Star Trek

Star Trek – as a franchise – has had a rough ride. If you are already a fan of the series and movies, you know that a few cosmic rules exist regarding Star Trek movies. They are:

1. All odd numbered Star Trek movies suck.
2. Rule #1 only applies to original cast movies.
3. All “Next Generation” movies suck. Sorry… it’s just true.
4. Consider all rules now null and void – we have a NEW Star Trek

That’s right, forget all those rules. In fact, you can forget the original Star Trek series, all the follow on movies and spin offs. Forget ‘em all. Through a kind of nifty plot device, the Star Trek canon has been virtually wiped clean.

So for all you Trekkies out there that can recite the names of the federation ships that attacked the Enterprise in ‘The Ultimate Computer’ (Potemkin, Excalibur, Lexington, Hood – sorry.), or how many tribbles were shoved in Cyrano Jones’ pockets at the end of ‘Trouble With Tribbles’, you all can just wipe all that clean as far as the ‘New’ Star Trek reality is concerned.

For those of you that don’t even know what the hell a tribble is… you are in luck! You don’t need to know a single thing from all those stale old decades of Star Trek trivia! In the new Star Trek reality, none of it has happened and might not happen at all. What is better is that this makes the whole franchise approachable by a whole new generation of fans. Even more, Star Trek has finally made it into the movie budgets for real movies. The story is great, there is plenty of action and even some tidbits of the softer side of logic for the more emotionally minded.

So, the bottom line is nobody should let the fact this movie is a Star Trek movie keep them from going. On the flip side, nobody should let the fact that this is a Star Trek movie make you go. This is not your daddies Star Trek. This is reboot that redefines reboots. It is literally a cosmic ‘do-over’ for all the events that fans have come to embrace as Star Trek canon. If you consider yourself  protector of the intellecutal realm of Roddenberry – then this just might upset you too much. A shame really because if you cannot put aside your devotion, you are going to miss one really great movie that is likely to spawn more really good movies.

So was there anything wrong with this flick? Maybe a couple of things, and none of them have anything to do with one person or another having taken liberties with this or that. Here are a couple of things that just did not work for me.

• The engineering section is a brewery. Yeah… really. It looks like they just put some card tables down with a few computer displays in front of the big fermentation vats over at the budweiser plant. I get that someone wanted a more industrial look, but whoever scouted that one out (and the mental bugger who then approved it) should get a swift kick in the butt.
• Smooching on the transporter pad? There is no smooching on transporter pads!
• A tendancy to feel like there were some 90210 in space moments. You will see them, they are few, but they are there.

But hey, do not miss this movie for any of the above reasons. The long and the short of it is that this is a fantastic movie in its own right. It can stand alone and I think it is an excellent first step for a franchise that has shown its willingness (finally) to move on to something new.

Frankly, I am ready to boldly go … again.

IronMan

Every once in a while you come across a movie that does something to you. I think the first one I can recall just being dazzled by was ‘Indiana Jones Raiders Of The Lost Ark”. I was just a kid when I saw that one and I can still remember walking out of the theater with that tingly feeling. You know the one that gets all the hairs on your arm standing up?

Since then, very few have managed to get added to that list. I suspect some of that has to do with getting older and less easy to impress. Despite the years tho, IronMan has managed to bring back that feeling I’ve been missing for a very long time. Back when I was a kid, I would have just called it “Awesome Factor”. Today, we get a bit more specific by discussing things like editing, directing, writing, etc.

In the case of IronMan, the discussion about writing would have to start with the comic book of the same name. The good news is that if you have never picked up a comic book in your life, you are still likely to really enjoy this movie. If you have ever loved an action flick, your not going to be disappointed here.

I have not read the comic version myself, but if the writing in the movie is any indication, I just might have to make a point of reading up.

Your not going to find yourself looking at your watch either. The movie has been edited and shot so that the roller-coaster ride has just the right amount ups, downs and turns to keep you interested without leaving you time to wonder if you locked the doors to your car.

Next, let’s talk about Robert Downey Jr. Whether you are a fan of his previous work or not, let me suggest you take the time to check this performance out. After seeing it, you will be convinced that there is not another soul on the planet who could be Mr. Stark (IronMans alter identity) but Robert Downey, Jr. His transition from womanizing drunk to … well… a more aware womanizing drunk, is believable and leaves you wondering who came first, Stark or Downey.

Then there is the soundtrack. Normally, this kind of thing just sits there and serves as a backdrop to the movie – operating at an almost subconscious level. There is some of that here, but some of the standout music from folks like AC/DC add some very cool punctuation marks to already amazing movie.

I consider myself a pretty tough critic of movies. I am particularly annoyed by bad editing and timing. In my case, once the first scene in the HummVee had rolled by, I was captivated. The amazing thing is that I just saw this movie yesterday, and I will likely see it again today – something I have not done since high school…. that should tell you something!