousand-fanfics Kirk and Spock. Pine manages to nail that balance between cocky adventure and knowledge of Kirk, while Quinto straddles the balance between Spock's human and Vulcan natures. The rest of the supporting cast is equally as good, although Zoe Saldana occasionally feels a little wasted as Uhura. Perhaps she'll get more development in the sequel.

The special effects and design are a delight, and best of all, the new design of the Enterprise seems to borrow from both the Original Series design as well as bits of the redesign from the motion pictures. Further, the Romulan mining ship seems to be something out of nightmares, especially as it exits the singularity in the opening moments of the film.

And of course, what would Star Trek be without music? Michael Giachinno's score would not feel out of place in a classic Trek film. It combines the adventures feeling of space travel with subtler emotional moments. Special mention goes to the main theme of the film, a mysterious melody in semi-minor key that pops up multiple times throughout the film. Oh, and Giachinno brings out the original show theme for the credits and makes it absolutely gorgeous.

In short, it's a brilliant throwback to the old series, while still bring a little bit of modern sensibility to it. A perfect movie? No. A great move? Yes, at least in my opinion.

Till next time, to all you out there in the great sea of the internet, I'm the Eternal Optimist.

Happy Thoughts!