Film Review: Star Trek

Star Trek
Directed by J.J. Abrams
Released May 8, 2009

Updating the “Star Trek” franchise made sense. The show had been off the air for the first time in eighteen years when “Enterprise” got cancelled after its fourth season on UPN. Before that, “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine,” and “Star Trek: Voyager,” had all introduced new crews with different directives, bizarre alien races, and amiable personalities. In between (and during) this string of new shows and the end of the original “Star Trek” series in 1969, no less than feature films were released detailing the continued adventures of our future Starfleet heroes. An eleventh film was due inevitable. What didn’t strike everyone as common sense, however, was opting for a complete reboot. As casting news came out, this new “Star Trek” seemed like a teenage edition with each character seeming more cartoonish than the one before. This grandscale relaunch could have been a massive, all-out disaster.

Fortunately, 2009’s take on “Star Trek” is far from a disaster. With talented action / sci-fi director J.J. Abrams (Alias, Lost, Fringe) behind the wheel, this reboot is a grand reimagining of the origins of the Starship Enterprise and all of its crew. It’s perfect for new viewers, or rather those who would die before being called “Trekkies,” but it still contains reference after reference that can make a diehard fan go wild with joy. Even the plot is generally intact, with one major history-changing shift which is easily explained and even centrally important to the film’s story. The “Star Trek” of 2009 is a fresh look at the final frontier explored in the 1960s series, and it succeeds in crafting a completely new set of characters who aren’t all that different from their historic counterparts.

Casting is a major part of the film’s success. Newcomer Chris Pine is a perfect fit for the loose cannon, cocky Kirk, although unlike the character’s original portrayer, William Shatner, Pine can actually act! Zachary Quinto is a dead ringer for Leonard Nimoy as Spock, and his onscreen work with Pine is absolutely incredible. Neither Shatner nor Leonard Nimoy ever evoked as much emotion or fought quite as well as these two young actors. The rest of the cast includes capable rising stars filling the shoes of the crew, including a feisty Zoe Saldana as Uhura, a hilarious Anton Yelchin as Chekov, a spot-on Simon Pegg as Scotty, and a truly entertaining Karl Urban as Bones. The movie even allows in someone over the age of 35 to guide them, and Bruce Greenwood is a terrific choice as the courageous Captain Pike. An unrecognizable Eric Bana also makes for a good villain as the time-traveling, hell-bent-on-revenge Nero.

The film jumps right into the action in its opening minutes, foregoing what might have seemed like a necessary recap for non-Trek fans. It quickly establishes its own universe where Kirk enters Starfleet always due to pure chance, and the inevitable crew of the Enterprise is forged due to extenuating circumstances which drive the film’s narrative core. It’s an altogether exciting adventure dusted with humor at almost every spot. The spirit of “boldly going where no man has gone before” is still there; this installment in the franchise is just working its way there. Some were beyond concerned when the teaser trailer included shots of the ship itself being constructed on Earth, but this film doesn’t stay tied down to the ground. It launches its young cast into space quickly and easily, and while it’s not as heavy on the aliens as the original show was, it’s still a fascinating and fun exercise in restarting a franchise successfully. There’s little to complain about, as the film doesn’t really do anything wrong, and a sequel is already in the works. Consider this an extremely positive experiment, and an entertaining and enjoyable one at that.

B+