I don’t pretend that my humble opinion on certain movies in release will have any influence over anyone. Sometimes a movie comes along with such a built in audience, they are, in fact, critic proof. Yet, here I am writing about the first new Star Trek with Capt. Kirk and company in nearly 20 years. I was only 13 when the last film came out. Even then, I remember being very annoyed and disappointed by that particular film. A peace treaty with the Klingons??? Where’s the fun in that? Yes…I have enjoyed a fair bit of Star Trek in my life…though I am by no stretch a Trekker (I believe this is the term the fans prefer at the moment). I am pleased to report that the new movie is not terrible. In fact, if you are a fan of the show and other movies, you will likely be quite pleased with the new film.
Seeing as many of you have already seen the film, I’m going to try and keep this a very short review. There’s not much to say, in any case, that hasn’t been said already. We pick up our story on a starship under heavy attack by a Romulan vessel with advanced weaponry. The outcome is hopeless, and through a series of events, George Kirk is left in charge. As things get progressively worse Kirk must make the ultimate sacrifice to save as many lives as he can…all the while his wife is giving birth to his son in an escape ship. I’m sure the birth of James Tiberious Kirk is sort of a monumental thing for uber-fans, but I found the scene a bit annoying an overplayed by all involved. And all this before the opening titles. We next check in with young Spock on the planet Vulcan, who is half human/half Vulcan, and having a rough go of it as a youth. Then back to Kirk as a youth, and so forth until their individual circumstances lead them both to Starfleet Academy. My biggest problem with this movie is the script, which is at times a breath of fresh air to an old story, and at other times annoying formulaic and clichéd. It’s like the writers just couldn’t trust that people out there would get these character and circumstances without occasionally pandering to them. And when it isn’t pandering it is occasionally making things a bit too complicated with a storyline that feels a bit too much from Donnie Darko. Damn it man…I’m a viewer, not a physicist!
Kirk and Spock have a strong dislike for each other in the beginning, and we can see that much of the movie will be spent showing this odd couple come to terms with the idea that they need each other, and will become the friends that we know and love from the previous stories. The story doesn’t really get interesting until these two characters, played wonderfully by relative newcomers Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto, get into each other’s lives. Their banter is cutting and often quite funny. In fact, the movie is often quite funny and occasionally hilarious which a welcome addition to the old formula is. Spock and Kirk were often cute in their interactions, but hilarious is not a term I would ever apply to the old shows or movies. Anyway, as soon as we are aboard the S.S. Enterprise, Captained by Christopher Pike as we begin its maiden voyage, we meet the crew that we know we will come to love. Uhura, Bones, Chekhov, and Sulu, who turns out to be a total badass with a sword. Meeting all the crew members, and yes eventually Scotty turns up, was the most formulaic part of the script. They are all given proper introductions, and all given their little moments to shine, and I just couldn’t help thinking that this part of the script should have been handled better. As I’ve said, I have some problems with the script, but once the story gets going, it really is quite a good ride…and absolutely beautiful to look at. We truly never have seen Star Trek look this good, and my hat is off to director J.J. Abrams for putting together such a first rate production. Top to bottom, there is very little here that is not pleasing to the eye and the ear, and that goes a long way to making the movie more than the script.
Ultimately, if you know anything about Star Trek, you know how this story will turn out, and the ending feels a bit too Star Wars for me, but I still had a relatively good time getting there. And when we get the voice-over that used to open the TV series near the end credits…I will admit to getting chills. It’s very effective…and in Leonard Nimoy’s voice none the less. He also has a nice cameo here, and is still very effective as Spock. The real stars here, though, are Pine and Quinto who breathe more life into these characters than has existed since The Wrath Of Kahn back in 1982. The new Star Trek film is not perfect, but it is a lot of fun…and you can sort of feel that the next installment may well knock it out of the park. I will be looking forward to that film, and hoping that all involved here will come back for more. Oh, and did I mention Eric Bana is a total bad ass as the romulan captain?
