This is a review of the 2009 movie Star Trek starring Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Leonard Nimoy, and Bruce Greenwood
Plot Summary: A chronicle of the early days of James T. Kirk and his fellow USS Enterprise crew members.
Me: The Internet – the final frontier. These are the movie reviews of the off-beat personal finance blog Len Penzo dot Com. Its five-year mission: to explore the wacky world of personal finance, to seek out and educate new readers, to boldly go where no man has gone before!
The Honeybee: Cute. Now tell me this: if this blog is about personal finance, what does that have to do with reviewing movies?
Me: Well, not much. Then again, what part of “off-beat” are you having trouble comprehending today, Lt. Uhuru?
The Honeybee: Stop calling me Uhuru – and would you take off those stupid Spock ears, please, before I decide to beam myself to another room?
Me: Which room might that be?
The Honeybee: Any one that you aren’t currently standing in, you Klingon kook.
Me: Um, Spock is a Vulcan.
The Honeybee: And you’re a dork.
Me: I love you too, Honeybee. Did the coffee maker break this morning? So what did you think about the latest movie with the eponymous title in the Star Trek franchise?
The Honeybee: Hey, how bad could this be when the movie involved J.J. Abrams?
Me: You’re right. The creator and producer of both Lost and Alias, J.J. Abrams, directs this 11th Star Trek film and does an absolutely tremendous job of it, breathing new life into a franchise that was clearly dead, Jim.
The Honeybee: I’m not a sci-fi fan, and although I’ve seen a few Star Trek films, I am not a Trekkie either. But you know what? I really liked it!
Me: I agree. Abrams has put together one heck of a sci-fi flick, complete with an engaging story, some really terrific special effects, James Bond action scenes and – best of all – absolutely terrific casting, including Leonard Nimoy who reprises his role as the “older Spock.”
The Honeybee: Well, I am a big fan of J.J. Abrams. I loved Alias, and obviously, you and I have both faithfully watched Lost from the day it debuted. He did a wonderful job reenergizing this stale franchise. Why don’t you take the helm and tell our dwindling readership the basic story in 25 words or less?
Me: Okay. In short, while a young Kirk (Chris Pine) and what will become the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise are in training at Star Fleet Academy, the Romulans decide to attack Spocks (Zachary Quinto and Leonard Nimoy) home planet of Vulcan. Unfortunately for the Federation, their main fleet is tied up in another part of the galaxy. So, in a pinch, the young trainees are prematurely drafted into battle.
The Honeybee: I really enjoyed learning about how the members of the Enterprise originally got together.
Me: All of the original characters are represented in Star Trek and I thought most of the actors were very believable as the greenhorn versions of Captain Kirk, Spock, Bones McCoy, Scotty, Sulu, Uhuru, and Chekov. In fact, some of the portrayals were masterclass, notably those by Karl Urban, Anton Yelchin, and Simon Pegg as Bones, Checkov, and Scotty, respectively.
The Honeybee: Don’t forget Bruce Greenwood, who played Admiral Pike. Which brings up another point: Why is it every time you see him in a movie you shout out, “There’s the guy from Wings.”
Me: Because he was in Wings!
The Honeybee: You’re confusing him with Tim Daly.
Me: No. I’m talking about Bruce Greenwood – the guy who currently plays on Private Practice.
The Honeybee: That’s Tim Daly, too.
Me: No it’s not. And who is Tim Daly?
The Honeybee: Why can’t you get off of impulse power, engage your brain to warp factor eight, and understand that Bruce Greenwood is not Tim Daly?
Me: But I’m giving it all she’s got, Honeybee!
The Honeybee: That is the worst Scottish accent I’ve ever heard.
Me: I thought it was pretty good.
The Honeybee: I’m sorry I mentioned Bruce Greenwood. Let’s just move on – there is obviously no sign of intelligent life here, Mr. Spock.
Me: Hardy har har.
The Honeybee: So would you say this is the best Star Trek movie of them all?
Me: Absolutely! Although The Wrath of Khan is a worthy competitor. This movie is a definite “buy!” What did you think?
The Honeybee: I agree, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see a sequel.
Me: Well, that would only be logical.
The Honeybee: I married a dork.
But – does the next film fix the timeline? What do you think?
No. A fixed timeline to J.J. Abrams is like holy water to Dracula. LOL
As a Star Trek fan (not a trekkie), I thought this was one of the best Trek movies. It exceeded my expectations.
Mine too, Boomer. I was actually a bit dismayed when the Honeybee picked the movie. The franchise had gotten so stale it was pitiful – but I was completely wrong. I really really enjoyed watching it!