Dammit man, I'm a doctor, not a physicist!

So we went to see Star Trek last night, and I have to admit that even at my extreme nerd level, I felt really nerdy going to see this movie. I mean, growing up my dad used to make me watch it on TV and all I remember about it was that (1) I hated it, and (2) that my dad couldn't do the "live long and prosper" hand signal. Which I would be embarrassed about knowing how to do myself, except everyone knows that bit of Star Trek trivia.

I was also nervous going to see a Star Trek movie because I really didn't want to run into any people dressed up as Spock, or Captain Kirk, or any of the other notable characters. It's bad enough seeing kids dress up like Harry Potter at the HP movies, but I think Harry Potter is super cool (have you seen the trailer for the newest movie?) so I don't mind it THAT badly. Star Wars is borderline nerdy, but I was forced to love it by my dad and brothers and don't really blame people for dressing up like Chewbacca. I mean, who DOESN'T want to be Chewy. Star Trek is just a little different though. I think even Trekkies admit that they reside at the upper echelon of nerdiness, so the possibility of seeing them in full form was a little frightening for me. But really, who am I kidding. I'm married to an engineer/law student and I'm getting my PhD in biochemistry. That probably puts me at the same tier as Trekkies.

That being said, this was a really, really entertaining movie. They plugged a lot of the cliched lines, but not in the same way Harrison Ford did it in Indiana Jones (i.e. cheeseball), they integrated it really well and the only reason I caught the lines most times was because the people next to me were chuckling (clearly they were former Trekkies).

The action sequences didn't give me a headache, and I could follow what was going on. One of my biggest pet peeves about action movies is that the crazy scenes are just too crazy and then they're over, and I have no idea who made it out alive, who was hurt, who defeated whom, etc. The opening scene of the movie was actually really beautiful (I feel cheesy using that word, but it's what came to mind). There are parts that are fast, but then they slow it down a bit, and they keep transitioning between Cptn. Kirk Sr. committing to his death and his wife giving birth to his son. Scenes like that, where there's something crazy going on while something that is essentially the exact opposite is happening (in this case starting one life and ending another life) always reminds me of the Godfather part I where Michael stands as Connie's baby's Godfather while his men are obliterating Michael's enemies. I actually usually get annoyed by it, because it's become a staple for mafia/drama movies, but I really liked it here.

Despite the awesome special effects and the really well cast characters (I really enjoyed old Spock showing up!), the plot was a little confusing to follow. Time travel and things tend to frustrate/confuse me, because I have ideas on how it should work and other people think differently, and it always depends on the movie. I'm not a physicist though, so I really can't argue with it as long as I enjoyed the movie.

(Star Trek total: 8.6/10)