After a seven year absence from the big screen Star Trek warped back onto the big screen on May 8th 2009 making today its fifth anniversary of its release in the U.S.
The 2009 Star Trek movie was considered a worldwide hit, taking in nearly $400 million, but it also caused a lot of discussion amongst Star Trek fans. You either found it an abomination to what the late Gene Roddenberry created or you liked it. J.J. Abrams did one thing for sure and that was making Star Trek relevant once again.
Abrams and Paramount went back to the original characters of Kirk, Spock and McCoy that were made famous on television in the late 1960’s, but this time with younger actors. Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto and Karl Urban were cast to fill some very famous shoes.
It is the eleventh film in the franchise and is considered a reboot. The film follows the USS Enterprise as they take on Nero (Eric Bana), a Romulan from the future who threatens the Federation. The story takes place in an alternate reality due to time travel by both Nero and the original Spock (Leonard Nimoy).
The alternate timeline was created to free the film and the franchise from established continuity constraints while simultaneously preserving original timeline and stories.
Directed by: J. J. Abrams
Cast: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Karl Urban, Bruce Greenwood, John Cho, Simon Pegg, Zoe Saldana, Ben Cross, Eric Bana, Winona Ryder, Anton Yelchin, Leonard Nimoy
Star Trek (2009) / Paramount
Star Trek (2009) / Paramount
Star Trek (2009) / Paramount
Star Trek (2009) / Paramount
Star Trek (2009) / Paramount
Star Trek (2009) / Paramount
Star Trek (2009) / Paramount
Star Trek (2009) / Paramount
Star Trek (2009) / Paramount
Star Trek (2009) / Paramount
Star Trek (2009) / Paramount
Star Trek (2009) / Paramount
Star Trek (2009) / Paramount
Star Trek (2009) / Paramount
Star Trek (2009) / Paramount
Star Trek (2009) / Paramount
Star Trek (2009) / Paramount
Star Trek (2009) / Paramount
Star Trek (2009) / Paramount
Star Trek (2009) / Paramount
Star Trek (2009) / Paramount
Star Trek (2009) / Paramount
Star Trek (2009) / Paramount
Star Trek (2009) / Paramount
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I personally enjoyed the ride. I remember watching it at my local theater for the first time and thinking “Yes it is giving my beloved Trek universe some real depth.” However I thought the ending was a bit rushed but that has become a Hollywood trademark of late.
I personally went in to this thinking its a reboot and with that mindset I didn’t become one of those legacy fans who became angry at it. I don’t think the new franchise will ever match up to the philosophical ideals of the original but it is a fun ride. The only thing I didn’t like was Abram’s blatant disregard of the prime universe and how he has effectively destroyed it with his new timeline. I’ve gotten over it now and Into Darkness was far superior to this first outing.
– Tony
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I’ve had some rather heated conversations over Abram’s vision of Star Trek with others on other sites and one of the things I have pointed out before is today’s audience most likely wouldn’t really sit through what you would consider a typical Star Trek story.
Overall I have enjoyed what Abram’s has created. I really haven’t had an issue with setting it in an alternate timeline. I would much rather see the new timeline then trying to fit stories into the original timeline were all familiar with. I think if they had done that you would have the “Abram’s haters” as I call them even more outraged then they already are. Just my opinion.
Thanks for the comment.
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You’re welcome. You have a fair point there.
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Yeah, this movie was awesome the first time I saw it in theaters all of those years ago, and was just about even better the second time I gave it a watch some time ago. Nice post, Reggie!
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