Let me start off by saying that I am a very casual Star Trek fan. I used to watch the original series in reruns when I was younger and I went to see all six of the original movies in the theaters during their first runs. I am not someone who holds the original series up as anything more than an interesting, if iconic, science fiction television show that spawned a few good movies. I had no interest in any of the TV series or movies that followed 1991’s theatrical release, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. Now that that’s out of the way, let’s get to my thoughts on 2009’s reboot of the series, Star Trek.
I will assume everyone reading this review has some knowledge of the premise of Star Trek. This new movie shows how the original crew came together for the U.S.S. Enterprise’s maiden voyage.
We meet the young James T. Kirk (Chris Pine) as he gets into a barroom brawl in Iowa. We see Spock (Zachary Quinto) complete his Vulcan training and join Starfleet, much to the chagrin of the elders of his home planet. Eventually, we also meet McCoy (Karl Urban), Uhura (Zoe Seldana), Scotty (Simon Pegg), Chekov (Anton Yelchin), and Sulu (John Cho). The crew is assembled through an amusing chain of events stemming from the actions of a renegade Romulan named Nero (Eric Bana).
Using a well-worn Star Trek plot device, time travel plays a large role in propelling the story-line as well as enabling original cast member Leonard Nimoy to appear as a symbolic passing of the torch to the new crew of the Enterprise while simultaneously advising them of how great they’ll be in the future.
For those fans that are worried about this film disgracing the memories of the original series (and characters), fear not. There is definitely a reverence for the characters and the Star Trek universe in general. While other, more nitpicky, fans may be able to find fault with Star Trek‘s adherence (or lack thereof) to the source material, I walked away with the feeling that director J.J. Abrams and writers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman showed quite a bit of respect to those that have come this way before.
Abrams’ direction keeps the performances from wandering into parody. These characters are so ingrained into our culture that it would have been very easy for all involved to simply imitate the original actors or go over-the-top. Chris Pine’s Kirk is pitch perfect as he recalls William Shatner without aping him. Zachary Quinto’s Mr. Spock is everything one could hope the performance to be, with something as simple as a raising of an eyebrow or a smirk meaning so much more to those that know the character’s dual lineage. Karl Urban’s McCoy may not be getting much media coverage but I’d like to call some attention to his solid performance as well.
My only real gripe about Star Trek is that I was a bit confused with its time travel plot and alternate reality underpinnings. Things that I expected to happen did not and I’m not quite sure I understand the details about what actually did occur from a timeline perspective. A second viewing to clear everything up wouldn’t trouble me at all as the rest of Star Trek hits on all cylinders. There’s humor, action, and I’ll admit that I got a little teary-eyed seeing the original Mr. Spock (presumably) one last time.
Star Trek is 2009’s first definite blockbuster film and if it spawns a new film series, I won’t be unhappy about it.
4.5 out of 5.0 stars
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