This afternoon N and I played hooky from work – we had a nice lunch then went to the movies. (It’s just easier to do that when the kids are already taken care of, rather than pay even more money for a babysitter in the evenings.)
I couldn’t decide whether I really wanted to see Wolverine or Star Trek, but then my sister tipped the scales with her ringing endorsement of Chris Pine: FRIGGIN HOTTTTTTT. Okay then. Star Trek it is.
And I am so glad that’s what I picked – it was excellent. I like Star Trek, always have. The original series, The Next Generation, the movies, I enjoy almost every bit of it. This one blew it all away.
Not only is Chris Pine indeed FRIGGIN HOTTTTTT, he did a great job portraying a young James Kirk. Cocky, self-assured, rebellious, but he didn’t take it too far by imitating Shatner’s stilted style of line delivery. The entire movie was phenomenally casted – Karl Urban and Bruce Greenwood are always fantastic, and Zachary Quinto certainly did not disappoint as Spock. And the always-hilarious Simon Pegg was a nice surprise as Scotty (I didn’t realize he was in it.) I was even pleased with Eric Bana as the villain. (Prior to today, I could not stand Eric Bana. I think Hulk may be one of the worst movies ever. I want that 138 minutes of my life back, but Bana has redeemed himself.)
I just can’t say enough about this movie. It did a great job of giving canonical backstory to the series and movies starring the original cast, but it wasn’t such that you would need to have seen all that in order to follow along. I think that casual Trek fans, or even people who just enjoy sci-fi in general would really enjoy it. The special effects were superb, of course, and the plot was really solid.
N had watched it on Saturday in IMAX with his dad and brother, and I couldn’t believe that he wanted to see it again so soon…but after watching it I understand! I could have sat straight through a second showing this afternoon. I’ll definitely see it again, and we’ll no doubt buy the DVD when it comes out.
To sum up: Awesome. Absolutely awesome. Go see it, you won’t be sorry.
