zachary_quinto_spock_star_trek_2009_1

I am shamefully, woefully, inexcusably late in writing this review (or any review, to be honest). It’s been ages since I was lucky enough to accidentally attend the world premiere of Star Trek at the Alamo Drafthouse. Perfect opportunity for an advance review, right? And yet, procrastination, she is a cruel mistress. 

Here’s how it went down.

We showed up expecting to see a shiny new 35mm version of Wrath of Khan, which is pretty sweet all by itself. But on top of that, the screenwriters of the new Star Trek would be showing a full 10 minutes of the new film. Wicked cool, right? So we’re lucky enough to get into the theater (despite lacking Fantastic Fest credentials) and make it past the metal detectors and Secret Service agents (all this for 10 minutes?). We sit down to watch the writers rave about Khan and kick off the movie. It’s great. We’re enthralled. Until, only a few minutes into the very pretty WoK print, the film starts melting on the projector. There’s a collective groan of frustration. How, after all that buildup, could the Drafthouse eff it up like this? A lone audience member yells “KHAAAAN!”

The screenwriters come back onstage to stall for time. They sing the theme song and start to take questions from the audience. But before the first question is popped, FRIGGIN’ LEONARD NIMOY strolls onstage with a conspicuous film can in his hand. You can watch it happen here. Please note that this video does not by any means fully capture the ROAR the audience made when Nimoy showed himself, or when he announced that we would be seeing not 10 minutes of the film, but the WHOLE THING–six hours before the official premiere in Australia. Apologies for the caps lock Tourette’s I seem to be experiencing, but it was just THAT HUGE.

Speaking of things that are huge, the movie was super awesome. Isn’t that nice? Wouldn’t it have sucked for Paramount if they’d shown a crappy redux to a crowd of die-hard fans? Thank goodness Star Trek didn’t suck; it would have totally killed the mood.

Before I launch into an actual review of the film, I have a caveat: I am not a classic Star Trek fan. I like Star Trek. I’ve seen most of the movies, but not the original series. My soft spot is for The Next Generation; I appreciate the original mostly for its pop culture value.

That being said, I LOVED this movie (whoops, there goes the caps lock again). Maybe it was just the euphoria of the moment, but the new Star Trek felt like a great movie. It served as an homage to the original while still retaining a sense of self. The cast did a great job of evoking the iconic Trek characters without resorting to doing cheap impressions of the originals. Well, mostly.

Rarely have I seen a sci-fi film handle time travel as well as this one did. The plot elegantly makes way for a franchise reboot without spending too much time explaining. The action is just as slick and eye-popping as you’d expect. The bridge of the Enterprise looks like it was designed by Apple. The cameos are really cool. And it’s funny! Even for those of us who consider Star Trek just a casual acquaintence. It made a fan out of me.

Downsides? Uh… it’s silly at times. The liberal revision of Trek history might give certain fans giant aneurysms. I can’t really think of much else. This film had me misty-eyed within the first 15 minutes, and yet I had more fun than I’d had at the movies in a good long while. I will be seeing it again on opening weekend, hopefully at the IMAX. If you have even a teensy iota of nerd in you, I’d advise you to do the same.

Star Trek  stars Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Eric Bana, Simon Pegg, Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban and John Cho. And yes, it features a cameo from  Friggin’ Leonard Nimoy.

———————

Shameless promotion time! If you’re as big a nerd as I am, you’ll be attending the Star Trek Private Premiere Party at the Bob Bullock Museum this Friday (May 8th) at 6 p.m. The party is a fundraiser for the Austin Planetarium and will feature Star Trek-themed food and drinks, improv comedy from Star Trekkin’ and music from the Austin Wind Symphony. The IMAX movie screening after the party is currently sold out, but you can buy general admission tickets that will give you access to all the other nerdy festivities.

Advertisement