Manohla Dargis started her review by saying, “A bright,
shiny blast from a newly imagined past, “Star Trek,” the latest spinoff from
the influential television show, isn’t just a pleasurable rethink of your geek
uncle’s favorite science-fiction series. It’s also a testament to television’s
power as mythmaker, as a source for some of the fundamental stories we tell
about ourselves, who we are and where we came from. The famous captain (William
Shatner, bless his loony lights) and creator (Gene Roddenberry, rest in peace)
may no longer be on board, but the spirit of adventure and embrace of
rationality that define the show are in full swing, as are the chicks in minis
and kicky boots.”
The first appearance being in 1966, the original “Star
Trek” is a supreme fantasy of the first order, a look of the liberal future
where people of all color and one Vulcan come together by their exploratory
mission (“to boldly go”), a main command (no interference) and the once in a
while argument. An origin story directed with a nice touch and perfect tone by
J.J. Abrams, the fully loaded remake - Dargis mentioned, “A showcase for big-studio
hardware, software, muscled boys who can act and leggy girls who aren’t
required to” – goes way back to the part before the Enterprise team came
together on the Enterprise, a shiny spacecraft that always flies into
intergalactic storms. Even supreme needs a little boost.
Apparently so does reboots on your favorite
franchises, which explains why the movie opens with a loud, sort of hectic
segment consisting of fireballs, airborne bodies, heroically tightened man jaws
(Chris Hemsworth) and a screaming pregnant woman (Jennifer Morrison) about to
give birth to the future James Tiberius Kirk. Born in space (actually, a
shuttle craft), Kirk is determined to return to the darkness. (Future “Trekkies”
will be studying the Oedipus complex really well). However, since this is an
origin story, first there’s a look at a boy (Jimmy Bennett playing Kirk as a
child) driving down an Iowa highway on a stolen hot rod, a definitive character
moment that’s next to the images of a young scholar (Jacob Kogan as the kid
Spock) solving problems with his intellect and a few punches.
Kirk and Spock don’t meet in person until they’re
adults – now played by Chris Pine and Zachary Qunito – at Starfleet Academy,
which, staying true to the show’s liberal predilections, is in San Francisco.
At school, Kirk tries to put the movies on Uhura (Zoe Saldana), a beautiful
girl who smoothly ignores him, and makes friends with a doctor, Leonard McCoy,
best known as Bones (Karl Urban, who’s funny but sounds like he is imitating
the late DeForest Kelley). Kirk also has a face-to-face encounter with Spock, a
bossy instructor. In the tradition of all the great romances, the two men
almost immediately loathe one another, a rivalry that defines the Western
divide between the mind (Spock) and body (Kirk) that gives the story emotional
and dramatic force as well as some generous laughs.
These laughs never go into mockery. Abrams didn’t
treat “Star Trek” as a sacred book, which would be dangerous for everyone save
the Trekkies. However, neither does he pin a pop cultural classic that, more
than 40 years after its debut, has been so parodied (Dargis said, “It feels
like there are more “South Park” parodies than original episodes”) it was
difficult to see how he was going to rejuvenate the series. Dargis goes on to
say, “By design or accident, he has, simply because in its hopefulness “Star
Trek” reminds you that there’s more to science fiction (and Hollywood
blockbusters) than nihilism. Mr. Abrams doesn’t venture into politics as boldly
as Mr. Roddenberry sometimes did, though it’s worth noting he does equate
torture with barbarism.”
The villains here are the Romulans, who, according to
Dargis, “at one point in television time used to look a lot like Spock, but
here resemble a Maori motorcycle gang complete with facial tattoos and Goth
threads.” Led by the angry psychopath Nero, played by Eric Bana, who does know
how to play a villain seriously, the Romulans are mainly in the film to
antagonize the Starfleet crew into space. There Abrams displays some
expensive-looking special effects, including an enemy warship that, according
to Dargis, “with its enormous, grasping tendrils, by turns resembles a
monstrous jellyfish and a malignantly blooming flower.” The film comes down on
the ray of hope, but its apocalyptic breaks, including the image of a planet
imploding into gray dust, Dargis described, “collapsing like a desiccated piece
of fruit,” remain.
Despite these visuals, the bright lasers and latex
aliens, “Star Trek” is mainly about two men arguing in a long conversation
about civilizations and their displeasures. Hot and cold, thoughtless and firmly
controlled, Kirk and Spock need each other to work, a dynamic Abrams captures
with his two well-balanced leads. Quinto lets you see and hear the struggle
between the human and the Vulcan in Spock through the emotions that flow across
his face and from time to time throw off his unmoderated phrasing. Pine has a
harder job – Dargis mentions, “he has to invoke Mr. Shatner’s sui generis
performance while transcending its excesses” – which makes his shaded
interpretation all the more effective. Navigating clear of complete imitation,
the two instead purify the characters to capture their essence, the traits of
Kirk and Spock.
Written by Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, the story
has plenty of dialogue, but Abrams keeps the talk moving, slowing down only sporadically,
like when Captian Pike, played by Bruce Greenwood, or the ironically smiling
late Leonard Nimoy say some patriarchal advice on Kirk. Being a “Lost” veteran,
Abrams handles the action scenes better than he did in his only other
big-screen excursion (“Mission: Impossible III”), mainly by not loading too
much time on them. By far his best moments take place on the brightly lighted
deck of the Enterprise, where against the background of unlimited space, Kirk,
Spock and the rest of the young crew mistake with roles that – much like the
young actors playing them, including Simon Pegg as Scotty, the late Anton
Yelchin as Chekov and John Cho as Sulu – they eventually and rather perfectly
make their own.
In the end, I say to check this film out. It’s a nice
remake, but if you don’t enjoy it fully, I can understand that. However, after
6 years of no “Star Trek,” I can understand the big deal behind this movie. You
might like half of the movie or the whole thing, but I was thoroughly enjoyed
by it.
Check in on Wednesday when we look at the sequel to
this movie in “Star Trek Month.”
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