This looks like the recent attempt to re-do the classic 1960 film "The Time Machine." The 1960 original had top-rate actors, Wells' greaty story, imaginative F/X, and holds-up very well despite a small budget. The 2004 remake is huge, loud, a departure from the Wells novel, had a big budget, and is a loser that disappeared after six weeks at the box office.
Hollywood's attempt to remake iconic stories has failed 95% of the time. The new Trek contunues the trend. It is clearly a Dress Up movie: young actors (kids) playing grown-up with newer toys. The original Trek actors were stage trained and had the deep baritone voices from that training. The trailers for the new Trek show, well, basically, kids, dressed-up as Kirk, Spock, et al, backed by ILM's eye-popping but ultimately empty F/X. They have sharp, alto voices and have clearly been TV-only actors. The Trailers show the film to be the 98th remake of the same story. This presents a problem for whomever sees it. Kids watching will go for the F/X. Older folks (like me) cannot help but compare it to what has come before: good stories that relied primarily upon experienced actors and writers to hold the audience. Frankly, watching the trailers is, for me, uncompelling. I laughed at Quinto acting as Spock, frankly. Nimoy is a one-of in that role, which he played with a twinkle and from a background of years of theater. Quinto comes across as a kid auditioning for a high school production of Star Trek. The kid playing Kirk is the bratty kid you knew in junior high who always bullied the weaker kids. Some role rewrite. Sorry.
Abrams has been a greatly successful director and producer, but this film is clearly about noise and F/X, not story. Abrams has reinvented Kirk to be a dangerous misfit who is sent packing to Star Fleet before he does any more damage. This is the reverse of the original role, a man of intense but controlled feelings who felt duty and honor were the highest callings.
This movie will open big and then vanish.
Right on with the assessment. Hollywood can’t shed it’s appetite for computer generated F/X. They lost the recipe when it comes to dialogue and plot...