The man who made a career of reviving the science fiction genre on TV does
the same for Star Trek, some thirty years after the release of Star Trek: The Motion Picture.
JJ Abrams, the creative force behind two of my favorite series,
LOST and Fringe, works his magic
on the late Gene Roddenberry's universe, and not only did he and his crew ‘got it’ but
they hit the nail on the head, or the antimatter beam
on the positron head, whatever the case may be. Eric Bana plays Nero, a Romulan
from over one hundred years in the future who’s hunting the elderly Ambassador
Spock (Leonard Nimoy), who also soon winds up in this retro timeline.
While this epic battle across time and space is waging, young Jim Kirk has grown
up on earth fatherless, thanks to Nero and his monstrous starship, who attacked
the elder Kirk’s vessel, the U.S.S. Kelvin, the very day little Jimmy was born (in
a gripping, extremely well-done opening scene that pulls the viewer right into the story).
Jim’s dad went down with the ship in an effort to save his wife, son and the
rest of the Kelvin crew--a fact that Captain Pike (the always superb Bruce Greenwood) reminds Jim of when they meet in a bar some 25 years later.
"I dare you to do better," Pike tells Kirk. This compels Kirk to enlist in
Starfleet academy. When Nero returns to threaten the planet Vulcan several years
later, Starfleet
assembles an armada of its best ships, including the brand new U.S.S.
Enterprise, to help them out.
Ah, but the present day fleet is no match for Nero’s advanced tech, and Kirk and
Spock--along with the rest of the young crew--find themselves in for a wild ride,
right along with the viewer. JJ Abrams has wisely infused Star Trek with a
vitality that it’s been lacking for quite some time, now. He's given us a more
fast-paced, visually stylish adventure that still takes time to let the audience get to know the iconic characters. Chris Pine
is perfectly cast as the young, brash James T. Kirk. Zachary Quinto, Sylar from
Heroes, is also a great choice for the young Spock. Simon Peg has the film’s best line ("I like this ship!") in the film as a more funny, off-the-wall Scotty, but it’s Carl Urban’s Dr. McCoy that is really the film’s best performance.
Not only does he look the part, but Urban even manages to channel the late,
great DeForest Kelly in such a way that it makes you feel like you are watching
Dr. McCoy himself. He’s simply marvelous, here. If only all aspects of the film
were as good as its cast. For one thing, try not to think too hard about the script, while
you’re at it. There are plot holes wide enough for a stampeding herd of tribbles
to flow through. Such as when Kirk and Scotty secretly beam aboard the Enterprise,
they run away from security officers who give chase. Why? Just before, old Spock told young Kirk
that he must confront his younger self and assume command of the Enterprise. So wouldn't
it make sense for Kirk to just give himself up, knowing that he would be brought before Spock, anyway? But
then, we'd be denied an aimless chase through the brewery that passes for the engineering deck.
But the reason I’m not riding Abrams too hard with this is...well, frankly, the
previous Trek films had their fair share of plot holes, and some of those flicks
were much worse as movies. The lesser Trek films in the past lacked the
invigorating sense of fun that Abram’s flick has, along with the great sense of
camaraderie that he’s created between Kirk and company. If you’re a die-hard Trek
fan who has avoided this film because you consider it to be blasphemy, just give
it a shot. You might be surprised at how enjoyable it is (and if you still hate
it, you’ve still got several hundred hours of Trek to watch on DVD/Blu-Ray--so
either way, you can’t lose). Now that the new Star Trek is a hit, here’s hoping
the cheapskates at Paramount will spring for a decent new engineering set for
Scotty to inhabit in the sequel.
--SF
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