Star Trek XI - a review

It's been 3.5 hours since I watched it.
Star Trek XI was a blastttt ...

First of all, I'm a sci fi geek so naturally I was interested in this movie ever since the last Star Trek film (Nemesis) bombed. Watched every single trailer and TV-spot that had been released, so the anticipation was high. I purposely chose the biggest GSC cineplex hall in Berjaya Times Square. And yes, because I know it wouldn't be as packed as 1U or Midvalley.

Overall, this is a trail-blazing movie. After Star Trek: First Contact in 1996, I was disappointed by the next 2 movies and hoped this one would at least do better than those. A tad worried because they were going back to the old crew, whom I was not familiar with. But I was pleasantly surprised to find it exceeded all my expectations.

Brief Synopsis: This movie shows how the original crew of the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) got together, especially the future-Captain and 1st officer. Ain't no ride around the neighborhood - they've to stop a planet-destroying madman. Not just a load of techno-babble - it is as much a movie about rising to the challenges that come and relationships as it is about saving the universe.

First, the story was good with enough sci fi plausibility - I've seen and read alot of time travel plots (both Trek and non-Trek), and they kept this one quite fresh. The unfolding of the plot was so breathtakingly fast-paced that my eyes were glued to the screen the entire 2 hours (canceled several calls I got midway through the movie; it would mean missing something out!). Definitely very few (if any) boring moments, meaningless action or tiresome dialogue patches. Conversations seems to have been carefully composed to bring a bang with nearly every sentence; no wasted speeches to worry about. Though things can seem rather too rushed in certain portions. As for humour ... Star Trek can actually be funny!

Visual and sound effects were just stunning; finally something Trekkie on par with Star Wars and Transformers. The Spaceships looked and sounded like spaceships (cool, yet realistic interior and exterior designs) unlike the "toy-like" feeling of previous ships. The exotic space battles left me wanting to cry out "MORE!!". (the scene involving skydiving from space into the atmosphere... just crazy!).

About the settings. First, the Command Bridge of the starships - my goodness, did Apple (or its progeny) survive into the 23rd century to equip the ships with the distant descendants of the iPhone? (SPOILER: Nokia did survive!) And yes, no ancient buttons (Star Trek: TOS) or confusingly numbered touchpads (Star Trek: TNG) - the control consoles looked sensible and leaned towards use-friendly realism.

The musical accompaniment complimented the scenes - the music never felt out of place, and certain portions approached grand (can't match LOTR though). Though I confess I spent most of the time on the story than the music.

For Characters, all of the original crew have their moment in the limelight and shines through as real persons, not someone haphazardly put in to fill a spot. And they aren't sterile statues of perfection - they have their own flaws and clash with each other, as real people do. Captain Pike, Kirk's and Spock's families are also acted out well, their lesser emphasis due to their role as supporting characters. The villain Nero could have been better presented, but the comic series 'Star Trek: Countdown' has fleshed out his background and motivations.
Spock Prime however ... a let-down. He was under-utilized and his interactions with the main cast just doesn't pay justice to his past exploits. (I didn't watch the old series except for 3 of the Original Series movies, so can't really comment whether they managed to represent their older characters properly, though other online reviews are screaming their approval)

In conclusion, it was a well-spent RM 11. Hoping this will herald a new slew of Star Trek movies that are a pleasure to watch (please don't bomb the rest, JJ Abrams!). Definitely on a level above the past few Star Trek movies, and other action-packed-but-mindless blockbusters like Spiderman, Pirates of the Caribbean, Star Wars (sorry, this was better than those prequels!) and etc. Recommended to all who has the interest to see a blockbuster. And yes, try to get a big screen and excellent sound system - the space battles deserve to be flashed out in all their fiery glory.

p.s.
Want to know the entire story? Well, be warned that it might ruin your enjoyment of the onscreen spectacle...

(Jammed packed SPOILERS, so skip the BELOW paragraph to avoid any info)

This story is primarily about the origins of the crew of the USS Enterprise. There is no slow intro here; it jumps right into the action within minutes, with a blazing space shoot out between the USS Kelvin (piloted last by Kirk's dad) and the Narada (captained by Nero). This is no Star Trek: Nemesis - this is space battle at least on par with the best Star Wars had to offer. The movie goes on to track how Kirk and Spock (his future 1st officer) grow up through their troubled childhoods and meet in Star Fleet Academy as cadets. Kirk also bumps into Uhura (future Comms officer) and McCoy (future CMO). After a clash between Kirk and Spock regarding the Kobayashi Maru simulation, things take a darker turn when a crisis emerges on Vulcan and the cadets are called to the USS Enterprise. On board, they meet the efficient navigator Chekov (his Russian is plain hilarious) and helmsman Sulu (messes up the 1st time but redeems himself).

The Enterprise drops out of warp into a graveyard of other ships, to be defeated by the Narada, having their original captain captured, Vulcan destroyed and Spock's people and mother killed. Spock takes over as Captain and elects to join the rest of Star Fleet - but Kirk wants to chase Nero, who's headed for Earth now; and disagrees so fiercely that Spock kicks him off at an icy moon! Here, Kirk meets and is advised by the older Spock (who also time-traveled), and teams up with chief engineer Scotty to get back on the Enterprise. After a blistering argument between Kirk and Spock, they finally convince the crew to face Nero and the Narada. Unable to outgun the Narada, Chekov helps designs a plan to outsmart them. Spock and Kirk beam abroad the Narada, with Kirk freeing Pike and confronting Nero while Spock steals his older self's ship and stops the Narada. The battle ends with a full broadside from the Enterprise and a slick escape move by Scotty. Finally, Kirk is appointed as permanent captain of the Enterprise and also joined by all the original crewmembers, ready to take on the galaxy!