Take note George Lucas, this is how it's done!

[The Black Hand ®]

Review | Star Trek (PG-13) ***

 

 

BY RENE RODRIGUEZ

rrodriguez@MiamiHerald.com

 

Vulcan nerve pinch? Check. Dr. ''Bones'' McCoy complaining ''Dammit, Jim, I'm a doctor, not a [fill in the blank]''? Check. Those warbly sonar pings the U.S.S. Enterprise was always making? You can hear them right in the opening scene of J.J. Abrams' exuberant, thrill-a-minute reboot of the venerable Star Trek franchise.

 

But what's this? BFFs James T. Kirk (Chris Pine) and the pointy-eared Spock (Zachary Quinto) trading evil eyes -- and eventually right hooks -- on the deck of the Enterprise? The leggy Uhura carrying on with one of the ship's high-ranking officers in a not-so-secret affair? A screw-up Kirk taking orders from someone else sitting in the Enterprise's captain's chair? And nary a Klingon in sight? This is not Star Trek!

 

Well, it is now -- and that turns out to be a good thing. Abrams, along with screenwriters Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, has dared to go where no man has gone before, tinkering with the mythology of Gene Roddenberry's original incarnation of the Star Trek brand without changing its essence.

 

Abrams has also pulled off the near-impossible feat of making a prequel that fills in the backstory to characters we already know without making us squirm impatiently in our seats. Abrams chooses imaginative moments from the characters' childhoods that ground their grown-up counterparts in something more tangible than iconic status: The boy Spock's taunting by school bullies, the teenaged Kirk's rebelliousness, or even Kirk's birth, which takes place under the most stressful of circumstances imaginable.

 

There is considerable fun in discovering the hows and whys the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise came together, and each member has at least one moment in the spotlight, including the esteemed helmsman Sulu, played by John Cho, who gets to use his fencing skills in one of the film's most exciting action setpieces.

 

Decidedly more action-intensive than any Trek movie before it (and boasting some remarkable special effects), this new incarnation also boasts a plot that devotees and newbies alike can follow. Abrams gives the film such a contemporary feel -- a Beastie Boys song in a Star Trek movie? Believe it -- that you wouldn't know the movie was spun off from an old TV show if it wasn't impossible not to know it.

 

Only the scenes featuring Leonard Nimoy, who pops up to perform a mind meld that might as well have been called ''Necessary Exposition,'' threaten to slow the picture down to the pace of the first, disastrous, Robert Wise-directed Star Trek movie, in which the characters seemed to do little other than stare out into space with awe.

 

How times have changed. The new Star Trek moves like lightning, looks fantastic and assembles a cast worthy of the mantle handed down by the original crew of the Enterprise. The movie also reminds you how much fun a science-fiction pop opera can be when its creators aren't bogged down with their own self-importance. Take note, George Lucas: This is how it's done.

 

 

 

[supapimp]

John Cho is in the movie? i guess that i'll watch it on DVD then.

[joe_collector]

Prequels are almost pre-made assuming you have a talented writer and director, witness Casino Royale, but Lucas is so fat and senile that he couldn't even do pull off something that incredibly simple.

 

Just wait til that retarded pig dies and someone gets ahold of the SW license that can actually write - we could be watching killer SW movies for decades to come.

[slym2none]

Prequels are almost pre-made assuming you have a talented writer and director, witness Casino Royale, but Lucas is so fat and senile that he couldn't even do pull off that incredibly simple.

 

Just wait til that retarded pig dies and someone gets ahold of the SW license that can actually write - we could be watching killer SW movies for decades to come.

 

Maybe someone will make those three sequels that were rumoured to never have been part of the "trilogy."

 

(thumbs u

 

 

 

-slym

[thehumantorch]

Prequels are almost pre-made assuming you have a talented writer and director, witness Casino Royale, but Lucas is so fat and senile that he couldn't even do pull off that incredibly simple.

 

Just wait til that retarded pig dies and someone gets ahold of the SW license that can actually write - we could be watching killer SW movies for decades to come.

 

Ouch.

[Wally's Comics]

Prequels are almost pre-made assuming you have a talented writer and director, witness Casino Royale, but Lucas is so fat and senile that he couldn't even do pull off that incredibly simple.

 

Just wait til that retarded pig dies and someone gets ahold of the SW license that can actually write - we could be watching killer SW movies for decades to come.

 

Ouch.

 

X 2, man that's a healthy hate sandwich for ya!

[TheShadowKnows]

Prequels are almost pre-made assuming you have a talented writer and director, witness Casino Royale, but Lucas is so fat and senile that he couldn't even do pull off something that incredibly simple.

 

Just wait til that retarded pig dies and someone gets ahold of the SW license that can actually write - we could be watching killer SW movies for decades to come.

But what do you really think Vince

[kimik]

Prequels are almost pre-made assuming you have a talented writer and director, witness Casino Royale, but Lucas is so fat and senile that he couldn't even do pull off something that incredibly simple.

