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Mr. Brian wrote:Great movie. Great sci-fi.
They did a nice job of capturing the mannerisms and catch phrases of the original cast without making it seem hokey and making it look updated. Things like Kirk's facial expressions, the way he sat in the chair, McCoy's hysteria, etc, it was all well represented. There were of course the inside jokes and they even inserted some of that goofy humor from time to time. Well done!
Good battle scenes and I loved the way the ships kicked into warp drive. The new (old?) phasers were pretty kick ass too!
One of my favorite thing about the approach of the film is how they "solved" the dilemma of how to integrate the 1960's material into a new film. The answer is just to make it look real.
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In the first sequence there is a shot of an original-series style shuttle craft escaping from a Star Ship, and it just looked awesome. Not out of place at all because it looked so damned real and cool.
The subtle homage to the way the original actors portrayed the characters was excellent. I really loved McCoy. He was almost more McCoy than the original. Chekov was another good example-- instead of doing a real Russian accent, he played up Walter Koenig's accent. [I just found out the new-Chekov actor is Russian!] It was clear they all understood what the jokes were and respected the source material.
When new Kirk did ever-so-subtle Shatnerisms, it was awesome.
I was less happy with how Scott was played. It just seemed a little too wacky, but perhaps if they had developed him a little more there would have been more time to connect with the original character.
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I think putting Nimoy in the film was a blunder. It breaks the spell a little, and I hated that they did that. I did not work well, IMO.
I am also a little perturbed that in his first outing, J.J. Abrams decides to destroy Vulcan. That's kind of a big move there, rookie.
"He was a mongoose, rather like a little cat in his fur and his tail, but quite like a weasel in his head and his habits."