Kirk vs. Kirk

When the first Star Trek series debuted in 1966, Lyndon Johnson was president and it would be another three years before man would walk on the moon. Made up of five television series with a total of 700 episodes, 11 feature films and over 40 years of mythos, few media brands can match the legacy that is Star Trek. That kind of history comes with joyful advantages (a rabid fan base) and cumbersome baggage (a rabid fan base).

One of the biggest challenges facing J. J. Abrams when setting out to produce the 11th feature film, titled simply Star Trek and opening the weekend of May 8, was assembling a group of actors worthy and capable of filling the enormous shoes of the original cast. Capt. Kirk, Mr. Spock, Dr. McCoy and the rest are so iconic and familiar to audiences, recasting them opens the door for comparisons. So does Abram’s reboot cast successfully set the stage for re-launching the franchise?

Here’s a guide to which new cast members kill and which are just “set to stun”.

James T. Kirk
Played by Chris Pine
Where You’ve Seen Him Before – Pine starred opposite Anne Hathaway in The Princess Diaries 2 and in the romantic comedy Just My Luck, opposite Lindsay Lohan.
Old vs. New Smackdown – If you peer into the bloated and bloodshot eyes of the caricature that is today’s William Shatner, you can make out the faint outline of the Capt. Kirk of the late 60’s. That cavalier demeanor, that need to bed every short alien skirt that passes by, that ability to not only bend the rules when needed but to change them up to win the game…that was what we loved about him. Unfortunately those qualities are less endearing on Pine, whose amateur Kirk cheats his way to the Captain’s chair in the very beginning. Without having paid any dues, Pine’s Kirk comes off as bratty and spoiled. At least until New Kirk grows up in a sequel, Shatner still holds the crown.  

Spock
Played by Zachary Quinto
Where You’ve Seen Him Before – Best known as serial killer villain Sylar on Heros, Quinto also starred one season on the show 24.
Old vs. New Smackdown – As the only original cast member appearing in the new film, Leonard Nimoy not only plays an integral role in the time travel plot line, but also acts as a tangible bridge between the old and the new universes. His presence also makes it a bit more difficult to compare Quinto and Nimoy. They seem to bring the Spock out in each other and it feels like Nimoy is literally handing Quinto permission to become the character on screen. As a young Spock, Quinto aptly possesses and displays the half-human, half-Vulcan contradictions, but holds them in a hip, sexy and sleek package. Even without the pointy ears, Zachary Quinto is Spock.   

Dr. Leonard McCoy
Played by Karl Urban
Where You’ve Seen Him Before – You may have seen Urban in the second and third installments of The Lord of The Rings trilogy, in The Bourne Supremacy and in The Chronicles of Riddick.
Old vs. New Smackdown – Of Star Trek’s great trinity, Urban’s McCoy gets the least amount of screen time. And in light of his borderline-insulting caricature of DeForest Kelley’s McCoy, that’s a good thing. He basically gives some people some shots, chews on some scenery and delivers every clichéd catchphrase as…well a cliché. On this Enterprise the doctor is not in.

Hikaru Sulu
Played by John Cho
Where You’ve Seen Him Before – Playing Harold in the Harold and Kumar flicks is Cho’s pre-Star Trek claim to fame.
Old vs. New Smackdown – George Takei, the original Sulu has been respected and revered by the LGBT community since coming out in 2005. Now repeat after me, “John Cho’s Mr. Sulu Kicks Ass”! Switching from a helmsman bottom to a buff sword-fighting top, Cho’s interpretation catapults out of a plummeting ship free falling toward an endangered planet and into the foreground of this Enterprise’s action.

