Yup, I went to see the new Star Trek movie at the Rideau Centre today. As a Star Trek fan for over 20 years (and having watched all the movies so far and followed every series, except for the animated series), how could I resist this new movie?
Warning: Possible spoilers below. Scroll down at your own risk.
The rooftop garden at Rideau Centre, just outside the Cinemas. I can't get enough of the tulips. They are just so pretty.
Having seen the trailer and waiting for weeks to see the movie, I have to say I was not disappointed. I thought the movie was really entertaining. The acting was fantastic! I also enjoyed the special effects, which was quite spectacular and fairly well-done. For me, it was good to learn a bit more about how the main characters met during their younger years, though I found one of the friendships/relationships (involving Uhura) less than convincing. It was probably happening in an alternate universe, but I still found it quite weird.
I liked the fact that the late Professor Randy Pausch (whose book The Last Lecture inspired me) had a line in it. In the opening minutes of the movie, you see a crew member walking across the bridge of the USS Kelvin, saying "Captain, we have visuals." I believe that was him. It was a nice touch indeed.
If you asked me what I found most memorable about the movie, I would say all the references to TOS (The Original Series) and the early movies, particularly Leonard 'Bones' McCoy's line "I'm a doctor, not a ..." (which totally cracked me up), and the Kobayashi Maru scenario. Finally, we get more details and some (plausible) explanations for the Kobayashi Maru; Spock explicitly explains that the purpose of it was to face fear/death in a no-win scenario. It was good to see how Kirk actually dealt with it!
As for criticisms of the movie, I think (1) there could have been many more scenes set at Starfleet Academy (but there weren't), and (2) Scotty didn't have a very significant role in this movie, which is a real pity. I hope we see more of Scotty in the next movie. (I'm assuming there is going to be another one.)
