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Star Trek

May 13th, 2009 - 10:09pm // Reviews, Reviews - Flicks

A reporter once interviewed Gene Roddenberry (the creater of Star Trek) when Star Trek: The Next Generation first premiered and remarked on his choice of the patently-hairless Patrick Stewart for the role of Picard: “Look, it doesn’t make any sense. You’ve got a bald actor playing this part. ” In reply, Roddenberry supposedly quipped: “In the 24th century, no one will care.”

I like this quote particularly because I believe it epitomizes the very essence of the Star Trek series; from its inception in the mid-60s, to the numerous syndicated spin-offs, and the Hollywood productions which now number in the double digits. The Star Trek universe is all about the pursuit of (mostly) pacifistic diplomacy and the promulgation of brotherhood amongst the many, often war-faring, species scattered throughout the galaxy. At least, that’s what Roddenberry originally shaped it to be; and continued moulding until his untimely death in the early 90’s. Flash-forward to 2009 and we’re suddenly faced with a reboot of this beloved series that possesses one of the most rabid fan-bases on the planet. Tasked with crafting a ‘darker reimagining’, the question remains: does director J.J Abrams (Lost, Fringe, Cloverfield) fail to capture the lightning-in-a-bottle panache that its predecessors possessed? Or does Abrams, despite the odds, manage to set phasers to FUN?

Let me start off by saying that this is not a movie that was crafted for Trekkers. Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman did not pen a script meant to fit snugly into the precedent canon laid in the previous syndicated TV series and movies. Abrams has given the proverbial reboot to a series still entrenched in the Roddenberry Cold War mentality and, in the process, has breathed new life into it. And while hardcore nerds may find plenty of minor tidbits to quibble over, the new Star Trek manages to remain accessible on a much wider scale than its predecessors and, above all, it is damn good.

The movie begins in the year 2233 with the starship USS Kelvin investigating a strange lightning storm that occurs on the fringes of charted space. Upon arriving, the crew of the Kelvin is waylaid by a large craft that emerges from the depths of the storm. After a brief encounter, Nero (Eric Bana), master of the strange craft, launches a full-blown assault on the Kelvin and it’s only the heroics of the ship’s first officer that allows the rest of crew to shuttle off to safety. This officer just happens to be George Kirk (Chris Hemsworth), whose wife and newborn son, James, get to watch him flame up in a ball of super-heated plasma. Fast forward several years and a rebellious, angsty James Kirk (Chris Pine) finds himself living on the wrong side of the tracks in a dead-end town in Iowa and is eventually convinced to enlist in Starfleet to follow in the foot-steps of his martyred father. From here, Abrams introduces the entire crew of the USS Enterprise from the original series, in one form or another: Spock, Uhura, Leonard “Bones” McCoy, Scottie, Chekhov, and Sulu – all (with the exception of Scottie and grizzled McCoy) are fresh-faced Starfleet recruits, eager to test themselves on their first flight. This opportunity conveniently arrives when a distress signal is received from the planet Vulcan and a flotilla of starships are sent to investigate. From here, Kirk must lock horns with Nero and eventually figure out how to stop him from destroying Earth with a black hole spawned from a substance known as red matter.

I believe casting is where Star Trek truly shines. Chris Pine is superb as the brash, often head-strong Kirk and Zachary Quinto equally so as the stoic logician, Spock. Similarly, Karl Urban has perfected the distinct drawl and twang to McCoy’s speech pattern and it wasn’t until well after the movie finished that I recognized him as the Russian assassin from the Bourne Supremacy. Personally, my biased favourite of the bunch is Simon Pegg as the affable Scottie. If you enjoyed him in Shaun of the Dead or Hot Fuzz, then you’ll love him here.

In my opinion, Abrams‘ reimagining of Star Trek is an unadulterated success. Instead of rehashing the same old issues in the same old trappings with a new cast, Abrams took something ingrained into our very culture and managed to put his mark on it. Star Trek is a flat-out excellent summer movie with enough action, drama, and futuristic technology to keep just about everyone interested and involved from start to end. I can’t recommend it enough.