Star Trek Review

Rated PG-13 (Sci-Fi Action and Violence, and Brief Sexual Content)

Running Time: 2 Hours & 6 Minutes

Cast:

Chris Pine-Captain James T. Kirk

Zachary Quinto-Commander Spock

Karl Urban-Dr. Leonard 'Bones' McCoy

Zoe Saldana-Lieutenant Nyota Uhura

John Cho-Lieutenant Hikaru Sulu

Simon Pegg-Chief Engineer Montgomery 'Scotty' Scott

Anton Yelchin-Ensign Pavel Chekov

Eric Bana-Nero

Bruce Greenwood-Captain Christopher Pike

Winona Ryder-Amanda Grayson

Ben Cross-Ambassador Sarek

Jennifer Morrison-Winona Kirk

Chris Hemsworth-Commander George Kirk

Leonard Nimoy-Future Spock

Directed by J.J. Abrams

Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto  boldly goes where no man has gone before in J.J. Abrams' reboot of "Star Trek."  

Captain’s Log, Stardate 2009.07.05: Today, the much anticipated “Star Trek” has beamed into theaters and your favorite movie reviewer was there at an advance screening! The eleventh film in one of the most iconic science fiction franchises ever, Star Trek, created by Gene Roddenberry in 1966, was deemed by many critics and fans to have worn out its welcome after the disastrous box office take of 2002’s “Star Trek Nemesis,” earning a mere $43 million domestic ($67 million worldwide) and serving as a swan song to “The Next Generation” cast. Making matters worse was the declining viewership of UPN’s “Star Trek Enterprise,” leading to a truncated fourth season, being canceled in May, 2005. Many thought this to be the death knell of Star Trek but a few months later, Paramount Pictures announced that pre-production had begun for the eleventh film and it was to be a prequel that dealt with James Kirk and Spock fresh out of Starfleet Academy. The internet forums were abuzz, with many questioning why another film was being made and whether it was necessary to prolong a dying franchise. After all, “Star Wars” stopped with six films. “Transformers” writers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, with “Lost” producer Damon Lindelof decided that a clean reboot would be unwise but that the new film should acknowledge what came before while also creating an opportunity to write a new set of adventures that was accessible to our generation. J.J. Abrams, creator of “Alias,” “Lost,” and “Fringe” came onboard to lend a helping hand but once he read the script, he remarked, ‘I would be so agonizingly envious of whoever stepped in and directed the movie,’ and accepted Paramount’s offer to direct in February, 2007. So, with “Star Trek” opening in wide release tomorrow, the big question would be whether the movie achieved its goals of pleasing us ‘Trekkies’ and creating a new legion of fans. I answer with a resounding YES! “Star Trek” successfully reinvigorates a franchise that was in its death throes and offers an amazing story, a perfect cast and astonishing visual effects that make “Star Wars” looks like a 1950’s film. In short, the film is a masterpiece of the best of what science fiction has to offer and is definitely a must-see summer film, whether you’re a hardcore or casual fan or just completely new to the franchise!

SOME SPOILERS FOLLOW! The film doesn’t waste any time, opening with a brutal space battle between the Federation starship USS Kelvin and a massive, heavily-armed Romulan vessel, the Narada, which emerges from a black hole. Led by the Romulan rogue Nero (Eric Bana), he demands the surrender of the Kelvin’s captain in an attempt to learn the whereabouts of a certain Ambassador Spock. First officer George Kirk takes command and begins immediate evacuation of the ship as he prevents to hold off the Narada while the survivors escape. His wife, Winona (Jennifer Morrison) gives birth to James T. Kirk onboard a shuttlecraft but his father sacrifices himself by setting the Kelvin on a collision course with the Narada. Twenty two years later, James (Chris Pine) grows to be a young, intelligent adolescent with a reckless streak. While at a bar in Iowa, he meets Nyota Uhura (Zoe Saldaña), a Starfleet cadet studying in the field of communications and alien languages. He is goaded into a fight with a group of bullying cadets and would surely have been beaten to death if it were not for the timely intervention of Captain Christopher Pike (Bruce Greenwood). Pike reminds James of the sacrifice that his father made and urges him to join Starfleet Academy, and with some reluctance, he relents. Along the way the he meets the eccentric Dr. Leonard ‘Bones’ McCoy (Karl Urban), who becomes his closest friend during his three years at the Academy. At the end of the semester, Kirk takes the Kobayashi Maru, an ‘unwinnable test’ designed by half-human, half-Vulcan Spock (Zachary Quinto) but is caught cheating. Before he can be reprimanded, the Academy learns of a distress signal on nearby Vulcan and all the cadets are quickly assigned to their ships. McCoy smuggles Kirk onboard the USS Enterprise, led by Captain Pike and includes Uhura, Spock, Hikaru Sulu (John Cho) and Pavel Chekov (Anton Yelchin). Kirk realizes that the situation is highly similar to the event that caused his father’s death 25 years ago and convinces Pike that they are walking into a trap. When they disengage from warp, the Enterprise finds itself in the midst of a battle involving the Narada, who are in the process of drilling into Vulcan’s core. The crew learns that Nero is from the future and has time-traveled to the past from the black hole to exact his revenge for the destruction of his homeworld, Romulus. Kirk must lead this untested crew against Nero and battle to protect their future, boldly going where no man has gone before!

