I'm a TREKKER--You Should Be TOO!

I am a TREKKER. Yes, a woman, African American and every inch of me lives and breathes TREK(as in Star Trek). I am not a casual fan. I have been to conventions, dressed in Star Trek outfits, gone to the Star Trek Experience in Las Vegas (twice) and have been to the museum several times. Yes, I have teeshirts that declare me a Star Trek geek and yes, I even own my very own Starfleet phaser replica.

So, you know I saw it! It being the movie of the summer.

A friend and I drove the hour to Raliegh to see the latest STAR TREK film on an IMAX screen. It was something to behold. We had to sit up close and I felt like I'd been swallowed up in the action. I loved this movie. Loved it! I was so exhausted from viewing this intense film, when I got home, I ate dinner and went to bed. For me, it was that intense. Please be warned that I am planning to list events from the movie, so if you haven't gone to see it (shame, shame on you), then don't read any further. I liked a lot of things about J.J. Abram's reboot of my beloved series. So many in fact I doubt I will be able to name everything in this one blog. I will be going back to see it again on Sunday because I am sure I missed something.

Without further delay, here is my list of things I think ROCKED in the new Star Trek film.
1. Spock and Uhura's relationship. This may have created a ton of enemies amongst loyal TREK fans, but this one thing has created new fans. Four women who were never into TREK before told how much they loved this interaction and how SPOCK was suddenly very, very, HOT!
2. Chris Pine as James T. Kirk-Loved Pine's portrayal. Somehow he managed to human Kirk in a mannner Shatner had never quite been able to do. Some of it was the script itself--it called for a more realistic portrayal of all the characters and less the "utopian" version the original set up. I know people will disagree, but I have to consider that Chris Pine's KIRK was much better than Shatner's.
3.Simon Pegg as Scotty-This is a personal shout out from the fan inside me. I LOVE Simon Pegg. LOVE HIM! I think he is very, very funny (I am also a fan of British humor). Hot Fuzz, SHAUN OF THE DEAD, and RUN FAT BOY RUN are DVDs you'd find at my house. More to the point, Pegg's portrayl of Scotty--although brief, was solid and spot on.
4.Sets-The sets of this Star Trek film were sleek, sexy and way cool. My hat's off again to Abrams and his crew. They did their homework, but moreover, they wanted to do it right. That came across in the film--especially on IMAX screens.
5. Storyline-This one made sense, meaning I could follow it and so could my friend who is not a diehard TREK fan. She's a Star Wars lover, but I can forgive her for that--after all, she did drive to Raliegh. But yes, even she could follow the plot and I think that says a lot about the movie's appeal to other non-TREK fans.
6. Humor-This movie was funny. Not slapstick, goofy funny, but humorous at the right moments--humor you find in every day life.Throughout much of the movie, I kept thinking how when we reach this period in our evolution, this is how it would more than likely unfold. Things that weren't planned would happen, and sometimes those things would be funny.
7. Engineering-This is set apart from my comments about the set because I found the engineering room in the film to be what a real, starship's engine room would look like. Tons of different places for the cores (it wouldn't be just one) and water pipes and lines of pipes and well, like it does in the movie. The engineering room stayed with me long after the movie had hustled on to somplace else. I couldn't believe how in-depth and awesome it was.
8. The destruction of Vulcan-This is part of the plot, and I liked how Abrams & Co. did let the bad guy get his shot in. Starfleet didn't arrive in time and they didn't save the day. I LOVED that, because although I am a fan, I hate that the crew of the Enterprise always win. My favorite TNG episode is when Captian Picard is taken by the Borg. I believe this is also why The Wrath of Khan is a popular Trek film too. Kirk lost something big in that film--his only son. These were episodes where we didn't win outright. Starfleet was outmaneuvered. Although Nero and his crew of very bad Romulans get theirs, it made me happy to see that he got part of his revenge in their too.

There is so much more I can write about, but truth be told, I am running out of time tonight. I've got to put my little ones to bed. Take care.

Best, Nicole Givens Kurtz