Movie Review: Star Trek

Okay, admittedly, we all groan nowadays when we hear that a remake of a film or series is in the works by the Powers-That-Be in Hollywood.  It gets worse when we hear it’s going be done to what many consider to be a classic that should be untouched, no matter what the reasons might be.  In some cases, though, it does work.  And Star Trek, the long anticipated reworking of the hit sci-fi classic from Lost creator J.J. Abrams, falls into that category.  Especially since the fact that the entire Trek storyline is being reworked from the ground up is part of the plot.

The new film, the eleventh in the series, reunites the crew from the original starship Enterprise — Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Sulu, Scotty, Uhura and Chekov, albeit with different actors — and follows their days at Starfleet Academy and how they all met for the first time, a story that has never really been told in classic lore.  The plot truly kicks in, however, when an attack on Vulcan by a group of time-travelling Romulans, led the vicious Nero (Eric Bana), sends the group and the Enterprise on their maiden voyage to stop them.  At the core, though, is the growth of one James T. Kirk (Chris Pine), from his days as a gifted by rebellious youth to the determined starship captain we all know him to be, along with his friendship with Spock (Zachary Quinto), who himself has his own moments of emotional (no pun intended) growth.

I’m going to say it right now: the new Star Trek kicks ass!  There is very little not to like about this movie, and since it is a reboot, I have to agree that it is something non-Trek fans can enjoy.  And you do have to enjoy the fact that the reboot is part of the plot, and the characters even acknowledge it during the course of the film when the realize that Nero and his followers are from the future and that their very presence alters the course of history, thus creating an alternate timeline.  True, this will probably cause some debate amongst Trek fans as to which is better, but at least one doesn’t have to worry about the original franchise being completely wiped clean just for the sake of doing a reboot.

There are some signs of a reboot, though, even without the appearance of Nero.  The technology in the film is way different that what was seen in the classic series, looking more futuristic though still maintaining some of the “classic” feel.  Even the Enterprise shows some signs of this, sporting a few more slick-looking details to the overall design while still looking basically the same, as do the uniforms.  This is probably a necessity, though, given how “dated” the tech of the old series looks compared today, especially since of a lot of the tech that was introduced on the show is now in use today, and in some cases more advanced than what the late Gene Roddenberry envisioned for the 23rd century.  Look at today’s cell phones, with all their bells and whistles, compared to the original communicators and you’ll see what I mean.

One definitely cannot knock the cast of the film.  One of the biggest difficulties of doing a remake of a classic is the wonder if anyone can do a character that was already well established by a particular actor, let alone an ensamble like the classic Trek crew.  Thankfully, Hollywood did its job and was able to round up a cast that captures the core of the characters while still bringing their own feels to the mix.  Chris Pine brings a level of cockiness to a young Jim Kirk, as seen in the scene of his infamous cheating on the Kobayashi Maru test, while Zachary Quinto, best known for his role as superpowered killer Sylar on Heroes, proves he was the only choice to play Spock after Leonard Nimoy.  And the rest of the group, from Karl Urban as “Bones” McCoy to Simon Pegg as Scotty (wait’ll you see what he was doing before his run on the Enterprise) to the lovely Zoe Saldaña as Nyota Uhura, who officially gets a first name since the character’s initial debut (and has a different relationship with Spock than in the original franchise).  Like with any film, the growth of the characters makes the core of the film, as the events of the plot both changes them as people and establishes their respective roles on the Enterprise after starting out as raw cadets at the start of the film.  And let’s not forget the resident villain, Nero, played by Eric Bana, who helps give the Romulans their proper villain screentime with his desire for revenge against those he feels have wronged him, which may on the same level, if not, dare I say, more so than Kahn.

Remake or no, the new Star Trek is definitely worth all the hype.  This is one you have to see in the theatre, whether you’re a diehard “Trekkie” or someone who enjoys a good summer blockbuster.  Now the debate will begin as to which is now the better Trek film, the new one or Star Trek II: The Wrath of Kahn.

Released by: Paramount Pictures

Starring: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Eric Bana, Karl Urban, Simon Pegg, John Cho, Zoe Saldaña, Anton Yelchin

Directed by: J.J. Abrams

Rating: PG-13

Score: 10 out of 10