It’s now just a few hours since I got to watch the new Star Trek film. And unlike last week, when I went to see Wolverine, I’ve recognised that when I can’t sleep soon afterwards as a direct result, lying in bed tossing and turning is not the answer. Hence I’m up, writing this review in the early hours on my Netbook.

Not many people realise just how much of a Trek film I’ve been in the past, thanks to my more-recent Star Wars conversion. I think I was put off Trek in the end by too many insipid films and tv series that didn’t little more to expand the “franchise”¹. Never-the-less, I can recite Wrath of Khan word-for-word and can turn onto most episodes of Next Generation and identify the episode within a few short seconds.

So what was JJ Abrams, he of Cloverfield, MI:3, Lost and Alias, going to make with a series that most people considered already dead?

Well, he’s been bold². Unbelievably bold.

Ok, let me try and explain. The film, if you didn’t know already, takes us back to a young Kirk, when he first commands the Enterprise, and meets all the other characters in Trek that we know so fondly. The bad guy is a Romulan and, I don’t think I’m giving essential plot details away, he’s from the future. And there’s the device. Or McGuffin, as it’s known. Because this guy, Nero, has changed the past. He changes everything from Kirks upbringing to how he gets his command. Yes, die hard Trekkers, tear up your Encyclopaedia of Trek because this film changes it all. JJ Abrams has envisaged a new version of the Trek universe and has found a plot device to do it. And unlike most films, there isn’t a fantastic time-travelling conclusion that puts everything back to how it was. The Trek universe has changed and it’s staying that way. And doing that needed a lot of balls.

Having said all that, the bad guy wasn’t that exciting – he’s certainly no Khan. As with most “first” films it spent a lot of time setting up all the introductions and allowing you to get to know the characters, so the second film may be better with a lot more time to dedicate to more of an action romp.

Let’s turn to the actors now. Chris Pine was unexpectedly brilliant – he WAS Kirk – and a stand out for me. All the other characters were spot on too. Chekov gives early comic relief, with Scotty providing it later. However, I have to give maximum kudos to Karl Urban as McCoy – simply fantastic.

References to Trek past (or is that future?) came thick and past, with various quotes from Wrath of Khan and even a mention of Captain Archer from Enterprise.  In some cases I think they even overdid the references, almost crowbarring them in every other sentence.

The effects – provided by ILM – were as excellent as you’d expect and the whole thing had the retro feel of the original TV series without looking too 60′s and odd. Sound effects old and new were mixed together and you’ll have to wait until the final credits to hear the original music. But when it does come, it’s a modern mix of the original series music, complete with the singing, set to a cheesy, but somehow still good, credit sequence.

So, conclusions.

It’s a very good film and a fine reboot to bet things restarted again. With a bit more action and a finer script next time around, it could seriously threaten Wrath of Khan as the best Trek film. But not quite yet.

I was worried what JJ Abrams would do with Star Trek, but I shouldn’t have worried. He’s brought it into the 21st Century with humour, action and a touch of very classy retro.

Oh, and before I forget – there’s no extra scenes during or at the end of the titles! So no need to sit in the cinema until the bitter end if you don’t want to. I do that for you

1. an expression often used and just goes to show that they think of Star Trek more as a money making exercise than anything else [↩]
2. no “boldly gone” jokes, please [↩]

I wasn’t expecting a great deal from this film, especially after the mediocre review from Empire Magazine, but I have to admit to being pleasantly surprised. That’s not to say it was a great film – it certainly had its flaws.

As you’d expect from the title this film is all about Wolverine – why he is who is he, how he got to where he was in the first X-Men film, etc. A lot of the most interesting stuff – him and his equally indestructible brother fighting together through 4 wars (American Civil War, Two World Wars, Vietnam) is glossed over through the opening credits. His brother, who we know as Sabretooth, then turns bad. We don’t know why, after all this time and it’s not really explored. This puts a rift between the 2 brothers.

Obviously the X-Men, as we know them, haven’t been formed by this point, but there are lots of other “mutants” with abilities, with many of them being pretty exceptional. Agent Zero (AKA Maverick), for instance, with his gun skills is particularly good. And Gambit… well, it’s a been long time coming and it was great to see him. He, seriously, needs a film of his own.

Cyclops also makes an appearance as his younger self but he never meets (that he’s aware of) Wolverine, so that remains consistent with the earlier films. In fact, it’s consistency with those films was my main concern about this film – how would they do it? Or, rather, would they not? Well, from what I could tell, they kept the consistency and they flowed together nicely. Obviously, Sabretooth is in the first X-Men film and why Wolverine doesn’t recognise his brother is covered. Sadly, why Sabretooth doesn’t recognise Logan isn’t, although there’s blatantly a number of years between the end of this film and the start of the first X-Men film.

