Star Trek (2009) - This One Goes to 11 (Review, Spoilers)

No spoilers above the cut though.

I gave it some thought throughout the day, and decided I really didn't feel like posting an extensive, well-written and considered review. I've read so many of those, they're all over the place. At this time, doing a big in-depth analysis would a) suck a little bit of the high I'm still feeling over this movie, and; b) probably be of no interest to anyone but Mom (hi, Mom! I really wish we'd seen this together!!).

Instead, maybe just a few more thoughts, with spoilers:

In Brief: It was a brilliant, exciting revival of Star Trek that I found breathtaking in its scope and its heart. It had a lot it needed to accomplish, and it cut some corners to do so. It was by no means perfect, but that didn't occur to me until after it was over. While I was in the theater, I had the time of my life, more fun than I've had watching a movie in decades. And probably more fun than I've ever had watching any other Star Trek film.

The Good:
- The cast and their performances were perfect, even down to the smallest role (and I don't mean Deep Roy as Keenser!)
- It never slowed down, and I've seen movies like that, but I didn't feel exhausted. Brilliant pacing.
- As a 43 year old TOS fan, I'm more than satisfied with the respect that was given to all that had come before. The approach to this reboot was genius and, for the most part, extremely well executed. Really, I didn't expect them to pull this off so well.
- I thought the cinematography was wonderful, whether it was the shots of Iowa, the inside of Nero's Nerada, or the flare-ridden handheld shots of the bridge. That last gets a lot of criticism, but to me it was not at all oppressive or distracting. It made it feel very modern, something new.
- I have really grown to love Ryan Church's new design for the exterior of the Enterprise. Regardless of how radical it seems, it really worked very well on the big screen. But it does not quite yet feel like a member of the family, Kirk's one true love. They need to work on that next time.
- This movie has so much heart and spirit. The opening scenes were fabulous. And the presence of Leonard Nimoy as Spock was so very welcome (especially at the end, I didn't expect to see him again!)
- Ben Cross was a wonderful Sarek. I wish I could say the same of Winona Ryder, but we just didn't see all that much of her. Bruce Greenwood as Pike was also just fantastic (I've really admired Greenwood so much since the TV show Nowhere Man; I hope he's long remembered for this role in Trek, and would be more than happy to see Pike in the next film).
- They blew up Vulcan! GOOD! Not that I have anything against Vulcan itself, but now we know: anything can happen in this new timeline, and these guys have the balls to do it.
- Karl Urban as Leonard McCoy. No wonder he didn't get more screentime. He was stealing the goddamn show! It was really the only case where it felt like someone was channeling an older performance, and it helped make it feel like home. It never felt cheap. DeForest Kelley would be proud.
- Speaking of, they were all so good, we really need more of that triumvirate next time, please. I hope the new triumvirate is not Kirk/Spock/Uhura.
- There were two or three times where some of Michael Giacchino's tracks were simply re-used. Not just cues, I mean entirely lifted and re-used in different scenes. That's lazy.

From the Not Quite Sure Department:
- S/U

The Bad:
- The entire story seemed built upon convenience and coincidence, everyone in the right place at the right time. As Spock (Prime) said, "How did you find me?" How, indeed!
- That everyone could so easily end up in their ultimate positions seemed, in retrospect, to stretch credibility. Uhura knew the Romulan language. I'm not exactly sure how it was justified that a 17 year old Chekov and a Sulu who, it seemed, had never left spacedock could end up at the helm of the new flagship. The Chief Medical Officer was killed, lucky for McCoy. By the time Scotty was on board, it seemed they just gave him his shirt and towel and made him Chief Engineer. It made the crew seem very small.
- Caterpillar will be happy to know that forklifts are still in demand in the 23rd century.
- Did we just see the Stardate system radically change? Is it now tied to the actual year?
- I can accept that Delta Vega in this move may not be the Delta Vega of "Where No Man Has Gone Before". But is this new one (an M-Class Planet according to the computer, not a moon) really so close to Vulcan that Spock Prime could see it destroyed?
- Regardless of Nero's ability to get past the Earth Defense Grid, would no one on the planet try to take out that drill before Spock arrived in the jellyfish?
- You'd think that after 25 years, Nero would have managed to confide in his henchmen what the plan was once Spock Prime arrived.
- I'm sure this (and others) can be explained by backstory in both the Countdown comic (I read it) and scenes that were cut, but a film should never have to rely on that. I can't wait to ask Mom (hi Mom!) if she understood the whole time-travel/Nero/Spock Prime premise. Would you have to be a fairly hardcore fan to get it?
- As much as I love the Enterprise, new design and all, I'm not sure I "get" where everything is. It seems the bridge now occupies more space and levels than it used to (the window shot). Was the transporter room down the hall? The ship looked big on the outside, but felt rather small and empty (or, rather, full of pipes) on the inside. I'm trying to figure out why it worked better in TMP. More sets? I don't know.
- Speaking of things seeming smaller, Warp 4 seems to get you places a lot faster than it used to.
- You may remember my complaint about "bad sci-fi" in Countdown. Same complaint here. A "supernova that threatened the galaxy", whose impact must have traveled light years to obliterate Romulus? Bob and Alex, I have some astronomy books I'd like you to borrow. Again, like the Enterprise and the warp drive, it made things feel small. Space is big. You just won't believe how vastly, hugely, mind-bogglingly big it is...

The Beautiful:
- The fade to black from the USS Kelvin scene, the music rising, and the reveal of the Star Trek logo. Chills, man. Chills.
- Seeing the Enterprise for the first time... and not taking another 10 minutes to land the shuttle!
- The Enterprise coming out of the clouds on Titan (auuggghhhhh!!!!!)
- Michael Giacchino's score had some really wonderful moments, especially as it carried that scene of Jim Kirk's birth and George Kirk's sacrifice.
- All of the special effects. Everything had weight and texture and lighting that looked more real than anything I've ever seen onscreen.
- The Kobayashi Maru. 'Nuff said.
- The end credits, with the original Star Trek theme, swooshing around the galaxy.
- Dedicated to Gene and Majel at the very end. Classy.

Well, that's it for now. I see I listed a lot of things under "The Bad", but honestly they didn't bother me one tiny bit during the film, and I'm not sure they bother me so much now. Actually, I think it says a great deal about the high points of Star Trek that they overshadow any weaknesses in the story. It just means that they'll have to work a little harder next time. And if they can keep what was good, and rid themselves of the bad, then I think we'll have a contender for best Star Trek film ever when 2011 rolls around!

Your thoughts? (or post a link to where you may already have written them, I'm dying to see what some of you guys thought)