Trekkies can relax their phasers, as the story in “Star Trek” is an adrenaline rush from start to finish. While it does use the worn concept of time-travel, which has already been explored in “Star Trek First Contact” in great detail, Orci and Kurtzman uses it to acknowledge the previous mythology while allowing future films to tell new, fresh adventures without being burdened by so much back-story. It does an amazing job of re-introducing all of the old characters, taking all of the familiar character traits from the original series but never outright imitating them, instead the actors/actresses provide their own unique perspective that will still be instantly recognizable by fans. One of the primary goals was to make “Star Trek” accessible to people who were unfamiliar or have shunned the franchise, and the way the writers have done it is by stripping away much of the confusing ‘Treknobabble,’ but still letting the dialogue feel distinctly Star Trek. Although the new film is definitely faster and more intense, J.J. Abrams takes the time to inject some emotion too, as we’re treated to a heartbreaking scene where Kirk’s father hears his newborn son crying through the communicator and then mere seconds after sacrifices himself.

While the entire supporting cast is given scenes to shine, the focus of “Star Trek” is always on Kirk and Spock and how they become rivals with differing ideologies to becoming best friends who are inseparable. This is in no small part thanks to the perfect casting and everyone brings their A-game in playing these iconic characters. Chris Pine is often hilarious as young Kirk but he displays a kind of determination that is often at odds with authority yet follows what he knows in his heart is right. He’s cocky and confident but is also the type of person who won’t leave any man behind. The one cast member that really goes above and beyond is Zachary Quinto as Spock and his performance is just perfect. Ever since he was a child, Spock has been an outcast due to his half-human heritage and Abrams even injects a bit of a racism issue when the council at the Vulcan Science Academy is surprised at Spock’s achievements despite his ‘disadvantage.’ You really feel in the inner turmoil that rages on Spock; on one hand he has been taught to think logically by the Vulcans but at times, cannot help but let his emotions takeover. He’s the heart and soul of the film, more so then Kirk, especially with the plot involving Romulans attempting to wipe out his entire race. All the other cast members have great scenes such as John Cho’s Sulu getting down with an old-fashioned sword fight with a group of Romulan grunts, Karl Urban’s Dr. McCoy needlessly poking and jabbing Kirk with injections and Anton Yelchin’s Chekov saving the day using math! There’s also the right amount of humor injected into the film that keeps everything from being too serious yet doesn’t go into cheesy territory. One of them is when McCoy sneaks Kirk aboard the USS Enterprise and as the situation spirals out of control, he gets an allergic reaction to an injection! There’s also a funny moment between Chekov and the voice recognition computer, plus the endless rejections between Kirk and Uhura. When Kirk sees that Uhura loves Spock, he gets this dumbfounded look that echoes just what the audience is thinking! If there was one cast member that didn’t get his due, it would be Eric Bana as the vengeance-hungry Romulan Nero. His character is not on-screen very much and I think the writers should’ve spent some more time with him so we get a better handle of his pain and seeing the loss of his homeworld. Nonetheless, Bana’s performance is fine and he looks particularly badass with all his tattoos!

The visual effects by Industrial Light & Magic are nothing short of breathtaking. All the Federation starships feature incredible detail and you can see every individual phaser on the ship moving. Sometimes it’s a little hard to tell what is going on with the use of ‘shaky cam’ and the extreme close-ups but once the camera is pulled back, prepare for a new definition of space battle that rivals even those of Star Wars! The design of the Narada impressed me the most, with its claw-like design that recalls its initial origins of being a mere mining ship, not a military vessel. The USS Enterprise maintains the basic shape of the original series but is given a much sleeker, modernized look inspired by the Enterprise-E from “Star Trek First Contact.” There’s also a “Cloverfield” reference when Kirk becomes stranded on the ice planet Delta Vega. I can only imagine just how impressive the film would look on IMAX, as I was unable to obtain tickets due to being sold out early. There is one annoying issue and that’s the overuse of lens flare in every scene. Sometimes it creates a blinding effect that might irk some people. The score from Michael Giacchino is also a joy to listen to and he delays using the familiar Star Trek until the end, signifying that the crew has finally come together.

Upon its release, no one could’ve predicted the overwhelming positive response to the film, and “Star Trek” currently stands at a whopping 96% on Rotten Tomatoes and is currently the best-reviewed movie of 2009! For anyone that still thinks Star Trek is silly and that people should ‘get a life,’ just stop, because you really shouldn’t judge until after you’ve seen the film and I have no doubt all of you naysayers will be equally impressed. I am worried about what the opening box office gross will be since the advance screening I was at had relatively few people, with almost half of the theater empty. One fan showed his dedication by coming in wearing a full Starfleet uniform! Hopefully positive word-of-mouth spreads and makes “Star Trek” become a rousing box office success. Consider the irony of this statement when someone asked Roddenberry what would become of Star Trek in the future and he answered that he ‘hoped that someday some bright young thing would come along and do it again, bigger and better than he had ever done it. And he wished them well.’ Too right, mate, too right! Be it hardcore, casual, or just plain new to the franchise, “Star Trek” is an amazing film that will have you on the edge of your seat as you prepare to BOLDLY GO WHERE NO MAN HAS GONE BEFORE!

Final Rating: 5 out of 5

"Space: the final frontier. These are the continuing voyages of the starship Enterprise. Her ongoing mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life-forms and new civilizations, to boldly go where no one has gone before!"