Nerds, Unite and Rejoice!

By: Samantha Jones

Ok. I'm going to come out and say it.

The new Star Trek movie is one of the best movies ever made.

Not only is the story compelling and the special effects some of the best I've ever seen (every explosion is a work of art), but the acting is....I don't even have a word for how good it is. Let's do the list...

Chris Pine as James T. Kirk - He was every bit the roguish young man that Kirk was meant to be. He was funny, emotional, and no, he didn't have that weird delivery that Shatner is famous for.

Zachary Quinto as Mr. Spock - Perfect casting! Not only does he look the part, but he was just stoic enough to be Vulcan but still hint at Spock's human side. I heard in an interview that he spent a lot of time with Leonard Nimoy to get every nuance down. It’s all just as it should be down to the tiniest head tilt. Plus, he's from Pittsburgh, which I find to be a BIG plus.

Karl Urban as Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy - This could not have been better if we'd gone back in time and gotten a young DeForrest Kelley to do it. He could be his twin. The delivery was SPOT ON. Every "Damnit, Jim" and "My God, man" was perfect.

Simon Pegg as Montgomery "Scotty" Scott - He's not in the movie long (he comes in towards the end), but every line is pure gold. He provides a fantastic comic relief when out of my seat cheering - he says the famous "I'm givin' her everything she's got, Captain!" with perfect timing and delivery. Plus, later he says something about the "Dilithium crystals", and I geeked out a little.

Zoe Saldana as Nyota Uhura - I'm a big fan of Nichelle Nichols, so she had a lot to live up to. I think she really did justice to the part. She had a great back and forth with Kirk and and unexpected situation with Spock that I was excited about.

John Cho as Hikaru Sulu - You don't really hear much from Sulu (except for an AWESOME fight scene). He doesn't have that deep bass voice that George Takei has, and I personally did miss that a bit. But, there's really nothing you can do about that. Great job in the part. And, just to give a tiny spoiler, Sulu was not always the perfect helmsman that we know him to be. Good stuff!

Anton Yelchin as Pavel Chekov - Chekov is 17 in this movie, which threw me off a little. I never realized how young he was supposed to be on the series. I thought his accent was just a little overdone, but I expected that. There's a funny moment where Chekov has to give a clearance code that has some v's in it. Hilarity ensues.

Eric Bana as Nero - The bad guy! We always knew the Romulans were bad guys, but damn, is he evil! He's a vengeful villain (the best kind in my opinion!), with no mercy. A perfect villain for this movie.

Some other noteworthy appearances...

Leonard Nimoy as Spock – There’s a situation with time travel and he makes a cameo. Every second that Mr. Nimoy is on screen is an absolute pleasure for a geek like me!

Bruce Greenwood as Capt. Christopher Pike - Mr. Greenwood plays the quintessential leader to a "t". He has played the President of the United States twice (JFK in Thirteen Days and a fictional president in National Treasure: Book of Secrest), the director of robotics in I, Robot...the list goes on and on. Seriously. Check out his resume on IMDB. It goes on for pages. Key line - "I dare you to do better."

Ben Cross as Sarek (Spock’s Dad) – Sarek always came off a little extreme to me, and that’s exactly how it should be. Mr. Cross did an excellent job. He was the epitome of the logical Vulcan.

Jennifer Morrison as Winona Kirk – Dr. Cameron from House is Kirk’s mom. Awesome.

Chris Hemsworth as George Kirk – I consulted with my mother (the reason I’m a Trekkie..and yes, I said Trekkie and not Trekker. Being a Trekkie is nothing to be ashamed of), and she said that Kirk’s brother’s name was George, not his father. I have not confirmed this, but I trust her endless Star Trek knowledge. Poetic license with the name, a superior performance from the actor. The beginning of the movie made me tear up a little.

Wynona Ryder as Amanda Grayson (Spock’s Mom) – I thought this was an odd choice, but she’s not on screen much, so it really doesn’t matter. She served her purpose and didn’t stink up the screen, so I’m happy with it.


This is one of the most visually beautiful movies I’ve ever seen. The CG guys work pure magic with their computers. They changed up the transporter visual in a way that I found interesting, the enemy ship was truly frightening, and the destruction of something very large (I don’t want to spoil it too much for you) was so exciting that I wish I had a TiVo remote to rewind and watch it again in slow motion. There were moments that I had to hide in my poor husband’s shoulder because it was that real.

Even the sound effects were great! They used a lot of the old sounds from the show. That famouse Red Alert siren shows up early and often, and I loved every second.

The speech from the beginning of both the original series and Next Generation comes in, with a few minor tweeks (changes are in italics)..."Space...the final frontier. These are the voyages of the Starship Enterprise. It's ongoing mission...to explore strange new worlds...to seek out new life and new civilizations...to boldy go where no one has gone before"

Wow, am I a nerd. I can barely remember what day it is, and I knew that off the top of my head.

I could not find one thing wrong with this movie. In fact, I did nothing but make squeaky noises, point at the screen, and tug at my husband’s shirt sleeve in excitement.

Men, you’ve done Gene Roddenberry proud.

So, by this geek’s extremely high standards for a Star Trek movie, this one gets an A+. See it immediately!