Sidewalks On The Corner

To boldly go where no one has gone before is the slogan that Trekkies around the world know and love. In the late 1960's, Gene Roddenberry created the groundbreaking series which sparked numerous spin offs and many technological wonders. Now witness the beginning in this new prequel appropriately named "STAR TREK," brought to life by J.J. Abrams.

Follow up:

STAR TREK
Paramount Pictures, Spyglass Entertainment, A Bad Robot Production

Executive Producers: Bryan Burk, Jeffrey Chernov, Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman
Produced by J.J. Abrams, Damon Lindelof
Based upon “Star Trek” Created by Gene Roddenberry
Written by Roberto Orci & Alex Kurtzman
Directed by J.J. Abrams

Cast: John Cho, Ben Cross, Bruce Greenwood, Simon Pegg, Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Winona Ryder, Zoë Saldana, Karl Urban, Anton Yelchin, with Eric Bana and Leonard Nimoy

Studio Synopsis:
The greatest adventure of all time begins with “Star Trek,” the incredible story of a young crew’s maiden voyage onboard the most advanced starship ever created: the U.S.S. Enterprise. On a journey filled with action, comedy and cosmic peril, the new recruits must find a way to stop an evil being whose mission of vengeance threatens all of mankind.

The fate of the galaxy rests in the hands of bitter rivals. One, James T. Kirk (Chris Pine), is a delinquent, thrill-seeking Iowa farm boy. The other, Spock (Zachary Quinto), was raised in a logic-based society that rejects all emotion. As fiery instinct clashes with calm reason, their unlikely but powerful partnership is the only thing capable of leading their crew through unimaginable danger, boldly going where no one has gone before!

Left to right: Chekov (Anton Yelchin), James T. Kirk (Chris Pine), Scotty (Simon Pegg), Bones (Karl Urban), Sulu (John Cho), and Uhura (Zoë Saldana) in "Star Trek." Photo Credit: Industrial Light & Magic. Copyright © 2009 by PARAMOUNT PICTURES CORPORATION. STAR TREK and related marks and logos are trademarks of CBS Studios Inc. All Rights Reserved.

J.P. Take:

What I liked: The opening of the movie begins with a bang, as the U.S.S Kelvin comes under attack by a Romulan craft from the future. George Kirk is put in charge as acting Captain, after Captain Robau was captured by the Romulans. Kirk springs in to action to save hundreds aboard the ship as it's being blown apart. The end result brings chills. This is definitely a legendary story in the making, one in which I believe both the purist and the novice will enjoy.

One of the things about the new installment is the fact that this story is being told from it's core beginnings, as a young Kirk, Uhura, Spock, Sulu, McCoy etc. are in the cadet stage. The fun comes from experiencing the young Starfleet cadets in their first adventure together as they try to gel as a team. It's the stories surrounding each character that has always been on the minds of fans, only now those stories have come to life. The entire cast works well together and you'll find the same kind of comradary between the characters that is found in the original 60’s series. The characters are clearly defined, thanks in part to the carefully chosen actors who bare near striking resemblance to their predecessors. The action is just right, not overbearing or extremely abrasive to the senses. There are some nice twists in the story surrounding Uhura and Spock which is intriguing and totally unexpected. Even the campyness and the unmistakable one liners that are made so famously in the series are uttered, in a sort of an homage manner. There are plenty of jokes that Trek followers will know instantly. Another nice thing is that the special effects didn't hijack the movie, which allowed the character development to take control of the story. And although the story sounds elaborate, it really doesn't take much brain power to figure out, which actually makes the experience more entertaining.

What I Didn't Like: There really wasn't much to gripe about but the few things that I didn't like were easily ignorable. I didn't care about the war criminal Nero played by Eric Bana as much as I would have liked to. Yeah sure he was bitter and ruthless, but his threats felt more like an exercise in being a bad guy 101 than true ruthlessness. Also there were some loose ends that I felt were wrapped up a little too neatly and easily. Like the explanation for what happened to Romulus and Spock's involvement. Kirk being chased by a snow creature felt like the recent "Star Wars" trilogy all over again and was slightly cheesy.

Director J.J. Abrams (left) discusses a scene with Zoë Saldana (right, as Uhura) on the set of "Star Trek." Photo credit: Zade Rosenthal.

The cast was perfectly chosen; each one of them embodied their characters. Chris Pine hits close to the mark as the young Captain in the making James T. Kirk. Taking some ques from William Shatner, he really captured the brashness of Kirk with slight Shatneresque mannerisms. He crosses his legs the same way as Shatner, even spewing classic smart mouthed one liners with a stinging wit. Pine delivers those same qualities with a fresh, young spirit. Kirk is well known for getting into fights and picking up on just about every women who walked his way, so Pine really pick up on that and became the hot-headed womanizing, intelligent Starfleet hopeful.

Uhura has been one of my favorite Sci-Fi characters for some time, which is why I loved watching Zoe Saldana (also one of my favorite actresses) bring her back to life. She brings a certain vibrant sassiness and sexiness to the character. Original actress Nichelle Nichols has always been reserved, even cerebral in the role of Uhura. She's even added sex appeal to the character. However, Saldana displayed a much broader range of emotions, real emotions. She felt gutsier and more outspoken and she is just as sexy as Nichols. Her presence is felt much more because of her vibrancy, not to down play Nichols pivotal role of course.

The actor that almost stole the show was Zachary Quinto, whose uncanny resemblance to Leonard Nimoy, played Spock as if he himself originated the character. Nimoy himself reprises his character and plays a vital part in the story. His performance is still as strong as the day he stepped into the part. I was surprised to see Eric Bana as Nero, because he blended into his character pretty well.

You can't forget about the rest of crew, John Cho, Karl Urban, Simon Pegg and Anton Yelchin, all of whom put their best foot forward to flesh out characters Hikaru Sulu, Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy, Montgomery Scott, and Pavel Chekov, respectively. Expect to see surprise appearances by well known actors such as Winona Ryder, Tyler Perry and Ben Cross.

Over all this is the best 2 hours I've spent in a theater in a long time. I usually complain about the time it takes to tell a story with some movies, with “Star Trek” J.J. Abrams filled every second with something interesting. I had to see it a second time just to catch the things I missed in the first viewing. I had a blast, even watching it the second time.

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J.P. Langston is a member of "Sidewalks Entertainment" team primarily as a videographer. He loves movies, especially sci-fi horror and action comedies. Some of his favorite films include "Blade Runner" "The Matrix Trilogy," The (original) "Star Wars," "Equilibrium," "Serenity," "Kill Bill Vols 1 and 2," "Appleseed," "Unbreakable" and "Sin City." He has a large DVD collection, which is still growing. Since reviewing films for "Sidewalks," he has been expanding his palette for all types of films.