One tip – wait until the end of the credits. Yes, there’s an extra scene part way through the credits but there’s another right at the very end. Sadly, depending on the cinema, one of two possible scenes is shown – one is better than the other. If the one you see involves a bar then make sure you read Wikipedia on the other scene.

Still, it had it’s flaws – there wasn’t much of a plot and it seemed to just jerk from one set piece to another. And if you hadn’t seen past X-Men films you’d probably have been confused to hell about some of the storyline elements.

But, not as bad as I was expecting. Roll on Star Trek next week!

The Nintendo DSi arrived! Yes, I know it came out on Friday but, in no rush, I ordered it from Amazon (who had it had the cheapest price that I could find) with free P&P. So, I was actually quite surprised to get it today.

The box is unremarkable, but quite small. Inside is what you’d expect if you’ve previously had a Nintendo DS – the console itself, a charger, a spare stylus and some manuals. Cases, memory card, etc, will need to be purchased separately.

I ordered the black DSi which, unlike the DS equivalent, is in matt which prevents it from becoming a finger-print magnet. It does feel lighter and thinner than the original although the larger screens are also immediately obvious. None-the-less, all the buttons fall under your fingers in the way you’d expect. The DSi has a camera on the front of the case and inside. These work well and the images are better than I was expecting, considering their low resolution.

The indicator lights have changed colour and have been moved to a better position, the volume control is a rocker switch and the power button is near the bottom screen and is a push button. The speakers are big obvious holes either side of the tip screen and, of course, the bulky Gameboy Advance slot on the bottom has gone and has been replaced, on the side, with an SD card slot. No, sorry, SDHC.

When turned on it goes through a number of configuration screens – Name, Date, Time, etc. Like the Wii you can also set up some level of parental control. The screens have changed somewhat from the DS, with a black look and the fonts now appear anti-aliased. However, I do find the font display a little odd – maybe the anti-aliasing just doesn’t work on the small DSi screen. However, it has given it all a more modern feel and when the DSi occasionally returns to the old style screens (e.g. when using Download Play) the difference is quite obvious. It makes the whole thing feel more “grown up”, in preference to the “graph paper” style background of the DS.

Anyway, there is now a “proper” menu and you can return to it at anytime by pressing the power button (to power off you have to hold it down) – this also enables you to “hot swap” games by simply returning to the menu from one game, and swapping over the game cartridge. From the menu you can choose various areas to go into, including Camera, Sound, Download Play, Pictochat, System Settings and the DSi shop. The latter is like the Wii Shop in that you can buy points to use to download  games, etc. There appeared to be one obvious omission from the menu but, as I guessed would be the case, it was a free download from the DSi Shop – an internet browser.

The old Wii points system has been renamed to Nintendo points so you can share the points between Wii Shop and DSi Shop. To start you off Nintendo give you a bonus 1000 points – I immediately used 500 on WarioWare: Snapped! This then appears on your menu in the shape of a wrapped present. Select it for the first time and it unwraps, revealing the game (or application).

Speaking of the internet, the Wi-fi now support WPA encryption but, it would appear, that DS games plugged into the console do not. Hmmm. I guess this means my network is going to have to stay on WEP for some time.

The battery is smaller which means the battery life suffers as a result. However, my daughter could have her DS running for days without needing a recharge so a short cropping in this for the sake of lightness doesn’t sound too bad. If the battery life is noticeably shorter, I’m sure to report back.

Another thing I’ve noticed is that the bottom touch-screen appears to be more flexible than the one on the DS Lite. Considering I had to return the DS Lite for a replacement screen about 13 months after purchase, maybe this is part of an improvement.

Before packing it away for Christmas (or whenever¹) I tested a couple of games on it. Unfortunately I was left with Zoo Keeper and Brain Training² but they worked well with no obvious issues. Zoo Keeper, in particular, was a revelation – the graphics were incredibly clear and vidid and sound was loud and clear. Certainly the screen and sound is much improved.

So I popped it in 4GB SDHC card, after first copying on a music album (which has to be in AAC format). The music player is excellent, even allowing you to play along with the music. The music through headphones is superb, and better than a lot of dedicated MP3 players.

And there you are – the Nintendo DSi. An improvement to the original DS in pretty much most ways. I’m sure my daughter will love it when she finally gets her mits on it (grubby mits too… hence buying the black version!). Although I’m pretty tempted myself…

1. SATs results are due around the same time as my daughter’s birthday, so I suspect it may be sooner [↩]
2. all my daughter would part with [↩]