MovieRob’s Birthday Bash of Favorites 2021 (#44 of 48) – Star Trek (2009) – Encore Review 5

January is my birthday month, so I decided that I would try and do something quite unique and special for this milestone in my life. I will be turning 47, so I decided to watch 48 (47+1 for good luck) of my all time favorite movies in a random order over the course of this month. I have reviewed every one of these films already, but I will now give new perspectives on them all. Every one of these films received a 10/10 scoring from me. Some of these reviews will contain spoilers so if you have never seen them before, I recommend that you read some of my previous reviews of the film that were spoiler free before reading on…

Hope you enjoy!

This is film #44 of the 48.

Let’s continue with…

Initial Viewing Memories – Saw this in the theater on opening night and was so impressed that I went back a few days later to see it again. Such a great way to reboot a series and fill it with so much energy.

“Well, congratulations, Jim. We’ve got no captain and no god-damned first officer to replace him. ” – Leonard ‘Bones’ McCoy

Number of Times Seen – 10 (Twice in Theater, twice on DVD, 23 April 2013, 2 Mar 2016, 14 Aug 2016, 11 Jan 2018, 7 Aug 2019 and 27 Jan 2021)

Link to original review – Here, Here, Here, Here and Here

Brief Synopsis – A young James T. Kirk does all he can to try and live up to the legacy that his father left, but his impulsiveness makes his journey that much harder.

My Take on it – This is the way that one creates a reboot. They were able to take characters that we already are familiar with for so many years and inject so much energy and thrills into the story. The young actors portraying these iconic figures are each able embody the characters that we already know and love. The adventures that these characters are thrust into works so well throughout. The film’s special effects are great and enhance the story line that does a great job explaining the divergence in the time line of the orginal series and movies. Chris Pine is superb as Kirk and is able to play this character in such a brash way that it helps create the illusion that we are watching a young Shatner playing himself. The villain in this film is the weakest link because Nero isn’t developed well enough, but besides that this film is able to really rejuvenate this almost dead series. Neither of the two sequels were as good as this one bit they still are great in continuing the adventures of these characters in great ways. Highly Highly Recommended!

MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – According to Karl Urban, film production and shooting were ULTRA-secret: “There is a level of security and secrecy that we have all been forced to adopt. It’s really kind of paranoid crazy, but sort of justified. We’re not allowed to walk around in public in our costumes and we had to be herded around everywhere in these golf carts that are completely concealed and covered in black canvas.” No amount of precaution was enough: Simon Pegg read the script with a security guard close by, and supporting cast members like Jennifer Morrison were given scripts with only their scenes. The few people given access to the film during its highly secretive production were Rod Roddenberry, Ronald D. Moore, Nichelle Nichols, Walter Koenig, Jonathan Frakes, Ben Stiller, Tom Cruise and Steven Spielberg. (From IMDB)

Rating – Oscar Worthy (10/10) (no change from original review)