Nyota Uhura
Played by Zoe Saldana
Where You’ve Seen Her Before – Recognized from a supporting role in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, Saldana also appeared in the film Drumline. 
Old vs. New Smackdown – Saldana’s Uhura is defiantly her own woman. But it’s hard to compete with the original, Nichelle Nichols. She was one of the first black actresses in a key recurring role on television and she even knew Dr. Martin Luther King! What’s missing from Saldana’s Uhura is the quite elegance embodied by Nichols. But perhaps in today’s media, that quality would seem outdated. This one feels like a draw.

Montgomery Scott
Played by Simon Pegg
Where You’ve Seen Him Before – Despite a dramatic turn in The Band of Brothers, Pegg is more commonly known for his comedic roles in Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz.
Old vs. New Smackdown – Much like Quinto, Pegg seems to have been born to play this part. Pegg portrays the Scotsman’s engineering brilliance with ease and employs his razor-sharp timing to fire one-liner torpedoes...but never ventures into camp. “Beam me up, Simon!”

Pavel Chekov
Played by Anton Yelchin
Where You’ve Seen Him Before – Following up on his roles in Alpha Dog and Charlie Bartlett, Yelchin stars in two of this summer’s likely blockbusters, Star Trek and Terminator Salvation.
Old vs. New Smackdown – Much like Cho, tasty little cutie Yelchin amps up his character way beyond “supporting role” status. A math whiz and skilled navigator, the new Chekov both helps save the Earth and serves as eye candy. (Walter Koenig, the original Chekov, is rumored to have been hired in part for his resemblance to teen idol Davy Jones in an attempt to attract a younger audience.) Even discounting the cuteness factor, new Chekov wins the match. 

How do you think the two casts compare?

(Photos: Paramount Pictures)

Comments

[Kurtster]

The new cast ROCKS. I disagree with the comments on Kirk's character. If one recalls, Kirk did cheat at the academy on the simulator. I feel the entire cast did a phenomenal job, especially Scotty and his incessent need for a sandwich! Bones McCoy, if you've read the books, was perfectly portrayed as a salty southerner who wouldn't hesitate to state his mind or pull rank. Uhura was sexy, sultry, and manipulative...all packaged perfectly in the body of a gorgeous little Minx! Checkov makes me want to visit Russia! Sulu's fencing paid off and Captain Pike even gave him a hard time at the helm...and he rolled with the punches! Very kewl!

[mike]

i'm a die hard trekkie and although had some issues with the revamp still thought it was an amazing reimagining! i thought the cast was great i thought most of the cast paid homage to their predecessors without imitating them except for pine he (thankfully) did not act hammy and i totally believed his motivations for joining starfleet, becoming captain, etc i do disagree with your judgement on urban though i thought he was really great and had bones attitude down pat remember this is an origins story so the characters are just finding themselves they aren't quite where they started when the original show started and i for one am glad that abrams has said that he'd help with at least one more film (hopefully directing again) go see it it's definitely a fun movie!

[KidofAmerica]

I like the new cast in seperate ways from the old. But yeah there is definately some nice new eye candy... But come on John Cho a TOP lol? never ... what people don't believe in aggressive bottoms lol?. I am not sure about how I feel about them leaving cannon though :(

[Matthew]

I was extremely impressed with the cast in this movie. As Kurtster mentioned, we learned in Star Trek II that Kirk did cheat the Kobayashi Maru in just the way that was portrayed in the film. I've also seen a great many comments from people wanting that to be shown in the movie, so it was gratifying to see it included. But there are some major points that you seem to have missed:

1) Kirk was in the process of getting kicked out of the Academy for that cheat. His superiors were NOT impressed.

2) Kirk wasn't made captain for what he did with the test. He was made captain for everything that he did after that -- Never giving up, no matter what. Original thinking. And he grew into real leadership by the end of the movie.

Regarding Urban as McCoy, my opinion was the exact opposite of yours. I felt that out of all the cast, he most embodied his predecessor. He managed to be irascible while still being likable; not at all an easy feat. He also looks the part even more than Quinto. It took no imagination at all to see him looking exactly like Kelly in 30 years.

