The date is May 6th 2009... I finally convince someone to go to see Star Trek with me (I really, really need to expand my Trekkie social circle...), and book two center seat tickets to the midnight showing of the new Star Trek film at the BFI London IMAX, the largest cinema in the UK.
The hours count down... I get more and more geeky as time goes by, my poor father having to endure hours of lectures on errors in continuity in Star Trek: Enterprise, who my favourite captain is and why, how annoyed I was about Star Trek: Nemesis, why some "reimaginings" have worked and other haven't" , and which is better: Star Trek or Star Wars...
 I try on my uniform (last seen modelled by me at Memorabelia two years ago, photographed to the left), after six months of toning up, and as much as it does in fact fit me now (hurrah!), I decide that not even I have the guts to walk into the den of fourty-something Trekkies at midnight wearing a dress that barely conceals my behind, so I decide to go down the route of the Pilot episode, The Cage* (which, incidentally, is my all-time favourite episode of Star Trek anyway), and wear the dress as though it were a shirt, tucked into smart trousers, with boots, because in the Pilot episode the women wore trousers, not the tiniest skirts known to man**. Of course, they also all had ludicrously silly looking necks on the afforementioned shirts, but never mind.
 More hours go by, and now I am racing to get to the showing nice and early, only to find that my company is going to be late... so I have time to take in the sights and sounds of the cinema lobby, which features a grand total of - and this surprised me a great deal because I was expecting a lot more - four people in costume, not including myself. Two men, one brave enough to wear red, the other posing as a medical officer, and two lovely ladies who were certainly braver than I, as neither could walk more than a few inches without being stopped by avid "can I pose with you please?" fans, Bless them. I did feel a little guilty, though, for mentally giggling at the fact that one of them was wearing the Ann Summers rendition of the Starfleet uniform, which is by no means accurate... Still, I must say that that takes even more guts than an accurate costume, because the whole point of an Ann Summers costume is that it screams sex appeal (look right for the official modeled snapshot)! Thankfully I can say that I was, for once, not the center of all attention, although I did hear a few gents whispering in the que, looking at me inquisitively, saying "is that Cher?", which leads me to wonder... Can I go anywhere geeky these days at all without being recognised?
It should be noted that a majority of the crowd were far from stereotypical, however. Admittedly the females were few and far between, but the men were mostly twenty-somethings, and there were no glasses wearing, overweight Trekkies in uniform holding communications equipment who look like real life personifications of Comic Book Guy from The Simpsons in sight, so it looks like there is hope for Star Trek yet, since after all, we are probably one of the most mocked of all sections of fandom... They really all just seemed like nice, normal folk.
Anyway, as time goes by and the screen is opened up, my friend finally arrives, we collect our tickets, and we head on upstairs. Much to my amusement, I did attempt to start a geeky conversation with the man, only to find that his best answer for any question regarding Star Trek, or any other subject matter was "just 'cause" or something to within that regard, which led me to the conclusion that midnight does not bode well for his geeky mind... Still, I did find myself conversing with other, less tired, more enthused fans, as I myself am of course quite the night owl, and I felt right at home, as though I were at any convention. This was my first midnight showing that I have ever had the pleasure to attend, and it was going wonderfully.
I buy my friend and I some popcorn and drink, with a tub of Strawberry Icecream just for me (well, if I am going to eat junk food for once, I may as well enjoy it to the fullest!), and although there was the initial concern of their not being a cash point anywhere near the cinema, and most of their machines not accepting Visa, after trying it, my transfer was successful... Phew!
Moving into the cinema, shuffling with the other fans, we found our seats quickly, and I must say... What a view! I got us tickets at the center front, which I was sceptical about because I prefer to be center back, or center to, er... the center... But I must say that the view was "impressive... Most impressive..."*** There was more geeky chatter, applause from the crowd as soon as the lights dimmed, and once the film had started, I knew that I was in the right place, and judging from the mind-blowing special effects on that big a screen, with breathtaking surround sound that you literally cannot get anywhere else in the UK? I knew it was worth the extra few pounds for "The IMAX Experience". It may not have been in 3D (although admittedly, the shear thought of that wows me!) but it was still outstanding...
Admittedly I was skeptical, as any Trekkie is bound to be after the disappointments abound in Star Trek: Nemesis and Star Trek: Enterprise, and I found myself tutting at issues in continuity, I kept my mind open and ate the popcorn like a good cinema goer, and it was quickly explained - and indeed justified by - the fact that time travel was involved, and I did indeed need to shove my knowledge out the window, because, as the trailers all say... "Forget everything you know"...
