‘Star Trek’ on the red carpet

Last night, we went to the Auckland premier of “Star Trek”, which opens in New Zealand on May 7. We got to walk along a red carpet to the cinemas, with a lot of security and frequent checks of our invitations. Nigel waited out front to see the stars arrive, but I stayed in my seat.

There were goody bags waiting on the seats, and before the film started, four of the film’s stars came in to say a few words to the audience: Chris Pine (Kirk), Zach Quinto (Spock), Karl Ubran (Dr. McCoy) and John Cho (Sulu).

After a few minutes in the cinema, and after saying a few words, they left shaking people’s hands along the way. Nigel and I shook the hands of Zach Quinto and John Cho, both of whom seemed very nice (and Zach was nothing like Sylar). They were all attractive in real life (which isn’t always the case with film actors), especially Chris Pine who (let’s be honest…) was pretty hot.

As for the film, I won’t give an in depth review, but I will say this: This film will be enjoyed by both “Star Trek” fans and people who’ve never cared for the previous versions. It’s pretty much non-stop action, cramming a lot in.

Fans will see appropriate references—even homage—to the original series that non-fans may not even notice: No one needs to know anything about “Star Trek” to enjoy the film. In a way, it’s kind of a breakthrough “Star Trek” film.

I highly recommend it, and we’ll go back to see it when it opens next month.

I tried to take photos of the stars in the cinema, but my camera couldn’t focus. Afterward, I had to check my camera (at the insistence of a burly, gruff security guy). During the film, I saw him wandering around with a night vision scope looking for people with cameras. The cameras were returned at the end of the film.