The one I was least impressed with was Uhura. But I think that was more due to the movie than the actress. She really got little screen time except as a target for Kirk's advances or to "comfort" Spock.

All told, I felt that this movie is a real winner. There WILL be sequels, and I look forward to watching these actors grow into their parts. I also really like how the movie didn't resort to restoring the timeline. This is a true reboot of the franchise, and will be great to see where it goes.

[ROCKWOOD]

As a kid, I remember Star Trek very well. I even saw original episodes. HA!! But I’ve been a fan of every series and every movie that has come out since. One of my favorite modern series was Enterprise, as it dealt with issues that were never brought up in the original series.

I feel Star Trek The Movie, was excellent. The cast of characters were a great choice.

I wish I could say more to boost each character opinion, but I don't want to give anything away.

Chris Pine as James T. Kirk: I think he was great but agreeably not as suave as Shatner was, but very believable.

Zachary Quinto as Spock: OMG this guy’s hot. I wish he was like 20 years older. But seriously I feel he portrayed a young Spock very well. Even Nimoy lost control of his emotions a time or two.

Karl Urban as McCoy: I think he got jabbed in this article. I thought his performance as McCoy was great. Admittedly he didn’t get the screen time but he was great as a young McCoy.

John Cho as Sulu: This actor was great, handled razzing by the Captiain and wields an awesome sword.. He’s kinda cute too. The warp scene…hilarious.

Zoe Saldana as Uhura: Okay, I never knew Uhura’s first name was Nyota. Matching Nichelle Nichols was a hard act to follow. The original Uhura was hot (those legs of hers), very strong, and as the article said possessed a ‘quite elegance.’ I do think that Saldana played the part quite well though.

Simon Pegg as Montgomery Scott: YES, this guy had James Doohan’s rendition of Scotty right down to the ever confident can do attitude that Doohan put into the character.

Anton Yelchin as Chekov: Excellent portrial of a younger version of Walter Koenigs original character. The scene where is accent gets in the way, kinda cute.

It doesn’t matter if you’re an older Star Trek fan, or a younger one, you should go to see it. Special effects alone are worth the price of admission.

There were several scenes in this movie that will require further explanation. I'm sure there will be a sequel or two.

[corrective_unconscious]

I think Karl Urban looks like John Edwards, and that scares me.

[Jack]

McCoy was great.

[Tom Armitage]

They are all great! It's a whole new Star Trek world really. I saw the movie with old high school pals. We grew up loving the show. The buddy sitting next to me not only saw all the shows and movies, but also read all the books. He mentioned just one little error. Other than that we all loved it. I think JJ Abrams captured a new Star Trek for a new century including perfect casting. I can't wait to see the next movie!

[Steven]

One question - WHY?

[Rob]

I'm a true devoted Trekie... Was blown away !!! I felt all the characters were portrayed brilliantly. Last time I felt this great about a sci-fi film was when I was 12 years old, at the local drive-in theatre with my best friend and his older brother laying on the hood of his car watching Star Wars in 1977, opening night.

[Suresh Jag]

I loved this movie. After about 95, i stopped watching the new movies but this brought me back with a bang. The casts were cute and funny and their reminiscence of old trek was just enough and not too much. The sexiest scene was seeing kirk with the green woman in his tighty whiteys.

The story line was okay but they did a great job.

[Cesar - Costa Rica]

I loved the way the new actors incarnated the beloved characters. I think a lot of study went down on how exactly their predecessors brought to life every little detail that we came to love from the original show. I would have tried to exploit a little more the character of Nero. They guy is a freaking genocide. I would like to see his darker side a little more exploited.

I liked the plot, as it justifies perfectly the reboot of the whole thing – what I can’t deal with – and this is where I’ll be the geek , is how all everything was rebooted along with the “old trek”, including the very basics of physics!

