So, the Star Trek movie's out, and there hasn't been a review posted here yet. What gives, you may ask? Despite the fact that I saw an advance screening of the movie on Thursday, I have not had a lot of time to sit down and write one of my full length reviews of it. And so, therefore, I am offering this one-time only mini-review. I hope it will suffice, as I'm going to be busy the next couple days. I promise I will return to my usual format of full length reviews next weekend. Just bear with me this one time.

Now, onto Star Trek. Basically, director J.J. Abrams (Mission: Impossible 3) and screenwriters Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman (2007's Transformers) were charged with the task of not only relaunching the classic sci-fi franchise, but also introducing it to a new and wider audience. For the most part, they have succeeded. The movie is a lot of fun, if not a little bit slight. The young cast picked to play the classic characters are a great fit and bring some exciting new opportunities for future entries. Chris Pine (taking on the role of Captain James T. Kirk) and Zachary Quinto (as Spock) especially get their characters down, and create an interesting relationship and chemistry with each other that I want to see expanded upon in the inevitable sequel. The rest of the crew of the Enterprise have much less to do, so I'm hoping maybe they'll get more screen time next time around.

While the movie is fun and the cast is great, I could not help but be disappointed in some aspects, particularly the plot which seems to be an afterthought to the sci-fi spectacle. There are some major logic and plot holes the movie asks its audience to leap over, and the plot of the central villain did not make a lot of sense to me. Speaking of the villain, Eric Bana (as a rogue time-traveling Romulan named Nero, who is seeking vengeance against the Federation) is disappointing in that he is never fully developed into an interesting character. His main trick is to glare at everyone he sees and scream about vengeance. A big, grand sci-fi blockbuster like this needs a real threat, and he never came across as anyone I could care about.

I have mixed, but mostly positive feelings looking back on Star Trek. Having never been a huge fan of the franchise (though I've enjoyed most of the earlier movies), I walked in with no pre-conceived notions or expectations. The movie delivers as a fast-paced summer blockbuster filled with special effects, but I wanted a little bit more underneath. I'm hoping that maybe Abrams (should he return for the next film) will slow the pace down just a little bit, so we can get just a little bit deeper into the characters. I was interested in what I saw, and I wanted more. If the next movie can strike the perfect balance of spectacle and characterization, it will truly be a movie worth remembering.

See the movie times in your area or buy the DVD at Amazon.com!

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