Eye Candy #77 - "Star Trek" (2009)

Star Trek (2010): If I could give this one 4.5 stars, I would. A revamp that’s been a long-time coming, “Star Trek” takes us back to the voyages of the original USS Enterprise and her intrepid crew led by James T. Kirk, and including a list of characters that have become household names to many. J.J. Abrams has crafted a prequel that actually is frenetic, good-looking, intelligent, and something that we probably forgot in the last 5 or 6 Star Trek movies…FUN. If you want plot details, look them up somewheres else. Tasked with filling the huge shoes left by William Shatner’s iconic run as James T. Kirk, Chris Pine does a capable job carving out his own niche as the loud, brash Jim Kirk, the smartest ne’er-do-well in all of Iowa. Zachary Quinto also did a good job as Spock, though I had a hard time not seeing Quinto as Sylar from “Heroes”. The supporting players of Simon Pegg, Karl Urban, Zoe Saldana, John Cho, Anton Yelchin exceeded my expectations as the “new” Scotty, Bones, Uhura, Sulu, and Chekhov, particularly when these characters have become such standards that making them feel fresh was going to be particularly challenging. Bana is good as the menacing Nero, though he isn’t given a great deal of screen time or fleshed out too deeply. The script is a lot more glib than I expected, but not forced. Special effects have always been a staple of the TV shows and films, but this feels like the first time in a LONG time that the filmmakers took advantage of the opportunity afforded them with their computer animation and CGI to make shots that weren’t just pretty to look at, but also served the plot and popped on the screen. Yes, it does deviate somewhat from “Star Trek” canon and I know some of the true sticklers for continuity will balk (though the deviations are explained), but I‘ve watched “Star Trek“ since I was a wee lad and I had a blast. A solid relaunch to this franchise, I would see this one again. Woodchuck sez, “Definitely check this out.”