I know, I know, here comes the geeky talk, but hey, that’s part as well of what made Star Trek what it is today:

1. Black holes do not allow for time travel to happen. They are vast gravitational events produced by a dying star and they will swallow everything, their pull even bends light around them, nothing escapes them….but the Red Matter thinghy, seems to cause a similar effect that will enable time travel. That was weird. The Enterprise was at the edge of two of them on the movie and not pulled in?

2. Every single object entering a planet with an atmosphere will produce what we like to call the meteor effect. Yes, even three orbital divers would cause it…meaning that it should have been visible when they chutted towards the drill platform (loved the red shirt red neck dying joke!)…We saw it when Kirk was stranded on the EVAC POD (fired from a docking port!!!) That’s the entry effect that we should have seen twice, not only once on the movie.

3. This is Star Trek physics stuff…but a matter/antimatter explosion would pretty much obliterate everything on it’s immediate ratio of effect. Remember how the Enterprise D Saucer section ended crashing down? Yeah, it was because of the Core Breach. The force could be even used to close a subspace rip on space, as they did on Nemesis. Here, they used the explosion’s synergy to escape the pull of the biggest (as it used all of the Red Matter) Black hole singularity. Sorry, that’s not how it works. It just served a cool effect on the plot for the Enterprise to escape.

4. This is not physics perse, but what happened to Starfleet Engineering Rooms? They all look like the interior of a candy factory. Red tubing? I hadn’t seen those since I visited the Queen Mary at Long Beach!!!

5. More on Engineering: How can you cool a Warp Core with water? My car is cooled down on water, but it can’t jump to warp (I wish!) On that same regard, there is only one Matter/Antimatter reaction chamber (part of the Warp Core) on every federation ship for as long as I can remember. They were replaced by 6 (yes, 6) dilithium cambers that looked like Jhonny Walker distillery tanks. No electro plasma conduits, no warps coils, no containment fields, no nothing of the techno stuff that made warp travel possible.

4. Let’s talk about the Bridge: They were located on Deck 2, (on the Kelvin and the Enterprise) when they have always been Deck One. The bridge deck was replaced by a sensor shiny dome, OK. But, even weirder, is the interactive view port that was traded for the Main View Screen. The background battles got in the way of communications…and those camera shine reflections…too distracting on Bridge on Red Alert!

5. Exobiology. Question: Why a sub-surface dueling being from a freezing world is red? Answer: So it can’t be missed within the while snowy background
on the wild chase scene , They got the first beast right. It looked like a Polar Bear on steroids, but at least the fur was white-ish.

I know, it’s a show and a movie, get a life…but these geeky details is what used to make me try to learn more and then, that’s how you become smart, by reading, interpreting, deducting – a lot was accomplished with this latest incarnation of the saga, but somehow, I feel not as pleased…a little was lost.

[Eric]

I think the new cast way rock and keeps the Trekers alive with the new movie keep doing a good job warp speed to the next movie shileds up
RED ALERT!!!!

[mike]

okay i love star trek, but this movie left me feeling a little empty, and i cant fault the acting, they did a decent job, although eric bana's nero didnt feel very romulan to me..... the plot was a little thin, but im always a fan of the temporal episodes of the show, but i feel a little more could have been done with an alternate timeline movie.... i did like the fact they mentioned admiral archer and his 'prized beagle' but i do feel more could have been done, but a decent effort from jj abrams at trying to 'reinvent' a show he never liked or watched as a child

[Clark]

Went to fight the crowds on opening night. And glad I did! It was GREAT! All the actors did a fantastic job. Especially Bones & Spock .

