I am in Trekkie heaven

[CaptainQuantum]

... because I have just secured a ticket to the first media screening of Star Trek in Melbourne on 20 April!

Ok, so it's not the Sydney Opera House but I am pretty damn excited. Last time I was this pumped to see a movie was The Dark Knight and that didn't let me down, so I'm hoping the reviews are all true.

Now I've just got to find a copy of ST: Countdown in the next five days so I can get the backstory.

[Sionnach Glic]

Cool. Be sure to let us know how it is!

[IanKennedy]

But be sure to mark all thread titles with SPOILER if there is anything given away.

[LaughingCheese]

Coolness.

And is this what you're looking for?

[Capt. Jethro]

I came across that comic while on my computer. I was wondering if anyone has read it yet and if it would be worth ordering.

[CaptainQuantum]

Yep, that's the comic I am looking for - but alas I am in Australia and Amazon shipments take ages to reach us down here. The biggest comic store here has sold out and its hard enough to find Star Trek fiction in the big chain bookstores, let alone a Star Trek graphic novel!

Nevermind, I did find a very detailed summary of the plot of Star Trek: Countdown on Memory Alpha, it is well worth a look if you are not going to read the comic before seeing the movie. It basically relates the events between Nemesis and the new film and gives the backstory of Nero, which from reviews I've read is not terribly well explained in the film itself. Be warned, it does contain a few slight spoilers, not of the film plot but of details of Nero's ship, weapons etc.

As an Aussie I'm hoping Eric Bana is as badass in this as he was in "Chopper" - another role he played with unusually shaped ears. I would love to see Nero shoot Kirk and then take him straight to sick bay.

[CaptainQuantum]

I just got back from the screening and it was absolutely fantastic. I have to agree with all the positive reviews. It really was brilliant.

I have posted a spoiler post in the spoiler thread so this review will be no spoilers, which in some ways limits my description of what's good about it.

The film goes at a breakneck pace, with action sequences all over the place and minimal standing around giving exposition. Abrams is a real show don't tell director. The film really flies. Now, my first reaction was whether this was going to be just a dumb action film with the Trek brand on it, but it is not at all thanks to the wonderful characterisation. The writing and acting really gives the whole bridge crew new life and makes this feel like a real Trek film. There is really not a weak performance in the whole bridge crew: Kirk, Spock, Bones, Scotty, Sulu and Chekov are all brilliant. Uhura was the big surprise for me - she has a much bigger role than in TOS and is great. The writers and actors obviously put in a lot of work to ensure that the characters are instantly familiar to us. It actually makes me nostalgic for TOS, which is impressive because TOS is my least favourite series.

The movie is also really funny. There are some great lines, particularly from Kirk, Bones and Scotty. Even Nimoy gets a couple of zingers.

The film looks and sounds gorgeous. The Enterprise revamp is brilliant, it may annoy traditionalists but I think it looked great. I must admit I am one of those who always has trouble suspending my disbelief about the bridge set in TOS and this was much more like it as far as I'm concerned. What is really good about the look of this film is that (for almost the first time in Trek I think) you get a real feel for the vacuum of space and what a terrifying place a spaceship must be when things start going wrong. And nothing is easy or automatic, operations-wise. Transporters are difficult to manually lock on. Sensors are limited while at warp. If you want to get an urgent message across sometimes the best way is to leg it. Very different from TNG's fully automatic flying five star hotel. I wanted a bit more of this sort of stuff from ENT, actually.

I would recommend you definitely read Countdown if you want to know what's going on from the first minute. Nero's backstory is only explained very briefly and while he is clearly one very angry dude you don't get much of an idea as to why. Also Countdown explains the background to his tattoos and his bizarre looking ship (and another odd looking ship which features prominently) which the movie never attempts to explain at all. Eric Bana is great, while Nero gets much less screen time and dialogue than Shinzon in Nemesis he is ten times as menacing.

Overall, a great film. It does for Star Trek what Casino Royale did for James Bond - that is, it freshens up and reboots a somewhat ailing franchise. You don't have to be a Trek fan to enjoy this movie and it will compete with anything else in the multiplex right now, but it offers plenty for Trek fans as well, even if TOS was not your favourite series. Now I just have to wait three weeks to see it again.

[Mikey]

The writers and actors obviously put in a lot of work to ensure that the characters are instantly familiar to us.

That's really great to hear.

[stitch626]

Well, at least your review gives me hope.

[Lazar]

I'm not going to read your post on the spoiler thread, but this review sounds really encouraging, thanks.

There is really not a weak performance in the whole bridge crew: Kirk, Spock, Bones, Scotty, Sulu and Chekov are all brilliant. Uhura was the big surprise for me - she has a much bigger role than in TOS and is great. The writers and actors obviously put in a lot of work to ensure that the characters are instantly familiar to us.

One of the few nitpicks in TrekMovie's review was that it might seem too contrived or convenient how all the bridge crew meet up and assume their roles despite being closer in age. Did you get that impression, or did it seem natural?

What is really good about the look of this film is that (for almost the first time in Trek I think) you get a real feel for the vacuum of space and what a terrifying place a spaceship must be when things start going wrong. And nothing is easy or automatic, operations-wise. Transporters are difficult to manually lock on. Sensors are limited while at warp. If you want to get an urgent message across sometimes the best way is to leg it. Very different from TNG's fully automatic flying five star hotel. I wanted a bit more of this sort of stuff from ENT, actually.

That's something that I'm really excited about - in the trailers, you can see the Enterprise moving in 3d space, upside down relative to the camera, etc.

[CaptainQuantum]

One of the few nitpicks in TrekMovie's review was that it might seem too contrived or convenient how all the bridge crew meet up and assume their roles despite being closer in age. Did you get that impression, or did it seem natural?

How to answer without spoiling. Several of the bridge crew meet up at the Academy so that all seemed pretty natural. I think the nitpick concerns one particular sequence where Kirk just happens to stumble across two characters in a very unlikely location. I thought it was a fair nitpick, although the film does offer something of an explanation. As for the characters all stepping into their bridge crew roles despite being essentially cadets, that is actually handled fairly credibly. Obviously as Trekkies we already know who ends up where, and so it can seem a bit contrived when you know the end result. But I quite liked thinking "ok, how are they going to get this character into this role?" and then seeing how they manage it.

BTW my glowing review does not mean there weren't nits in this movie. There are probably plenty. And there is quite a lot of pseudo-science that will make astrophysicists cringe. But they didn't bother me because the film was so damn entertaining.

[LaughingCheese]

One of the few nitpicks in TrekMovie's review was that it might seem too contrived or convenient how all the bridge crew meet up and assume their roles despite being closer in age. Did you get that impression, or did it seem natural?

BTW my glowing review does not mean there weren't nits in this movie. There are probably plenty. And there is quite a lot of pseudo-science that will make astrophysicists cringe. But they didn't bother me because the film was so damn entertaining.

And that's the point of movies in general, and science fiction specifically.

I'm so excited that this is getting so many good reviews already.

This is really looking up, perhaps Abrams will be with Trek for a long time to come?

If its as good as everyone says so far, I have no problem with that.

[CaptainQuantum]

This is really looking up, perhaps Abrams will be with Trek for a long time to come?

The question will be whether Paramount can afford him. If he's not already, this movie will make him the hottest director in Hollywood right now. He's this generation's Spielberg. Not sure if they've secured him for Star Trek XII yet, hope so. I did notice in interviews he's been eager to point out that he was never a massive Trek fan, although if that's true he certainly did his research.

[Tsukiyumi]

...although if that's true he certainly did his research.

Well, Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman did, anyways.