...just a full length TV show...

This weekend was one I've long waited for since the announcement of the new Star Trek movie.

I even planned on taking Friday, May 8 off of work, but it didn't work out like I'd planned. I was off work, but I was out sick. Damn that Swine Flu (Swine being me being PIG and Flu being the stomach bug that was in whatever it was I ate that I shouldn't have - but to be honest, I do NOT have Swine Flu... relax)

Given that everyone who knows me directly was expecting me to see this movie, several people were sending me emails and texts asking my take on it. One such text was from Just Kevin who said

"...reviews say it's just a full length TV show... your thoughts?"

Of course it is, I said, all the Star Trek movies have been just that. All movies that come from television are essentially longer versions of the original. Look at Sex in the City. Good movie, but just a loooooooooooooooooooooooooong episode of the original.

It was Sunday before I felt well enough to get up and going and confident enough to leave my apartment and the comfortable 90 foot radius from my bathroom (yeah, that kind of sick). But I needed to boldly go and see this movie.

I found out I needed to correct my statement of agreeing that they are all just full length TV shows inside the first 20 minutes of the movie. To (loosely) quote RadioPeter, This wasn't a Star Trek movie, this was a Star Trek FILM. Is it going to win an Oscar? Doubt it seriously. Did it leave pretty much every other Trek film and (sorry, have to say it) Star Wars film in the dust? Yep!


The new cast did, I believe, a great job of portraying their characters without making a caricature of the original actor. I was very surprised with Jon Cho's Ensign Sulu. Jon has been in the Harold & Kumar movies so it was hard to imagine going from sophomoric stupidity to portraying someone we've known since the 60's. Good job Jon.

While all the attention seems to be on Chris Pine's portrayal of James T. Kirk, I think the true portrayal award should go to Zachary Quinto and his portrayal of Spock. Without giving away the movie, let's just say there's a bit of an alternate timeline set in motion from what we've known to date (public knowledge) and let's say that this time a younger Spock has to deal with something that the enormity and finality of didn't fully take hold in my own mind until later in the movie.

I heard a voicemail from Girlsib as I was heading home from the movie. She'd seen it on Saturday and said "I hadn't seen a perfect movie since Lord of the Rings" I couldn't agree more.

I'll be stepping on board the Enterprise again soon so I can enjoy the experience again and see what I may have missed. This time a small soda will do and I won't miss that tiny bit I missed as I ran like a madman out of the theater in search of the men's room.