After seeing the new Star Trek movie two more times…

Besides seeing the film a week before the premiere, we went back to see it Thursday night and then Saturday in the IMAX version.

I’ve decided I do like the design of the new Enterprise. I wasn’t sure about the curves on the nacelles, but it ‘s sort of grown on me. One nice thing about state-of-the-art CGI is that you can really make the thing fly – and it has the proportions to do so without looking unbalanced. The 1701-D in Next Generation always looked a little nose-heavy to me.

There are plot holes. Some are resolved if you read “Countdown,” the four-issue comic that is available in one book at Amazon. It’s a prequel to the film, which takes place in the future. Well, it’s Star Trek, so you know what I mean.

WARNING! SPOILERS AHEAD!

The big question is where Nero was for 25 years, from the attack on the USS Kelvin to the events at Vulcan. It’s OK, though, in the scheme of things in the film. After you come home it nags at you a bit.

I’ve read that some people considered the young-Kirk Corvette scene superfluous. I think it helps to show what he was like when he was a kid, with the devil-may-care attitude that needed to be channelled safely and correctly by joining Starfleet. Besides, there are a number of things in the movie that are in the category of “just damn cool,” and that’s one of them.

I find the industrial-building-looking engine room of the Enterprise an odd design choice, even after three viewings. And Bogus asked why the intelligence-gathering people were working in a brewery…the set design there was pretty odd. I think they were trying to save money. Maybe in the next film there will be a refit of the engine room spaces! The bridge, however, is in the “just damn cool” category. But what are those things that look like big joysticks? The HUD viewscreen on the window – a window! – was brilliant!

BIG SPOILERS AHEAD!

The loss of Vulcan changes the dynamic of the races in the Federation dramatically. Vulcans had a profound influence on the direction of the Federation, and if there are only 10,000 Vulcans left, their influence will be much reduced. They are now a displaced race, like many have been in our world throughout history. The most obvious are the Jews or the Palestinians, of course. Since there will be a sequel – it’s already been greenlighted – I hope they explore this dynamic.

We’ve not seen the Klingons yet, nor the Andorians. Or those guys with the pig noses, whatever they were called. I seems to recall in TOS that the Romulans weren’t seen in the flesh for some time. In this timeline that’s obviously not true. The interaction of races will be substantially different.

Anyway, I think it’s a good beginning. I hope Abrams, Kurztman and Orci plan a number of sequels!