Only three more days until the new Star Trek movie opens, and every review I have read from professional movie critics and the lucky bastards who have been able to see it ahead of time (mostly people I know online who work in various parts of the film industry) has been nothing short of glowing.
I mean, when The Onion can parody it by pointing out how good it is, it must be good, right:
The shiny white lucite and chrome of the bridge that keeps turning up in the trailers and photos makes me cringe and leaves that one little niggling doubt squirming in my brain that this movie can still somehow manage to suck despite all the glowing advance reports. It’s true that sometimes the Enterprise looks more like a Marriott hotel and conference center than a starship, but the whole shiny-chromey-futuristic vibe was dead and buried a long, long time ago. Whenever I see some science fiction movie that goes for this look, it’s like a big red flag that says the people who made the film have no clue about science fiction. With Star Trek in particular, the ship is as important as the characters (maybe even more important than a couple of them). So even though I am feeling much more confident, I have to admit that I still have my toes crossed.
One thing I do know for sure: I am seeing this bad boy in IMAX. One of the local mega-furniture stores has IMAX theaters built into a couple of their locations, the newest of which is only about 10 minutes from my house. We recently went to a movie there for the first time, seeing “Monsters Vs. Aliens”, which was in 3D as well as in the big IMAX format. It was impressive enough with the animated film that I made up my mind right then and there that we’d go see Star Trek at the same theater when the time came. And now that time is almost here.
I’m not a big moviegoer, but I really want to see this on the big screen (the bigger, the better, so I may have to drive a few more miles – and pay a few more bucks – to see it in IMAX). Like you, I’m really, really hoping it doesn’t suck.
Is there an IMAX theater in Maine?
I CANNOT wait! Leonard and I are going tonight or tomorrow night…unfotunately not in an IMAX…but close enough.