New Star Trek Movie Opens toMixed Reviews:
Trekkies Give  Thumbs Down To New Spock
Action, Plot and Other Actors Receive a Big Thumbs Up
5/10/09

Trekkies eagerly flocked to the box office to check out the new Star Trek movie, an action packed movie that was mostly true to the original concept of the film.   One change has Star Trek fans furious and calling for a recast before the next movie.

The Star Trek movie takes the audience back to the birth of James Tiberius Kirk and quickly establishes a shift in events, caused by a Romulan ship coming back in time with a plan to destroy the Federation as Ambassador Spock is forced to watch.    This is the opening backdrop against which the show begins.   During the movie, the original characters come together to save the Earth and the Federation.

Fans are enthusiastic about most of the casting decisions.  Karl Urban as Dr. Leonard McCoy and John Cho as Hikaro Sulu are seen as near perfect matches for their predecessors.  Better than a near perfect match was the casting of Leonard Nimoy as the most popular Start Trek character of all time.  Fans were delighted with the casting of Leonard Nimoy as Ambassador Spock,  Chris Pine as Jame T. Kirk, Bruce Greenwood as Christoper Pike, Simon Pegg as Montgomery Scott, Anton Yelchin as Pavel Chekov,  Chris Hemsworth as George T. Kirk and Ben Cross as Sarak.   Star Trek enthusiasts were happy to find that the late Majel Barret had been included as the voice of the computer.

Though Yelchin looked nothing like Walter Koenig, he made up for the physical dissimilarity though a close recreation of the original Chekov's personality and voice.  He and Simon Pegg as Scotty provided considerable comic relief.
 
Chris Hemsworth (George Kirk) was a closer physical visual match to William Shatner than Chris Pine but Chris Pine captured the essence of Kirk's spirit and personality.

While Leonard Nimoy played the Spock everyone remembered, he was contrasted by Zachary Quinto, who turned Spock into an emotional basket case from his entry into the show through its entirety.   The change was not explained by the time warp issue.  In an early seen, he appears close to frothing as he rejects the Vulcan elders who have accepted him into the Vulcan Science Academy.

Professional gave Quinto the hair, ears and make-up and this brought some nostalgia, but they couldn't give him the ability to portray Spock.   Many fans doubted he had ever seen an original Star Trek episode.  While Nimoy controlled his face, his voice and his movements, Quinto's facial expressions, voice and movements were more Romulan than Vulcan.    The change in events did not explain the change in Spock's basic personality.

Some fans said they had initially wondered if it were bad screen writing but then noted that the other parts, with the exception of Uhura, were consistent with the original characters and that Spock's lines and those of individuals addressing him were inconsistent with Quinto's acting.   The most common reaction was that Quinto had been badly cast.  In addition to being too emotional, his voice was too high for the Spock role.  A couple of fans pointed out that that he might settle in by the next show.  Others suggested releasing Quinto and replacing him with a different Spock in the next Star Trek.

A few fans noted that, though John Cho was a close match for George Takei, Cho could have carried off the Spock role more in accord with the acting of Leonard Nimoy.  One fan said that, if Cho had a brother, the casting director should hand over the ears to him for the next movie.  Some suggested that they should have just used computer graphics to make Nimoy appear younger and given him a double role.

Many fans are angry, pointing out that Spock's personality was an important part of the series and that changing it was disrespectful to loyal viewers.

While fans were not ready to forgive the inconsistency with Spock's personality, another inconsistency got wide approval.  Pavel Chekov was not in the show until the second season.  The Wrath of Khan was nailed for a major inconsistency when Khan claimed to remember Chekov, a crew member he had never met.  Fans felt that Chekov was an indispensable member of the crew and that having him in the crew in this first movie with the new cast was worth the the technical inaccuracy. 

Spock aside, fans are giving the other aspects of the movie an A+ rating.  One thing for certain, fans expect to see a new series of movies.   

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