[Nosajat]

I agree overall with the author of this article's opinions except for 2 major points. Chris Pine's Kirk was great -- he seemed to embody the same ambition and desires as Shatner's Kirk, minus a little of the pomp and over-the-top line delivery. He also seemed to be a bit more moody, which was a nice touch. Second, I wasn't THAT impressed with Yelchin's Chekov. I mean, he nailed the accent and had some good lines in the movie, but this version of Chekov (some sort of 17-year-old kid genius??) was almost a completely different character from Koenig's Chekov. I'm interested to see how he evolves and changes in the next movie. Oh, and to Jerry Gulley II: Yelchin's not THAT cute ;^) Finally, I have to say that Karl Urban SUCKED in this movie as Dr. McCoy!! He was just doing a (bad) impression of DeForest Kelly's doctor. The entire time he was on-screen, I kept thinking that Urban's performance was more like a frat boy at a Halloween costume party dressed as McCoy than an actual acting part. Terrible, I hope they re-cast him for the next movie!!

[Troy]

As film, I enjoyed the gee-whiz sci fi graphics, and the pretty people acting. Yeehaw. Having said that, I hated the film, and not just because I love the Trek franchise. Why? The genocide of the Vulcans. I find it extremely disturbing that the writers/directors/producers would even consider using the genocide of an entire species, including the destruction of their entire planet, as a plot device to motivate a character or storyline. How can that ever be ok, especially in a culture and world addicted to violence?

[John]

Kirk character is different because of the premise of the different time line. Without his father he would be different in this timeline. Hence his alternate attitude.

[TimeLordBob]

I'm sort of torn on the movie. The special effects and plot were done very well (of course you have to suspend your disbelief on the science but as SciFi folks we have learned to do that).

That said I do have some problems with the continuity with the Star Trek Universe itself - yes I know we are dealing with an "alternative time-line" cased by Spock and Neo but that history only begins to diverge once Nero shows up.

So:

1. Why is the USS Kelvin more advanced looking that the original Enterprise commanded by Pike? (not to mention all the ships -I can't believe the technology would have diverged that much)

2. No one had ever seen a Romulan before (See Balance of Terror which is way in the future at this point) so why isn't anyone surprised by what they look like and that they resemble Vulcans?

3. Spock said in Wrath of Kahn that he never took Kobayashi Maru but we know find out he invented it?? Don't you think a developer would have taken his own test if only to test the software?

4. The ships in the test were wrong - Romulans only started using Klingon style ships around the time of " the Enterprise Incident".

5. Where happen to Pike's original crew? Number One, the older doctor, etc?

- The other issue I had was with Kirk - I do agree with the author in that I thought he came across as an arrogant little brat (sure he's cute but still) - The original Kirk would have at least put on a poker face while taking the Kobayashi Maru test - that said I think all actors have the potential of growing into the roles - the writers/directors have their work cut out for them though.

Just my 2 cents :)

[Royce]

It's not genocide unless all Vulcans were on Vulcan. They even said in the movie that there were 10,000+ Vulcans offworld. I thought the movie was great and the actors were great. We shouldn't even be comparing the two sets, this is a parallel Trek, like Mirror Mirror.

[Lam]

Sulu should make out with Spock.

just humor me...

[Rick]

i thought the movie was excellent though i may not buy it nor see it again, i thought it was perfect in all facets though i had trouble connecting uhura with the original role. I was disappointed they created a whole new timelien without correction, no planet Vulcan eliminates every planet Vulcan episode in all previous episodes... spock doesnt get his 7 year mating visit to vulcan etc. And Kirk nbever meets his father he was raised by.
I guess they wanna show that not everything always gets corrected back to a proper timeline. the future was allowed to change the past and thus the current future of it.

[MIchael]

I am a trekkie from the 60's. This cast and picture was perfectly done by the director who was bringing us the beginning of what became the 60s show with the original cast.

I was enthralled and have already seen it twice. It was a spectacular prequel to the essence of Star Trek.

[Paulo]

I loved the film, so realistic, so hot, i wish we were living in that time, that would mean the world was together and fighting for the same goal, we need that,..., i am a member of star trek too, i was raised in this ideology, long live star trek.