Time has been altered, and although the big geek in me will complain and argue about how time travel works, or does not work, I decided to accept the alternative universe theory laid before me, and I must say that I am rather glad of it, because if they had tried to "reimagine" the franchise without it? For one, I probably would have been bored, because it would be a case of "been there, done that", "I knew that already", and two, it just would not have worked, because it would only have appealed to fans. This, however, I found to be a downright decent film, one of the best that I have had the pleasure to see in a very, very long time, and I can see absolutely everyone loving it. The characters are basically the same - Spok with his logic, Kirk his rebelious nature, Bones his hatred of space travel, etc, etc, etc - but the altered timeline has given them a certain level of freshness, and I find myself perhaps even liking them more this way than I did before, which as a stedfast fan who literally watched The Original Series every day, I never thought possible!
 Although I cannot speak for Scotty, as I had to disappear for five minutes to use the loo (much to my annoyance), the introductions for each character were really quite brilliant. I found myself mentally bouncing and applauding - especially when, a few minutes into the film, I hear the name Pike uttered, because as I mentioned before, The Cage is my favourite episode of Star Trek, which featured the original-original captain of Star Trek... Pike! I had to ask my friend to confirm what I had heard, because I did not believe it to be true! What a fantastic treat for me, and indeed other fans like me. It was not just a cameo appearance, either. Christopher Pike finally got to play a real part in Star Trek history - or rather the new Star Trek history, as the case may be. There were many other geeky treats, too, but I shall let you spot those yourself...
It is not all brilliant, though. I know from watching many, many other science fiction films that it is a difficult genre to direct, and they did not do a terrible job, but I must say... have these people even heard of Tripods, because I found myself feeling slightly sea sick in several scenes because the camera movement was so eratic. I can understand that in fast-paced action scenes the camera will move around a little, and although it is a pet-hate of mine, I put up with it nonetheless, but in a scene where two characters are sitting down having a quiet conversation, I expect a steady camera, no exceptions. Perhaps the director wanted to add a little something to the film, giving it that rough, Firefly-eque feel, but to be honest it really didn't work. Perhaps on a smaller screen, sitting further back I would notice it less, but the way the camera was moving, I still think that it would annoy me all the same.
Another note of annoyance was Anton Yelchin's depiction of Checov. Although he is himself Russian, his accent was over the top and it seemed forced, in all honesty. It was as though he was trying too hard to be like the original actor, unlike the rest of the cast for the new film, who although did take pages from the other actor's books, decided to breathe new life into their characters. Initially is was like he was trying to copy Wlater Koenig, but got lost somewhere along the way because he sounded like William Shatner doing a bad Russian impression instead, with all those long, dramatic gaps inbetween words... I did find, however, that towards the end of the film, his accent was toned down a great deal, and he seemed far more natural in his role. You really could tell what the first scenes that he filmed were, but kudos to him for improving and eventually taking to the role.
The other actors I had no problem with. Seeing the cast all together in their uniforms was an absolute treat. The trailers and television spots left me sceptical, I must say, but the film itself had me swollowing my geeky pride and my words of critique, because they were all utterly superb. They had a great script to work with, but without talented actors to pull it off, it would have fallen flat on its face, and I am so glad that it did not. A special mention has to be made for Karl Urban, though, because he managed to look and sound and act just like the late and very talented Mr Kelley, just enough for the fans, but not too much either. He had just the right balance, and his dipiction had the crowd smiling all the way. Other fine contributions to the cast were Bruce Banner (the baddy), Sylar (Spok), Harold from Harold & Kumar fame (Sulu), and Dracula's lady friend (Spok's mum)... What an odd, geeky onsombre!
That is enough geeky rambling from me, though. I shall not spoil the film for you, I shall end now by saying that the script is fresh and original, the characters are new and improved, the special effects are, as is to be expected, quite awesome, and overal it is a film that I really feel can appeal to both fans of the original, and newcomers alike. I quote my Twitter, now, when I say "STAR TREK WAS SMEG FRAKKING TASTIC!!!"
Go and see it. 'Nuff said.
*For the record, I did not even have to Wiki that...
**It should also be noted that they wore these uniforms in the second "Pilot", Where No Man Has Gone Before, before they switched to dresses for The Corbomite Maneuver.
***Star Trek fans, please do not kill me for quoting Star Wars in a Star Trek review. I know, I know... It should probably be considered blasthemus, but I am a fan of both, and proud of it.
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