Alex Kurtzman

Despite all my expectations to the contrary, I enjoyed the recent Star Trek film immensely, so when a friend and coworker recommended this prequel graphic-novel, and offered to lend me his copy, I jumped at the chance! How glad I am that I did, even if reading Star Trek: Countdown cost me my dinner. Yes, I was so engrossed in my reading yesterday evening, that I left my grocery bag behind me, when switching subways! Still, it could always be worse, no? I mean, a demented Romulan could be show more intent on destroying my home planet...

Consisting of four comic-book length entries, each of which sets out a chapter of the history between Spock and Captain Nero, this Star Trek prequel is set a few decades after the events of Star Trek: Nemesis. Which sounds impossible of course, given that the new film occurs in the 23rd century, and the events of Nemesis occur in the 24th. Then again, it is Star Trek, so time travel and alternate realities are practically de rigueur!

If you watched the film and wondered: Why do the Romulans have tattoos that make them look more like Remans? Why does Nero blame Spock personally for the destruction of all he loves? How does a "simple" mining vessel gain such advanced weaponry? Then you should probably locate a copy of this book. More to the point, if you want to gain a better insight into the character of Nero, then this is for you. Nothing could make his epic quest for vengeance anything but insanely irrational, but Star Trek: Countdown does give it true pathos. As such, it can only deepen the fan's appreciation of the film - and of Star Trek! show less

Have to admit I cringed at the title--is it just me or is every SF franchise on the planet going "Dark" in the sequel? That said, I found this even better than the first one. Familiar characters continue to develop in familiar and unfamiliar ways, and the twists and turns in the "Wrath of Khan" timeline are simply brilliant, particularly the reversal of Kirk and Spock's roles near the end. Not much about this that isn't first rate, with the exception of Carol Marcus disrobing in front of a show more commanding officer she's just met--and as a living breathing male of the species, it would be pretty insincere of me to complain about that. Can't wait to see what happens next. show less

As a fan of the original series when I was in High School, I wasn't sure I even wanted to like this, but was won over right off the bat. The entire franchise makes rather too much use of time travel, but here it's a master stroke--two events happen in the film that are drastically different than the original Star Trek timeline, and they alter everything, including the way classic characters behave. Thus we have the familiar characters and Trek universe developing and unfolding in both show more familiar and unfamiliar ways. There are plenty of bits to cheer old fans, such as when McCoy says his ex-wife took everything but his "Bones," or the first time he utters, "Are you out of your Vulcan mind?" And the scene where Enterprise comes roaring in on the attack is awesome because we've never really seen the likes of it in Star Trek. Beautifully cast, well written and acted, and J.J. Abrams affection for the whole thing is apparent. The fact that he's now working on Star Wars is a cause for celebration among fans everywhere. show less

A time-traveling Romulan has a vendetta against Spock.

Fun and fast paced. There’s some nice comic relief, and loads of geek-pleasing moments. The action scenes are a mess. The plot isn’t very interesting, mostly just getting the characters re-introduced – which is fun for a fan, since it’s extremely well cast (especially Karl Urban’s Bones) and the characters and dialog are well-written – but there’s still not much plot. It’s not a science fiction movie, and it’s not a show more submarine movie like previous good action versions of Star Trek have been. In place of those elements, there’s standard loud, fast-moving-camera, dumb action. They’ve got the characters down right; now they just need to put them in a movie.

Concept: A
Story: F
Characters: A
Dialog: A
Pacing: A
Cinematography: F
Special effects/design: C
Acting: B
Music: A

Enjoyment: B

GPA: 2.8/4 show less