Finally saw the new Star Trek film. Wow! Simple word. This is such a new world, yet comfortable enough to reach out to the original series. From the start you are "warped" into the action. This new film has it all...the action, the monsters, the humor, the technology- the things that made the original series something to talk about. I got teary eyed seeing Leonard Nimoy in his Vulcan make-up as the aged Mr. Spock. The same Mr. Spock I watched as a youngster. And what can I say about the new cast? Simply awesome and a refreshing interpretation on beloved icons of science fiction television history. Chris Pine as Kirk is one helluva portrayal of a starship captain that was a womanizer, risk taker...arrogant. Zoë Saldana as Uhura is sexy and a wonderful homage to the original. And how she is paired up with Mr. Spock completely blew me away. Oh, and whoever did the casting...it was most logical to cast Zachary Quinto. He is Mr. Spock and did not stray away or take away from the original incarnation. It was wonderful to learn how the crew got together and the little bits of their history- something we never really learned from the original. The SFX were amazing. Michael Giacchino's score was pulsating and exciting as any other Star Trek score. He is a promising composer, at least to me.And it was nice to see San Francisco's famous landmarks: The Golden Gate Bridge and the dome of the Palace of Fine Arts. My students who have seen this film are now ready to join Star Fleet, and the young girls are "hubba-hubba" over the new Kirk. It's funny to have my students give me the "live long and prosper" salutation. The film is definitely a new Star Trek for a new generation. People and critics say that the original series came out during a time of social unrest. Ironic that the new film has found a home in a time of social unrest, of economic problems, and race relations have not changed a lot. Nichelle Nicholls once said that she was ready to quit the show because all she did was say, "all hailing frequencies are open." It was Martin Luther King, Jr. who convinced her to stay on the show because it showed a woman and a woman of color in a position of command, Communications Officer. And who could ever forget the first inter-racial kiss between Captain Kirk and Lt. Uhura in The Gamesters of Triskelion. And now, it is an inter-species kiss that Uhura is involved in. We've come such a long way. If sequels are being planned, please let them be wonderfully original. It would be nice to see J.J. Abrams and how he'd envision Klingons and the other amazing beings of this universe. In short, an amazing film and it ranks up there with the best of the original Star Trek.
