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Wow! Was fortunate enough to get a great seat with 300 other patrons at IMAX Melbourne for the Star Trek movie of 2009.

Expectations Low & Exceeded

I went in with a very clean slate, low expectations and no understanding of the plot or cast. The cast suprised me, in a good way, with people I were not expecting. I wasn’t even sure if some of the cast members were who I thought they may have been until the end credits.

Some people might say that the movie went for some easy way outs but overall I think the plot of the movie was fantastic. The cast was great and the movie was well updated without losing its roots. Trekkies and some of the oldies in the crowd jumped with glee and expressed their delight during and after the movie.

There were more humerous scenes then I expected with a little bit of cornball but otherwise nice and subtle. There have been comparisons between the Star Trek and Wolverine, mostly because they’ve been released at the same time. From my initial impressions (having not watch Wolverine) and feedback from those who have watched both, there is no competition or comparison. Star Trek Trumps.

Musical Score

Orchestral music ushered in calm space and earth scenery beautifully while the horror of alien monsters and enormous alien warcraft sent deep vibrations through the walls and floor appropriately. I sat through the entire ending credits hoping for a cameo of the theme to “Star Trek – The Next Generation“, but no go.

Gripes – Action

The only thing I was expecting from Star Trek 2009 was some good action scenes and it did deliver but it was very difficult to follow. It was very difficult to see who was who or what was going on in the faster moving scenes, that was a bit of a shame and I longed for more slow moving scenes.

IMAX Appropriate?

I am not sure if it is. Because the camera work, action and fast moving scenes were difficult to follow even though they had engulfed the room. Space scenes and those which were trying to capture the enormity of space and alien lands were fantastic but there were suprisingly few of them and this is were IMAX excels.

I find close up scenes of people in IMAX format a little on the weird side, like we are watching giants rather then life sized people and their seemed to be a lot of scenes like this. Skin pores of actors faces must have been the size of my head.

Having said that, I am so glad I watched it in IMAX because it was a BIG movie and a good one at that. It was also suggested to me that the action and fast moving speeds would have been even more difficult to follow on a regular sized screen.

Rating: 8/10

Tags: 2009, movie, review, spock, star, trek