Reflections on the new Star Trek
I think the plot synopsis was very good and a very interesting way to allow the movie to deviate from the accepted canon. Great movie all-around.
A few character notes:
Kirk: Chris Pine took the character in a very different direction personality-wise, which worked wonderfully. Of all the characters, this is the none that would have been hardest to update. On the one hand-- regardless of what you think of Shatner's original portrayal of Kirk-- the character has become hackneyed and easily overdone. While that kind of over-dramatizing was popular in the '60s, it would never fly now except as parody. Pine does a nice job of balancing the essence of Kirk with more modern ideas of the successful maverick. I like that they emphasized his intelligence. I always thought that the original Kirk was played as too much of a chunk head.
Spock: Quinto does a great job of reproducing a character who already exists in a strong way and doesn't need to be messed with. He even has the dry sense of humor down very well which, more than anything else,, defines the character of Spock and distinguishes him from the other Vulcans.
McCoy: Whoa! Carl Urban's performance is perfect. He sounds and looks like a young DeForest Kelly, and he's got the character down pat-- even to the physical movements and vocal inflections. I also like that they made him more overtly Southern. My favorite character of the movie.
Uhura: Of all of the characters in the original series, Uhura always got short shrift due to the fact that she was female and black in a '60s show. The movies partially rectified this, but I always felt for Nichelle Nichols because her character was so revolutionary for its time, yet so meager compared to what it could have been. Zoe Seldana does a great job of correcting those errors of omission. Her character was written strongly and Zeldana plays it to the hilt. Sweet revenge for Uhura's character-- and a big "Fuck you" to '60s bigotry.
Sulu: I was excited to see John Cho in this role, but I didn't like him as much as I thought I would. He was pretty badass in the action sequences, but in his more routine dialog scenes, he seemed a bit smirky. I think the essence of Sulu is that he is sober and focused, even when he makes a mistake. Cho's Sulu breaks with that and it detracts from the character's nature somewhat.
Scotty: This is one of those times you worry that the actor is maybe too perfect for the role. Nonetheless, he's just perfect enough. Would like to have seen more of him, but what we have is damned good. Plus Simon is awesome in everything.
The only other comment is that I like how they made the Romulans a bit more grizzled. The first scene with Nero (Eric Bana) on the Romulan ship reminded me of what Deadliest Catch would look like in the future.
Overall, great movie experience with something for non-fans as well as us "veterans". See it. It's very watchable.
A few character notes:
Kirk: Chris Pine took the character in a very different direction personality-wise, which worked wonderfully. Of all the characters, this is the none that would have been hardest to update. On the one hand-- regardless of what you think of Shatner's original portrayal of Kirk-- the character has become hackneyed and easily overdone. While that kind of over-dramatizing was popular in the '60s, it would never fly now except as parody. Pine does a nice job of balancing the essence of Kirk with more modern ideas of the successful maverick. I like that they emphasized his intelligence. I always thought that the original Kirk was played as too much of a chunk head.
Spock: Quinto does a great job of reproducing a character who already exists in a strong way and doesn't need to be messed with. He even has the dry sense of humor down very well which, more than anything else,, defines the character of Spock and distinguishes him from the other Vulcans.
McCoy: Whoa! Carl Urban's performance is perfect. He sounds and looks like a young DeForest Kelly, and he's got the character down pat-- even to the physical movements and vocal inflections. I also like that they made him more overtly Southern. My favorite character of the movie.
Uhura: Of all of the characters in the original series, Uhura always got short shrift due to the fact that she was female and black in a '60s show. The movies partially rectified this, but I always felt for Nichelle Nichols because her character was so revolutionary for its time, yet so meager compared to what it could have been. Zoe Seldana does a great job of correcting those errors of omission. Her character was written strongly and Zeldana plays it to the hilt. Sweet revenge for Uhura's character-- and a big "Fuck you" to '60s bigotry.
Sulu: I was excited to see John Cho in this role, but I didn't like him as much as I thought I would. He was pretty badass in the action sequences, but in his more routine dialog scenes, he seemed a bit smirky. I think the essence of Sulu is that he is sober and focused, even when he makes a mistake. Cho's Sulu breaks with that and it detracts from the character's nature somewhat.
Scotty: This is one of those times you worry that the actor is maybe too perfect for the role. Nonetheless, he's just perfect enough. Would like to have seen more of him, but what we have is damned good. Plus Simon is awesome in everything.
The only other comment is that I like how they made the Romulans a bit more grizzled. The first scene with Nero (Eric Bana) on the Romulan ship reminded me of what Deadliest Catch would look like in the future.
Overall, great movie experience with something for non-fans as well as us "veterans". See it. It's very watchable.