Star Trek (2009)
Director: J.J. Abrams
Writer: Robert Orci, Alex Kurtzman
Starring: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Seldana, Karl Urban. John Cho, Anton Yelchin, Simon Pegg, Eric Bana
Language: English
Runtime: 117 Minutes approx.
Age Rating: 12A
Genre: Sci-Fi, Action, Fantasy, Adventure
Reviewed by Ross Miller
Star Trek is undoubtedly one of the most popular series, both in television and in movies. It has spanned 40-odd years, with six TV series and ten movies already made. And that amount of longevity obviously wasn't for nothing; fans of the whole mythology are not simply fans, but practically obsessed with the whole thing. So logic would lead to another incarnation, this time making full use of the money and effects available to bring some of the features of the Star Trek universe (no pun intended) to full spectacle.
And that's exactly what J.J. Abrams has done. He's successfully gauged the balance between honoring the original, with nods here, there, and everywhere, while at the same time making it over for a new age and a new audience. As a non-Star Trek fan (in fact, to be quite honest, I've never really watched any of it before) I didn't have the nostalgic feel for seeing the characters brought to life in new forms and such. But what I did feel was the beginning of a new series, with subsequent installments clearly in mind.
This newest, rebooted incarnation of Star Trek follows a young James T. Kirk (Chris Pine), who enlists in the Starfleet Academy after being convinced by the then captain of the U.S.S. Enterprise. Three years later, Kirk, along with the newly introduced Spock (Zachary Quinto), Uhura (Zoe Seldana), Dr Leonard "Bones" McCoy (Karl Urban), Sulu (John Cho), Chekov (Anton Yelchin), and Scotty (Simon Pegg) face the attacking Romulans, headed by Nero (Eric Bana), who are seeking vengeance for the destruction of their home planet.
If you aren't at all familiar with the whole Star Trek world, then logic would lead you to think that this movie is going to be a hard sell. And I think it is, in principle. But Abrams has done a great job of making this an introduction to a new Star Trek, one which sets up the characters just about perfectly, and gives us, more importantly, a damn entertaining movie.
When it comes to rebooting franchises like this, which had to be done if the series is to have a future (another straight sequel would've been a laughable idea), you can't just have the original fans in mind. Yes, you throw in some nods to things they're fanatical about - a mannerism, a name check, a plot point - but for the most part you have to make it for a new audience who may not be familiar with and perhaps even doesn't care about what has come before. And it's great to see that Abrams, as well as screenwriters Robert Orci and Alex Kurtzman, understands this concept. They've made a Star Trek film for non-Star Trek fans, and they may just spawn new fans with their take on it.
Filmmakers now have the technology available to bring some of those amazing gadgets and technologies in the Star Trek universe to full life. The effects are pretty spectacular here, from the simple view of the Enterprise firing into "warp speed" to the full-on space battles between it and the enemy Romulan ship. With a budget of $150 million you expect something pretty damn spectacular to look at, and Star Trek is most certainly that.
The differences between this incarnation and the previous ones (particularly the original series) continue on through the portrayals of the characters (which are household names even to those who are not fans). With the exception of a wildly miscast Winona Ryder as Spock's mother (why they just didn't get an older actress I don't know), every member of the cast play their parts brilliantly. Pine is charismatic, charming, and enjoyably rebellious as Captain Kirk (an iffy casting choice at first but he proves himself), Seldana is sweet yet tough as Uhura, Cho is a focused and "get the job done" type of guy as Sulu, Yelchin is surprisingly effective as the heavily-accented Chekov, and the same goes for Pegg as Scotty, whose comic relief in the film is wholly welcome. But the highlight of the film is without a doubt Quinto as the new Spock. He plays the role to absolute perfection -- not only does he look the part, even before the make-up effect of the pointy ears and shaped eyebrows, but he nails the mannerisms and the emotionally distant nature that the character needs to have. His role as Sylar on the TV show Heroes leads you to think that he would be typecast as that type of villainous character, but he proves with his portrayal of Spock that he is anything but prime for that sort of typecasting.
A very important thing in a film like this is a great villain. Bana is the one to fill that spot here, and he's one of the film's highlights along with Quinto. Similar to Cillian Murphy as The Scarecrow in Batman Begins, Bana's Romulan Nero is prominent and effective enough but at the same time he doesn't take the limelight away from other things, particularly the characters aboard the Enterprise. Bana is almost unrecognisable in the Romulan get-up, which is all the more important for us to invest ourselves in him as the character instead of the just seeing the actor. He's not going to be remembered as one of the all-time cinematic villains, but he's effective and then some.
Perhaps because of the emphasis on the characters and the whole mythology of Star Trek, Abrams slips up a few times when it comes to the action, particularly the hand-to-hand combat stuff. The fighting is still great, and the special effects cover up a lot of this kind of thing, but there are moments when the camera is zoomed in too closely to what's going on, thus you can't see exactly who's hitting who and so forth. It's an irritating trend in modern action movies; however there's not nearly enough of it in here for it to be considered one of the worst perpetrators of this cinematic crime.
The developing friendship between Kirk and Spock is very much included here, embraced even, with it being a pivotal point to the story. Even to someone who's not a Trekkie (you'd have to have been living under a rock for the past 40 years not to know that refers to fans of Star Trek), the friendship between those two characters is well known. Not giving anything away, but there's an extended cameo appearance from a certain character that sets up the friendship that's inevitably to come between Kirk and Spock, and it's one of the things which gives it that bit more weight than a lot of other films of similar type. That has to be appreciated.
Above all, Star Trek is simply an entertaining motion picture. There is a lot in there to sink your teeth into as far as getting to know the new incarnations of these characters and the various mythology features (such as the eye-popping transportation technique, shown in a similar style as you would see in old cartoons when a character has just been knocked on the head), but for those not interested in all that, it's prime for just sitting back and relaxing with a fun movie for a couple of hours. With a few cheesy moments aside, and some faults with the action camera-work, Star Trek is a solid piece of sci-fi, one that sets up everything as the beginning of what's to come.