[Steven]

I must say, for never watching the actual TV show, Star Trek was amazing! It's a must see! Chris Pine was absolutely gorgeous and played his role to the utmost perfection! GO SEE THIS MOVIE NOW!

[Undercenter]

I loved reading these comments. I am so happy to see so many fans of Star Trek on this site actually know the canon of the Universe that Roddenberry created.

I have to agree that the author of the article missed completely on McCoy. Urban, an actual Star Trek fan, hit Kelly's performance right on the nose without crossing the line of caricature. Spot on.

The only other casting note I would make (other than Quinto's Spock being 'ear-y' on how good it was) would be Zoë as Uhura. Nichols had an "umph" factor, a hint of pride, which was missing. Maybe to come, we'll see.

Over all, yeah, like most hard core Trekkers, I'm somewhat disheartened that Abrams had to destroy the Star Trek future we know to introduce Star Trek to a new (not a ‘Next’ thank you) generation. But if the before it’s time message of tolerance, diversity, and bold "yes we can" attitude of the original Star Trek infects a new generation, like it did with this young man in syndication back in 1973 - then well done man.

[ATK]

I yet have the chance to see this movie, as they show here in Hong Kong until 8th June. However, I have seen some scene on Youtube and I have found the new set of character are brilliant. Although I hate the newly design Enterprise, but I disagree with the comment about KIRK, Kirk cheated while he was in Command school in simulation scenario "Kobayashi Maru". So I am not surprise he missed a few step to become Captain of the Enterprise, actually I believe it was mentioned in "Star Trek Encyclopedia: A Reference Guide To The Future", but please correct me if I'm wrong!

Anyway, I am so much looking forward to see this movie!

[Kurtster]

Ok, I saw it again. I still think it rocked! The Warp scene was hysterical.
Originally from Iowa and proud that James T. Kirk's character was from my home state. Loved the 'cupcake' remark. Hahahahaha! Funny, but I think I've been to that bar.

[Phil]

im not a trekkie fan but was looking forward to this remake. i thought they did a great job n casting and the cast did an awesome job. LOVE spock. A hottie. the young one that is. story was great. got a little lost with the future and the now going back and forth but the sights and cast and scenery more then made up for it. i felt like a little kid going to the saturday morning movie for 2 dallors. great job star trek. keep it coming.

[Bill]

I saw it yesterday and was a bit disappointed. The storyline was incoherent enough to keep me wondering where the hell it was. Pine is a sexy handsome man but that's all he was and it isn't enough to carry Shatner's water. His Kirk didn't work for me. Too immature. Quinto was very good and the best of them all, and a VERY sexy Spock. God, he was hot!! Cho lacked Takei's more sophisticated Sulu. Too cartoonish. Urban's McCoy was a total waste of film. His only reason for being seems to have been to get Kirk on the ship. Pegg's Scotty was too silly and unserious and the way they worked him into the story just didn't come off as any kinda real. Saldana could have been a good Uhura but they didn't DO anything with her except the unexplained romantic thing with Spock that had no reason for being. She appeared to have no other reason for being there and it didn't fit. And Yelchin's Chekov was a bit too overplayed cute and the accent much too contrived. But he IS terribly cute so I cut him some slack! Nero was just a bad guy who's problem was never clear. I think he just needed a sound spanking. hehe The whole movie looked like it was designed not to tell a good story, but to find a way to fit Nimoy into it, which is fine. He's great to see and deserves it, but the storyline was too confusing. The special efex of course, were great as always. Powerful, very moving beginning that gave me great hopes for a movie that ultimately disappointed with an embarrassingly formulaic stilted let's-get-this-over-with ending.

[Thomas Korn]

Another vote to totally disagree with the article. Pine followed jJ'S Direction as all the actors did. if there is any faults in the performances, its from the director, not the actors themselves. My only reservation for Pine was that Shatner is kirk and vice versa. to pull off Kirk, one must let their "inner Shatner" surface. The bravada, the smugness, the certainty were all there.. in youthful form as it should be with a younger version of kirk.

