Hollywood Today!

Best. Movie. Ever.
Everything I hoped it’d be.
Actually, MORE than I hoped it’d be.
Why in the name of all that’s right didn’t JJ Abrams do the Planet of the Apes movie?

That’s an inventory of the first thoughts I had as the credits rolled after Star Trek. If you read this blog regularly (or any of my sites), you know that I see a LOT of movies – new and old. I see so many that I always hold back on the three worded phrase of praise (Best movie ever.)

In fact, there have been movies that I loved to absolute distraction (Grand Torino, Wanted, X Men Origins, Pride and Prejudice, all of the POTC movies, Secret Window, the Bourne movies, Kung Fu Panda, the Ocean movies, Sweeney Todd, Fracture, State of Play, 3:10 to Yuma…) – but when I left the theater, I was simply thinking, “That was one of the best movies I’ve ever seen..” or even, “That was the best movie this year…” But Star Trek broke out the big one.

Best. Movie. Ever.

This movie has everything it needs and nothing it doesn’t. Now, I loved the series – I’ve seen them all a gazillion times and can practically tell you what Spock and Kirk will say at any given time. I’ll also be quick to point out that William Shatner, along with Charlton Heston, doesn’t get nearly enough attention for being the man beast that he was. Go back and watch Star Trek episodes sometimes and tell me Kirk wasn’t simply beautiful!

My husband, our youngest daughter, and her boyfriend, saw the movie together. We represented 4 completely different audience members:

1. I loved the series.
2. My husband hated the series.
3. My daughter never saw a single episode.
4. Her boyfriend has seen some episodes.

I couldn’t have been more thrilled with the way JJ Abrams treated the franchise. He was completely true to the show’s history as well as its characters.   He did a flawless, even breathtaking, job.  I was worried about my daughter – I didn’t know if the show would make enough sense to her, since she’d never seen as much as a scene from the original series, but following the movie, we said the SAME thing at the SAME time:  “Best movie ever.”

She got it.

So did the guys, they absolutely loved it, too.  I can’t imagine anyone NOT loving this movie.  There’s lots of humor, an insane amount of action, drama, suspense, and special effects that’ll make you nearly choke on your over-priced popcorn.

The leads – Chris Pine (James Kirk) and Zachary Quinto (Spock) – are headed for HUGE success and, hopefully, a sequel.  Then another, then another, then another…. all crafted by the brilliant JJ Abrams. Chris Pine made the perfect Kirk and they couldn’t have created a better Spock if they built him.  Each actor gave depth and believability to their roles and never (not even for a moment) tried to one up the story or character by over acting or resorting to cheese.  Their performances are hugely responsible for this movie’s success.  Even JJ Abrams and his ridiculously talented crew couldn’t have compensated for weak casting.  Fortunately, this is one of the strongest casts you could hope for.

The rest of the stellar cast includes:

Bruce Greenwood as one of the most likable characters in the movie, Capt. Christopher Pike.  You may remember him as the President in National Treasure: Book of Secrets (2007). He was also in I, Robot, Double Jeopardy, Deja Vu among many other movies and television appearances.

Karl Urban gave new meaning to the word scenstealer as Dr. Leonard ‘Bones’ McCoy. Brilliant casting! I would have never thought of Karl Urban as Bones – but now I can’t imagine anyone else being the great doctor. He brought so much life to the screen and a great deal of humor. I can’t imagine the movie without him, and that’s the mark of a truly great actor. Karl Urban is probably best known for his role in The Lord of the Rings movies (Eomer). He was also excellent in The Bourne Supremacy (Kirill – he was evil), Pathfinder, The Chronicles of Riddick (Vaako), and Doom (with The Rock).

Gorgeous Zoe Saldana plays Nyota Uhura. She’s relatively new to me, but she has been in Blackout, Six Degrees, and Vantage Point. She makes a perfect leading lady – she’s as talented as she is beautiful – and the movie wouldn’t have been the same without her.

In another great casting move, Eric Bana was cast as the villain, Nero. He was brilliant. Like Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto, he could have gone too far with the role – but, also like them – he helped make the movie extra special by allowing the action, the story, and the dialogue to be the star.

I don’t want to give away anything else, because the characters and story are best when they’re allowed to unfold before your very eyes. Suffice to say, the cast is as flawless as the movie, itself.

I seldom see a movie more than once in a theater (Iron Man and Wanted are two rare exceptions), but I can’t wait to see Star Trek again. And again. And again. I’ve got it planned out, I’ll just keep watching it over and over (in the theater, then on dvd) until they come out with the sequel. A gal has to have a plan in place, right?

I just can’t say enough good things about this movie, about JJ Abrams (Seriously, can you imagine how amazing Planet of the Apes would be if he did it?!), or this incredible cast. All I can say is….

Best movie ever.