 

Just wait til that retarded pig dies and someone gets ahold of the SW license that can actually write - we could be watching killer SW movies for decades to come.

 

Wow. When did he pizz in your cornflakes?

[cujobyte]

Prequels are almost pre-made assuming you have a talented writer and director, witness Casino Royale, but Lucas is so fat and senile that he couldn't even do pull off something that incredibly simple.

 

Just wait til that retarded pig dies and someone gets ahold of the SW license that can actually write - we could be watching killer SW movies for decades to come.

 

Couldnt' agree more.

[Silver]

Or some cool Indiana Jones prequels as well

[He11blazer]

Prequels are almost pre-made assuming you have a talented writer and director, witness Casino Royale, but Lucas is so fat and senile that he couldn't even do pull off something that incredibly simple.

 

Just wait til that retarded pig dies and someone gets ahold of the SW license that can actually write - we could be watching killer SW movies for decades to come.

 

One of those rare occasions where I completely agree with JC! A good writer could do wonderful things with the SW universe.

 

As for Trek, sounds like a lot of fun. Looking forward to that.

[aardvark88]

This is a link to a nice Wondercon 2009 8 min. interview about the prequel with director JJ Abrams, his 2 writers, new Spock (Sylar), Kirk, Uhura!

 

http://www.comic-con.org/cci/

[ciorac]

Review | Star Trek (PG-13) ***

 

 

BY RENE RODRIGUEZ

rrodriguez@MiamiHerald.com

 

Vulcan nerve pinch? Check. Dr. ''Bones'' McCoy complaining ''Dammit, Jim, I'm a doctor, not a [fill in the blank]''? Check. Those warbly sonar pings the U.S.S. Enterprise was always making? You can hear them right in the opening scene of J.J. Abrams' exuberant, thrill-a-minute reboot of the venerable Star Trek franchise.

 

But what's this? BFFs James T. Kirk (Chris Pine) and the pointy-eared Spock (Zachary Quinto) trading evil eyes -- and eventually right hooks -- on the deck of the Enterprise? The leggy Uhura carrying on with one of the ship's high-ranking officers in a not-so-secret affair? A screw-up Kirk taking orders from someone else sitting in the Enterprise's captain's chair? And nary a Klingon in sight? This is not Star Trek!

 

Well, it is now -- and that turns out to be a good thing. Abrams, along with screenwriters Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, has dared to go where no man has gone before, tinkering with the mythology of Gene Roddenberry's original incarnation of the Star Trek brand without changing its essence.

 

Abrams has also pulled off the near-impossible feat of making a prequel that fills in the backstory to characters we already know without making us squirm impatiently in our seats. Abrams chooses imaginative moments from the characters' childhoods that ground their grown-up counterparts in something more tangible than iconic status: The boy Spock's taunting by school bullies, the teenaged Kirk's rebelliousness, or even Kirk's birth, which takes place under the most stressful of circumstances imaginable.

 

There is considerable fun in discovering the hows and whys the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise came together, and each member has at least one moment in the spotlight, including the esteemed helmsman Sulu, played by John Cho, who gets to use his fencing skills in one of the film's most exciting action setpieces.

 

Decidedly more action-intensive than any Trek movie before it (and boasting some remarkable special effects), this new incarnation also boasts a plot that devotees and newbies alike can follow. Abrams gives the film such a contemporary feel -- a Beastie Boys song in a Star Trek movie? Believe it -- that you wouldn't know the movie was spun off from an old TV show if it wasn't impossible not to know it.

 

Only the scenes featuring Leonard Nimoy, who pops up to perform a mind meld that might as well have been called ''Necessary Exposition,'' threaten to slow the picture down to the pace of the first, disastrous, Robert Wise-directed Star Trek movie, in which the characters seemed to do little other than stare out into space with awe.

 

How times have changed. The new Star Trek moves like lightning, looks fantastic and assembles a cast worthy of the mantle handed down by the original crew of the Enterprise. The movie also reminds you how much fun a science-fiction pop opera can be when its creators aren't bogged down with their own self-importance. Take note, George Lucas: This is how it's done.

 

 

 

Just got home from Star Trek. It was sensational. Haven't had that much fun at a movie in a very long time. An instant classic for me.

 

[bug33fouf]

(thumbs u

[the_Greatest]

(thumbs u

 

 

Bugawho?

 

[Designer Toast]

Can't wait to see this movie.

 

As for Lucas, he was fine back in the 70s and simply has been unable to keep pace. Just look at the corny love scenes in the prequels Bringing writer Lawrence Kasdan on board for ESB, you can see the incredible differences in character development and dialog comparing that film to SW. In terms of writing, those two movies are a million years apart.

 

Kasdan has also penned a Clash of the Titans remake.

 

I'm a huge George Lucas fan (SW:OT, Graffiti, THX) and he blew it straight out his arse with the prequels. Lucas is a great idea guy and if he does anything else with SW he needs to have strong writers - there is a SW television series in development with a whole staff of writers.

 

I'm glad to hear the good reviews for the Star Trek movie (thumbs u