This was a fun movie, easy plot to follow AND i love how they did not try to re fix the time line this time.

[Mark Treleaven]

I went to see the film last night.

I am an avid Trek fan, and all general Sci-Fi.

I thought that the characters of Kirk and Spock were very well portrayed by the two young actors, Pine & Zachary respectivly

I totally enjoyed the film.

[Derek]

This Kirk is not the Kirk of the original TV show. This Kirk did not have the option of having his father around and guiding him through his life. I am sure this Kirk's father was remember as a hero and so young Kirk now has this hovering over him. He is bitter to start with, but the key elements of what made Kirk, well, Kirk are there and I thought Pine's Kirk was extremely believable. You have to remember that from the premise of this movie, everything that we have seen before could no longer happen and therefore the characters will have grown differently. Loved it.

[Peter]

Having been there for the very first Star Trek TV series and having been a fan all these years i was worried that the new Star Trek would not be true to it's roots.
IT WAS. The new cast is great .. showing the sides of the characters one could only imagine 40 years ago as what was shown today would have been censored back then. I can totally relate to the edgy new Kirk and to McCoy .. they are fab!
The whole cast works for me ..
GO TREK!!

[chris]

Pine was amazing, particularly in the last few minutes of the film where he really became the Wm Shatner Kirk to the extent that I had a chill run down my spine. It took more than one TV episode for the characters to take hold of their parts in the original series, so I think what these young actors have achieved is nearly a miracle.
Having watched a number of the original episodes when there were first broadcast, there were several moments when I had a lump in my throat and tears in my eyes during the movie, much to its credit.

[Ryan]

I agree with pretty much every analysis except that of Chris Pine as Kirk. It seems natural that Kirk would have been "bratty and spoiled" before the experiences of Starfleet refined him into an excellent leader. Not only did Pine emulate these initial qualities exceptionally, but with each dramatic sequence we could see Pine's Kirk advancing toward the Kirk we recognize. Even better, while Pine's Kirk was recognizable at the end, he remained a great reinterpretation.

[davis]

I forgot about the old crew pretty fast. I went to see the movie for what it was. A star trek movie. It has such a new feel to it, that i didnt care about he old cast being missing. Great movie on its own

[G]

i couldn't care less about the movie but they have one hell of a cute cast!

[WitheredRoses]

Pine did fantastic. At least he didnt attened Shatners school of overacting. Bones was done perfectly as the rest of the cast. Each actor/actress paid hommage to their original character while keeping it fresh, and true to spirit. Of course not everyone is going to like it. People love to nit pick shit to death intstead of just ENJOYING it for WHAT IT IS. For the few of you bashing thier performances, Swallow your damn pride and realize that this is a restart of a franchise with a modern outlook. Relax, its JUST hollywood!

[Arthur]

I was a big fan of the original series and TNG. I thought the movie was a great tribute to the original series and am looking foreward to the future of this cast as the "New" Star Trek. It is sad to see several of the original members gone including Gene Roddenbury. But I think he is looking down smiling from above that they have rebooted his show. I hope that we will see many more "episodes" in the future

[oOPonyOo]

I enjoyed the movie and the new characterizations. I thought some of the plot was repetative - Kirk gets choked and beaten up too many times. @ Eric - I too was expecting re-entry coronas. I think that the liquid that Scotty gets stuck in is "Inert Reactant" or something like that - there is a sign stating the contents - and not water. What is with the many warp cores?

Good movie overall and a good introduction to an alternate time-line - an easy way to skirt fan-made dogma.

[badtalent]

Hey have people checked out the fan made Star Trek Phase 2 project?
It is completely made by volunteers re-imagining the Original Series and episode 4 has a plot involving Kirk's gay nephew Peter. It's well worth a look:
http://www.startreknewvoyages.com/