Star Trek

The new 2009 Star Trek movie is out on DVD. I saw the movie when it came out in late spring and it certainly bumped off X-Men Origins: Wolverine from its first place spot. This version of
Star Trek certainly satisfied the needs of Star Trek fans and also brought in some new fans who were unfamiliar with the franchise. This Star Trek is action packed, has stunning visuals and special effects, great performances, and a lot of good humor.

This new movie marks the beginning of (hopefully) more Star Trek movies with a brand new cast beginning with the original characters of James T. Kirk (Chris Pine), Spock (Zachary Quinto), Dr. McCoy (Karl Urban), Uhura (Zoe Saldana), Scotty (Simon Pegg), Chekov (Anton Yelchin), and Sulu (John Cho). Other characters appearing from the original are Spock (Leonard Nimoy), Sarek (Ben Cross), Amanda [Spock's mom (Wynona Ryder)], and Captain Christopher Pike (Bruce Greenwood). New characters added to the franchise were George and Winona Kirk as Captain Kirk's parents. The new recreated characters have more of an edge than previously.

The movie begins with an encounter with Romulans of the future meet up with the USS Kelvin where the elder Kirk is an officer and takes over as acting captain when the captain of the ship dies in the line of duty. Winona Kirk is in labor with the future captain of the Enterprise while the Kelvin is under attack. This first scene of the movie is the catalyst to the whole movie.

At the same time, we see the life experiences of James T. Kirk and Spock as children and take a peek at the people they are to become later on. We see Kirk dealing with his father's death and Spock having to deal with life as half-Vulcan and half-human. Not being fully Vulcan and not being fully human. You see both characters dealing with their own personal struggles throughout the movie.

The film is a lot more action oriented but retains its humor. If, anything, it is the humor in the film that brings people back again and again. If you are a Star Trek fan, you will find a number of references (both visual and verbal) in the film but a non-Star Trek fan would not feel lost at all. There is plenty for both types of audiences. One thing this movie seems to have been able to do is gain some new fans.

The IMAX version of this film was fantastic and was certainly made for the format. The sound and the music made the experience even better.

This movie is definitely a must see.