Star Trek: Now with more steampunk shiny
So, yesterday I got about four hours of sleep, woke up, went to church, went to the in-laws, helped make a Mother's Day dinner, then went to see Star Trek. The four hours of sleep thing did not make for a very coherent mindset in which to write a review, so here it is today.
So, the Star Trek reboot uses time travel. I was suspicious of the premise, but since the trailer looked fantastic and the buzz was good, I was hopeful.
Things I loved:
* Steampunk engineering, now with REAL STEAM. Seriously, I sort of love the fact that Engineering is big and bulky and there was a very steampunk future vibe to it. Of course, the water pipes and the turbine were just sheer wtfery a la Galaxy Quest. The shot of crewmen actually loading photon torpedos into torpedo tubes was fabulous.
* Not resetting: I know it's a reboot of the franchise, but after the blowing up of Vulcan (and the way Bad Shit Happens But Doesn't in Trek), I was a little concerned that they would somehow reset to normal Federation status quo except with the crew knowing what's going on. But the fact that they kept that very very big change was great.
* Speaking of Vulcan, I am extremely intrigued by the fallout of Vulcans now being essentially an endangered refugee race instead of the aloof, snooty big brother to humans. It completely changes the makeup and social dynamics of the Federation. I really really hope this continues to be A Thing in subsequent movies.
* The scene between George and Winona Kirk. That was just so very very sad.
* The soundtrack. All the muted music during the big explody action sequences? Really nice.
* Bones and Kirk, especially the allergic reaction scene.
Things I did not love:
* Sulu wielding a fold-out katana. Seriously? He's Japanese so he has to fight with a katana? Come on now, that's just lazy writing.
* Unreliable Transporter As Plot Device: Drawn out way too often. By the time it got to Spock losing his mom as they were being transported out, I was rolling my eyes.
* Everything on the Enterprise being WHITE and everything in Nero's ship being BLACK (and damp and wet and dirty). Come on guys I know Trek isn't subtle, but this was too blatant even for you guys.
* Why the hell was there SO MUCH RED MATTER?!
But overall, I really really enjoyed it. Looking forward to the next one!
So, the Star Trek reboot uses time travel. I was suspicious of the premise, but since the trailer looked fantastic and the buzz was good, I was hopeful.
Things I loved:
* Steampunk engineering, now with REAL STEAM. Seriously, I sort of love the fact that Engineering is big and bulky and there was a very steampunk future vibe to it. Of course, the water pipes and the turbine were just sheer wtfery a la Galaxy Quest. The shot of crewmen actually loading photon torpedos into torpedo tubes was fabulous.
* Not resetting: I know it's a reboot of the franchise, but after the blowing up of Vulcan (and the way Bad Shit Happens But Doesn't in Trek), I was a little concerned that they would somehow reset to normal Federation status quo except with the crew knowing what's going on. But the fact that they kept that very very big change was great.
* Speaking of Vulcan, I am extremely intrigued by the fallout of Vulcans now being essentially an endangered refugee race instead of the aloof, snooty big brother to humans. It completely changes the makeup and social dynamics of the Federation. I really really hope this continues to be A Thing in subsequent movies.
* The scene between George and Winona Kirk. That was just so very very sad.
* The soundtrack. All the muted music during the big explody action sequences? Really nice.
* Bones and Kirk, especially the allergic reaction scene.
Things I did not love:
* Sulu wielding a fold-out katana. Seriously? He's Japanese so he has to fight with a katana? Come on now, that's just lazy writing.
* Unreliable Transporter As Plot Device: Drawn out way too often. By the time it got to Spock losing his mom as they were being transported out, I was rolling my eyes.
* Everything on the Enterprise being WHITE and everything in Nero's ship being BLACK (and damp and wet and dirty). Come on guys I know Trek isn't subtle, but this was too blatant even for you guys.
* Why the hell was there SO MUCH RED MATTER?!
But overall, I really really enjoyed it. Looking forward to the next one!