Summer Blockbusters
Stellar Scores Sail in for ‘Star Trek’
I have my inner Star Trek female geek at full phasers this week. After WAMG’s were treated to the early screening of Paramount’s continuing cash cow ‘Star Trek,’ I had a delightful feeling of dà ©jà -vu. I was a sophomore in high school, back in 1982, when ‘Star Trek: Wrath of Khan’ was released into theatres. ‘Khan’ encompassed everything that made me a die-hard “Trekker” and is, without a doubt, the best of all the Trek films. From its beautiful, haunting James Horner score, the Enterprise filled with naval sounds and her crew all dressed as midshipmen, a smart script filled with well-placed classic, literary lines like Spock’s one of sacrifice “It was the best of times….It was the worst of times” and Khan’s vengeful “From Hell’s Heart I stab at Thee,” and finally the Spock death scene played out to its “logical solution.” Sigh!  After coming out of this weekend’s screening, I had that same exact euphoric rush and it made me fall in love with ‘Star Trek’ all over again. Thanks J.J. Abrams for the brilliant casting and warping us back to classic Trek!
Our Oscar friend, Sasha Stone, over at “Awards Daily” has posted the first trade reviews and they’re all stellar…The two biggest industry trade papers have given it, “two perfect scores of 100.” Virtually unheard of in the early days of the summer blockbuster season.
Paced at warp speed with spectacular action sequences rendered brilliantly and with a cast so expert that all the familiar characters are instantly identifiable, the film gives Paramount Pictures a new lease of life on its franchise.
Blasting onto the screen at warp speed and remaining there for two hours, the new and improved Star Trek will transport fans to sci-fi nirvana. Faithful enough to the spirit and key particulars of Gene Roddenberry’s original conception to keep its torchbearers happy but, more crucially, exciting on its own terms in a way that makes familiarity with the franchise irrelevant, J.J. Abrams’ smart and breathless space adventure feels like a summer blockbuster that just couldn’t stay in the box another month.
‘Star Trek’ is receiving a 100% on Rotten Tomatoes thus far and I dont see that changing drastically in the upcoming week before the film’s release on Thursday evening. EW has graced the the cover with a ‘Star Trek’ article in this week’s Summer Entertainment Guide. Do yourself a favor and see it on the big screen opening weekend with what will undoubtedly be a cheering crowd!
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