ViewGuide

Created May 08, 2009 05:02PM PST • Edited May 08, 2009 05:02PM PST

1. Quality

2. Summary

   Really Great 4.5

   Awesome, bombastic fun, ‘Star Trek’ redefines the summer action film and reminds us that a film doesn’t need to be serious or realistic to be true entertainment.

4. Acting

   Great 4.0

   Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto are more than able leads, whilst Eric Bana and Karl Urban head the excellent ensemble of supporting actors and actresses.

5. Male Stars Great 4.0

   Chris Pine, as Kirk, shows that not every re-imagining has to follow the original – his Kirk is ballsy, cocky and arrogant, but also maintains a sense of duty and a measure of strength, and echoes of Shatner emerge. Quinto is excellent as Spock though – he gets the perfect mixture of emotion and resolve that the character needs, and together these two are the main reason that the movie works so well.

6. Female Stars Very Good 3.5

   Zoe Saldana plays Uhura, and considering she is the only woman in the group, she more than holds her own despite Kirk’s misogynistic approaches. In fact, considering how she was portrayed before, it’s good to see that the character’s a little more aligned with a more contemporary sensibility. With this and James Cameron’s ‘Avatar’ to come, Saldana should become a big star quite soon.

7. Female Costars Very Good 3.5

   Winona Ryder (shock horror) plays Spock’s mum, and once the surprise of her actually being in the film has dissipated, you realise that her performance is really quite good. Aged up, the actress portrays her human character as a woman proud of her son yet saddened for the life he must live because of her. In one short scene at the onset, Jennifer Morrison of ‘House’ plays Kirk’s mother, and even in about ten minutes on-screen she makes an emotional impact that should be mentioned.

8. Male Costars Really Great 4.5

   Where do I begin? Karl Urban, as ‘Bones’ McCoy, gets that perfect mixture of comedy and sincerity, as well as blazing a trail for sardonic characters everywhere. Eric Bana’s villain Nero doesn’t really have much to do, but you do get the sense he’s a man on a mission, and consequences (no matter how severe) be damned. There could have been more done with his role but the actor’s good enough that it works regardless of the time.

   John Cho and Anton Yelchin, as Sulu and Chekov respectively, don’t have much time to prove themselves, but both actors maintain that balance of comedy and seriousness that their co-stars attain. Simon Pegg’s Scotty is perhaps the comic highlight, and this comes as no surprise regarding his stature as a fantastic comedic actor.

   Of the other supporting male roles, special mention must go to Bruce Greenwood as Captain Pike, the man who galvanises Kirk into embracing his destiny, and Leonard Nimoy, who seamlessly returns to his former role as Spock. His scenes with Pine and Quinto are testament to his stature in Abrams’ eyes, and hopefully he could be featured in the next film.

10. Film

    Really Great 4.5

    J.J. Abrams weaves his magic on the big screen here with a re-imagining of a dead franchise – at this point, it seems as if this man can’t do anything wrong, and the inevitable sequel had better be directed by him.

11. Direction Perfect 5.0

    Having only ever directed ‘Mission Impossible 3’ before this, many would have refused J.J. Abrams the chance to direct such a big movie. However, the man behind ‘Alias’ and ‘Lost’, and the brains behind the ‘Cloverfield’ phenomenon, has brought his expert skills to perhaps the perfect project here. Mixing humour, homage, action and complex science into a believable, gripping and hugely entertaining summer blockbuster is by no means an easy job, yet Abrams has managed, with only his second directing job, to jolt the summer action movie (and sci-fi action genre) into a new, more exciting age. Personally, I can’t wait to see what the man can do with another film in this series, let alone any other film he signs up for – everything he does here is perfect.

12. Play Great 4.0

    Dialogue, both in terms of humour and exposition, is taut, funny and effective. The interchanges between Kirk and Spock bristle with anger and antagonism, whilst Nimoy’s otherworldly voice fills his scenes with a sense of grandeur. The comic dialogue is a lot less childish than many may want to believe, and Urban’s ‘Bones’, along with Pegg’s Scotty, get many of the best, more witty lines throughout.

13. Music Good 3.0

    The soundtrack is nothing special – sure, the epic themes from Michael Giacchino are perfect when needed, but it’s not a score that leaps at you, nor does it stick with you after the film. In fact, it seems rather cruel that the original theme tune is played at the conclusion to the film, because it reminds the viewer of what came before – though the original’s rather twee sound pales in comparison to Giacchino’s efforts.

14. Visuals Perfect 5.0

    Space, both in terms of travel and battle, looks fantastic in this film. Forget everything that was amazing about ‘Star Wars’, ‘Alien’, ‘Serenity’ or ‘Starship Troopers’, because Abrams has committed to film an amazing and fantastic vision of the universe. Black holes swirl, planets implode and ships fracture in almost balletic beauty, and it’s stunning to think that it’s taken this long for such a great presentation of space to be seen on film. Elsewhere, the effects-heavy scenes on Earth, Vulcan and each ship are excellent – I can’t place an effect that seemed poor throughout. Even the practical sets have that perfect equilibrium of modern and sci-fi – a touch that allows for the viewer to ingratiate themselves into the narrative.

15. Content

16. Edge

    Risqué 1.9

    This film is rated 12, but in all honesty it’s fairly harmless – a few instances of sex and profanity, and a lot of fighting, but nothing that could possibly be considered either adult or unsuitable.

17. Sex Titillating 1.8

18. Violence Fierce 2.3

19. Rudeness Salty 1.7

21. Reality

    Fantasy 5.0

22. Circumstantial Fantasy 5.0

23. Biological Fantasy 5.0

24. Physical Fantasy 5.0