Star Trek Strikes Back!

I think it's funny people want to know my opinion of the current Star Trek Movie. I loved it, every minute of it! I went in the theater just wanting to be entertained. I would be lying if I wasn't a bit concerned about the new direction, but that was all laid to rest as every scene unfolded. For the record, no I did not dress up as a character to attend the show, just jeans and a plain t-shirt, though I would have loved to have received a prize pack like my buddy at Trek Nostalgia. Yes, I did go and see it at a 11:00 PM showing on Thursday night, then again the next morning. I was shooting for three showings over the weekend, but I thought I would hold off till later this week for my third showing. My first impression when I left the first showing... Whoa.

So, I couldn't believe the movie was only 2 hours long, it felt like I was only given 30 minutes of an episode, the pace was fantastic, I never felt like I was waiting for this movie to end or that there was a lull in the story. The introduction of the characters were all enjoyable, and even though I might have been a little skeptical about the whole time line aspect of the story, I left the theater satisfied with the way the story was handled. I even excited to see how they take this new crew in future installments. Will we see different takes on past villains? New worlds? I really can't wait till we see this crew in action again.

The big E was beautiful on the big screen, and seeing it in some of those amazing action sequences was breath taking. My hats off to the special effects crew behind bringing the Enterprise to life. I really enjoyed the way the ship was portrayed in space, not having a fixed up or down orientation, plus the scenes of the silence of space were beautiful. The soundtrack was also very enjoyable, even though there was a Beastie Boys song mixed in (nice touch by the way), I always think the best soundtrack is one that doesn't rely on too much modern pop, but is built with sweeping original scores.

Do I think the franchise has been re-energized as some would say? Yes, I think this new take on Star Trek might launch a few more movies and maybe spark an interest in another TV show. If not an interest in the shows and movies that came before hand.

My only down note about the whole new Star Trek experience was when I left the first showing I thought how Playmates Toys missed the boat by not bringing out more of the "aliens" from the movie in its initial offerings of toys. I would have loved to have picked up a little Star Fleet Officer Alien (the one that hanged with Scotty) or some of the other Aliens from the film. Here's hoping they release some more of the 3.25" line and fill out the Star Trek Universe with some of these characters.

My final though, while I love Star Trek the Motion Picture from back in 1979 and wouldn't change it for the world, I really think this was the movie 11 year old me was waiting for back then. I really was taken back to why I like Star Trek, the team effort, the adventure, and the chemistry of the crew. So if you haven't seen it, I would go, and no you do not have to like Star Trek to enjoy this movie, but if you do you'll like it as well.