Star Trek (2009)

Star Trek: Directed by J.J. Abrams. With Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Leonard Nimoy, Eric Bana. The brash James T. Kirk tries to live up to his father’s legacy with Mr. Spock keeping him in check as a vengeful Romulan from the future creates black holes to destroy the Federation one planet at a time.

“Technically a 6.5, but definitely not anything to be thrilled about, as there isnu0026#39;t much novelty. Iu0026#39;m not familiar with the comics so I had no special expectations. I can honestly say it was a fun movie, but I just donu0026#39;t see where the glowing praise is coming from.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eStory-wise, it does its job without much surprise or imagination. The little drama with Billy searching for his long-lost mom, while being unable to accept companionship from others, is alright. The special FX are good, but there arenu0026#39;t any mindblowing scenes (no real fighting or magic other than smoke and lightning). I didnu0026#39;t mind the villain being one-note, but I wish they did something better than the old u0026quot;7 deadly sins,u0026quot; or at the very least been more creative with the designs (which look like clay concept models of generic gargoyles and you couldnu0026#39;t even tell which sin was which).u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eMaybe Iu0026#39;m just cynical, but I didnu0026#39;t find it very funny. Sure I had a few smirks and chuckles now and then, but there wasnu0026#39;t anything roaringly hilarious. If the trailers didnu0026#39;t exactly make you LOL, then youu0026#39;d probably wonu0026#39;t within the full movie. The comparisons to a kid-friendly Deadpool are apt, but without the wackiness that u0026quot;seals the dealu0026quot; as most of the jokes are simple/cheesy/cheap (At the very beginning, Billy steals a copu0026#39;s lunch bag while he pleads against it. Later on he uses his adult form to buy beer and visit a strip club like every teenage boyu0026#39;s wishes. Thatu0026#39;s pretty much the bar of humor throughout, besides the numerous u0026quot;Look what I can do!u0026quot; moments of discovery for the powers.)u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThereu0026#39;s a large disconnect between the ever-brooding Billy and the upbeat Shazam, almost like a reverse Jekyll/Hyde. Iu0026#39;d be pretty stoked too if I suddenly gained superpowers, but neither character is a natural extension. And except for Freddy, everyone is entirely one-dimensional and stereotypical: overly enthusiastic foster parents, the tech-wizard gamer Asian, the sweet 16-type daughter going off to college, bullies, etc. Billy has probably less than 10 minutes shown interacting with the fosters that him eventually accepting them as family is a giant, unsatisfying leap.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eOverall, itu0026#39;s highly forgettable, but kids will enjoy it, assuming they wonu0026#39;t be affected by the CG monsters.”