Star Trek– ***1/2
Directed by J.J. Abrams
Starring Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Simon Pegg, Eric Bana, John Cho, Ben Cross, Bruce Greenwood
Rated: PG-13
Release Date: May 8, 2009

Commanding attraction from a once commendable television franchise, which, up until 2009, has seen countless diffident reboots, is Star Trek, a new perpetual powerhouse film that is an imaginative mix of futuristic grandeur and old-fashioned history. The movie echoes the unmistakable freshness of a distinctive and original action picture while still pertaining to the origins of a forty-year-old series that will still satisfy die hard Trekkie fans and lay a new slate for first timers.

The creative imagination behind the TV series Lost and action pictures like M.I. III is J.J. Abrams, and he is at the forefront of reconstructing a partly departed and retroactive, iconic television series from the 60s. Sounds appetizing when given the amount of numerous failed attempts at reincarnating the Enterprise; the last being 2002’s Star Trek: Nemesis. Abrams recognizes those films’ faults and is up to the challenge to fathom a dissimilar approach to a decades old problem that hindered most Star Trek movies.

Let me preface this reaction by saying I am not a huge Star Trek fan. I have not seen every episode of any of the television series although I have watched and enjoyed quite a few. I’ve also never read a Star Trek novel in my entire life, but I’m pretty sure my uncle has written at least one. That being said, I’ve had several discussions about the Prime Directive over the dinner table but I’m not an Ãœber Trek geek. It’s that same geekdom that kept the majority of intelligent people from experiencing Star Trek for the good part of a decade despite a strong interest in science fiction. JJ Abrams‘ new film took Star Trek back and made it accessible again.

Whenever I’ve watched an episode of Star Trek [pick a crew, any crew] on television, it was almost never because I intended to do so. I’d be flipping through the channels, waiting on the commercials to end on another program I was watching. This casual practice usually ended in me not changing the channel back. Therefore I’ve consumed about two-thirds of all Trek entertainment in syndication because initially, there was never anything pulling me into it the way Battlestar Galactica did.

To put it in simpler terms, there was always a humanity element lacking from the Trek fiction. That’s crucial for most people to connect with the characters and thus, enhance the storytelling.

Honestly, hiring JJ Abrams to direct the “revamped” Star Trek movie was probably the greatest move anyone could have ever hoped for. I know that going into production there were criticisms that he had never done a large special effects oriented movie, but it just goes to show you that if you understand how to tell a story, everything else will fall into place.

I’m not going to expend too much effort going into detail about the film but as fair warning, ****SPOILERS AHEAD****. Don’t read past here if you don’t want to find anything out about the movie prior to seeing it.

Paramount has released a third TV spot for their upcoming film Star Trek, which hits theaters May 8, 2009.

The 30-second spot, which is airing tonight in the United States, can be watched here below; there’s also download links for the HD versions, as well as some screen grabs from the TV spot of some scenes of interest. It’s a short, but sweet little bit, so definitely give it a look.

A few items that popped out at me while watching this: There’s a new shot of the Romulan villain Nero (Eric Bana) saying the “it’s a day of reckoning” line from the previously released full-length trailer (see Third “˜Star Trek’ Trailer Now Online); we see a very quick clip of Kirk on the ice planet meeting up with the old Spock, played by Leonard Nimoy; Kirk and McCoy introducing themselves to each other (Kirk calling himself “Jim Kirk”), and more scenes from the space jump.

Paramount has released a new Star Trek logo today for the upcoming film directed by JJ Abrams.

Click the image of the new logo here at right for a larger view.

Also, the official Star Trek site has been updated to include a new section in its main Nav menu called “Panoramas,” which includes two corridors angles from the USS Enterprise.

Be on the lookout in theaters starting on Friday, March 6, 2009 for the film’s third trailer, which will feature new footage, in theaters running ahead of showings of Watchmen.

Press Release

Paramount Pictures’ Star Trek to be Released as IMAX(R) Movie MAY 8, 2009

J.J. Abrams’ Vision of the Greatest Space Adventure of All Time to Run in Select IMAX Theatres

LOS ANGELES, CA, Dec. 12 — Paramount Pictures and IMAX Corporation (NASDAQ: IMAX; TSX: IMX) today announced that Star Trek, directed by J.J. Abrams (“Mission: Impossible III”, “Lost” and “Alias”), will be simultaneously released to both IMAX(R) and conventional theatres worldwide on May 8, 2009. Star Trek, which chronicles the early days of James T. Kirk and his fellow USS Enterprise crew members, will be digitally re-mastered into the unparalleled image and sound quality of The IMAX Experience(R) with proprietary IMAX DMR(R) (Digital Re-mastering) technology. Paramount Pictures will be the exclusive distributor of the film to IMAX theatres worldwide.