'Star Trek' (2009) Review
Nominated For: Best Visual Effects, Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing, and Best Makeup.
Won: Best Makeup.
I've always considered myself more of a Star Wars guy rather than a Trekkie and never quite clicked with the Star Trek franchise. I find the films enjoyable but not anywhere near the level of enjoyment I have towards Star Wars. With that being said, I've always been a fan of the more recent J.J. Abrams' Star Trek films and personally prefer them to the older versions (which are a little dull in my opinion). This 2009 reboot of Star Trek managed to reinvigorate the franchise with a sleeker modernized approach. It's no wonder that since making Star Trek, J.J. Abrams was recruited to bring back Star Wars this past December in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Which we all know that worked out beautifully! Abrams takes a unique approach, not too dis-similar to the more recent X-Men films and chooses to alter the timeline a bit, thus forming a new continuity going forward. This bold choice gives the franchise wiggle room. The films can now feature the mainstay Enterprise crew without feeling obligated to tell the same story again. Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman pen the script and do a remarkable job writing dialogue for the respective characters onboard the Enterprise and maintain a fast paced engaging story. The film speeds through the typical bland origins and gets straight to the action adventure, which combined with the editing speeds the film along even more. While there were no particular standout action scenes, the action is very entertaining. Technically, this film takes home all the marbles as the visual effects, makeup, costuming, production designer, and sound design converge to make an aesthetically perfect film. Each of the respective categories collaborate nicely together and make the film visually and audibly engaging. A chief consistent complaint of Abrams' films is his use of lens flares, which are abundant here. In Star Trek's case, I can say there were numerous times where I felt the lens flares were both unnecessary and slightly obnoxious. I think lens flares are intended to be an artistic choice that can add wonder to the visuals onscreen and at times Abrams does just that. However, the lens flares simply aren't needed during conversations onboard the USS Enterprise. Aside from the lens flares, the cinematography is downright gorgeous. The film doesn't remain to be a hollow visual spectacle as there's plenty of heart to be found in the film's cast. Chris Pine makes for a charming lead in James Tiberius Kirk playing up his greatest assets including sarcastic wit and humor. Zachary Quinto brilliantly captures the complex nature of Spock. Quinto perfectly balances the level headed logical reasoning with a few emotional outbursts along the same lines of the complex characterization of Vision in the Marvel movies. Leonard Nimoy gets the opportunity to jump back into the role of an older version of Spock and was terrific (There were some time travel elements). Being aware of Nimoy's passing last year, there was one scene that made me tear up a little as there was an added emotional element knowing Nimoy's fate. Zoe Saldana is serviceable as Uhura, basically just Spock's love interest who doesn't get too much development. Karl Urban is largely around for comedic relief as Bones and was hilarious, I enjoyed Urban in the capacity used. John Cho was well cast as Sulu but also doesn't get to do all that much aside from one cool action sequence. Simon Pegg is terrific as Scotty and was perfect comedic relief. Two understated smaller characters I felt were worth mentioning were James Kirk's parents. Chris Hemsworth and Jennifer Morrison, whom many now know as Thor and Emma Swan, had phenomenal chemistry and really showcased their acting chops to bring anyone to tears in one heartbreaking scene between them as George and Winona Kirk. Eric Bana makes for an intimidating presence as the film's antagonist, Nero. However his character lacks both enough screen time or motivation to make him a truly compelling villain. In summary, Star Trek is a great example of how to properly reboot a franchise by reinvigorating interest with phenomenal technical elements, an interesting premise, and a terrific cast.
Won: Best Makeup.
I've always considered myself more of a Star Wars guy rather than a Trekkie and never quite clicked with the Star Trek franchise. I find the films enjoyable but not anywhere near the level of enjoyment I have towards Star Wars. With that being said, I've always been a fan of the more recent J.J. Abrams' Star Trek films and personally prefer them to the older versions (which are a little dull in my opinion). This 2009 reboot of Star Trek managed to reinvigorate the franchise with a sleeker modernized approach. It's no wonder that since making Star Trek, J.J. Abrams was recruited to bring back Star Wars this past December in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Which we all know that worked out beautifully! Abrams takes a unique approach, not too dis-similar to the more recent X-Men films and chooses to alter the timeline a bit, thus forming a new continuity going forward. This bold choice gives the franchise wiggle room. The films can now feature the mainstay Enterprise crew without feeling obligated to tell the same story again. Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman pen the script and do a remarkable job writing dialogue for the respective characters onboard the Enterprise and maintain a fast paced engaging story. The film speeds through the typical bland origins and gets straight to the action adventure, which combined with the editing speeds the film along even more. While there were no particular standout action scenes, the action is very entertaining. Technically, this film takes home all the marbles as the visual effects, makeup, costuming, production designer, and sound design converge to make an aesthetically perfect film. Each of the respective categories collaborate nicely together and make the film visually and audibly engaging. A chief consistent complaint of Abrams' films is his use of lens flares, which are abundant here. In Star Trek's case, I can say there were numerous times where I felt the lens flares were both unnecessary and slightly obnoxious. I think lens flares are intended to be an artistic choice that can add wonder to the visuals onscreen and at times Abrams does just that. However, the lens flares simply aren't needed during conversations onboard the USS Enterprise. Aside from the lens flares, the cinematography is downright gorgeous. The film doesn't remain to be a hollow visual spectacle as there's plenty of heart to be found in the film's cast. Chris Pine makes for a charming lead in James Tiberius Kirk playing up his greatest assets including sarcastic wit and humor. Zachary Quinto brilliantly captures the complex nature of Spock. Quinto perfectly balances the level headed logical reasoning with a few emotional outbursts along the same lines of the complex characterization of Vision in the Marvel movies. Leonard Nimoy gets the opportunity to jump back into the role of an older version of Spock and was terrific (There were some time travel elements). Being aware of Nimoy's passing last year, there was one scene that made me tear up a little as there was an added emotional element knowing Nimoy's fate. Zoe Saldana is serviceable as Uhura, basically just Spock's love interest who doesn't get too much development. Karl Urban is largely around for comedic relief as Bones and was hilarious, I enjoyed Urban in the capacity used. John Cho was well cast as Sulu but also doesn't get to do all that much aside from one cool action sequence. Simon Pegg is terrific as Scotty and was perfect comedic relief. Two understated smaller characters I felt were worth mentioning were James Kirk's parents. Chris Hemsworth and Jennifer Morrison, whom many now know as Thor and Emma Swan, had phenomenal chemistry and really showcased their acting chops to bring anyone to tears in one heartbreaking scene between them as George and Winona Kirk. Eric Bana makes for an intimidating presence as the film's antagonist, Nero. However his character lacks both enough screen time or motivation to make him a truly compelling villain. In summary, Star Trek is a great example of how to properly reboot a franchise by reinvigorating interest with phenomenal technical elements, an interesting premise, and a terrific cast.
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