Classic Review: Star Trek (2009)

"Star Trek" stars Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Karl Urban, Zoe Saldana, John Cho, Anton Yelchin, Simon Pegg, Karl Urban, and Leonard Nimoy.  Released on May 8, 2009, the film is about a man named James T. Kirk, who joins forces with Spock and the USS Enterprise crew to take down a ruthless Romulan.

The film is directed by J.J. Abrams, who also directed Mission: Impossible III, Super 8, and Star Wars: The Force Awakens.  It is the 11th film of the Star Trek film franchise and the first film in the reboot series.  The latest installment, Star Trek Beyond, is just around the corner.  Well, technically, it's only more than a month away.  So I decided to look back at the film that not only rejuvenated one of the most popular franchises on the planet, but also gained some new fans as well.  The last time I saw this film was in theaters back in 2009, way before I started reviewing movies, and I hadn't been watching it again since.  Luckily, I managed to squeeze it into my busy schedule so that I can be more prepared for Star Trek Beyond.  I wasn't really into Star Trek before this reboot came along, but after watching it again after about seven years, I felt a bit bad for missing out.  In fact, I would say that this is a great reboot.

The characters from the original Star Trek television show, Star Trek: The Original Series (created by Gene Roddenberry), are portrayed by a brand new cast, and the way they portrayed them are remarkable.  Chris Pine did a great job as Kirk.  Not only did he make his character likable despite his personality, but he also manages to flawlessly balance the amount of humor and the drama into that character.  He's like the Tony Stark of Star Trek.  Quinto was also brilliant at capturing the essence of the half-human, half-Vulcan Spock, originally played by the late Leonard Nimoy in the original series.  Speaking of which, Nimoy is in it as well, portraying the much older version of Spock.  Despite not appearing until the third act of the film, Simon Pegg was hilarious as Scotty.  The reason why I think this reboot was great was because of J.J. Abrams himself.  When it comes to science fiction films, Abrams is a master at crafting stories that are filled with engaging action and great characters.  This film is no different.  The film's story will impress not only longtime fans of the franchise, but newcomers as well, mostly because of a few callbacks to the original film franchise and the shows.  It's quite a challenge to make film adaptations to source materials that will please both hard-core fans and new fans alike, but "Star Trek" managed to overcome that challenge with ease.  What I also liked about the story is that it never loses track of itself.  There's never a single boring part that I could find in this film.  The visual effects, set designs, and sound editing played a big part in the film as they all worked together to create an amazing experience that made me feel like I was in space myself.  

Overall, J.J. Abrams' take on "Star Trek" boldly went where no reboot has gone before thanks to some great performances, fantastic visuals, and its remarkable story that will impress both Trekkies and newcomers alike.  Out of all of the reboots I've seen throughout the years, the 2009 version of the popular franchise is one of my favorites.  If you haven't seen it already, I would highly recommend it, and remember to live long and prosper.        

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