Whether you are a fan or not, just about everyone is familiar with the famous Star Trek tag line, “To boldly go where no one has gone before.” With this newest installment, Star Trek has gone where no film in the franchise has gone before . . . a summer blockbuster.
Although extremely popular, the Star Trek catalogue of films has always been somewhat “owned” by its die-hard fans. Unlike the Star Wars trilogies, Star Trek films have never crossed over to the mainstream in the same way Lucas’ space opera managed to achieve. And that’s the way trekkies, or trekkers as they prefer to be called, like it. Trek fans always held the notion that their sci-fi plots and characters were much deeper in story, history, and literary prowess than their Jedi-clad rivals. However now, in an ironic twist, Star Trek has appeared to go over to the “dark side” of movie making. Sacrificing heavy character development and script writing for more action-packed, special effects-filled scenes.
J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek is a prequel to the original 1966 weekly television series, telling the tale of how the first crew of the famous USS Enterprise led by James T. Kirk came to be. However, some might actually view this film as a sequel due to a major plot point that will not only open the door for future chapters using the new, younger version of the original characters, but it also dangerously rewrites all canon from the past films and television series. This will probably upset about 99.9% of the hard-core trekkers out there, meanwhile resuscitating new life and recruiting young fans into an all but dead saga.
Even though Star Trek is more action based than its predecessors, that does not mean it’s totally void of good writing and performances as well. Chris Pine (Smokin’ Aces) takes over the big swivel chair on the bridge as Captain James T. Kirk. Pine does a good job of taking that overconfident swagger made famous by William Shatner and wrapping it around a younger, inexperienced and energetic version of the character. And to round out the main Enterprise characters, Zachary Quinto (Heroes) is pitch perfect as the young and arrogant Spock and Karl Urban (Lord of the Rings) steals just about every scene he’s in as the catch phrase spouting Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy. The other usual suspects of the Enterprise crew are included in this film as well, all played very believably. And in the case of Uhura, played by Zoe Saldana (Vantage Point), this film gives fans more attention and background on her than the previous 50 years of Star Trek history combined.
Star Trek is nothing if not fast paced and entertaining. Although the story does have some major plot holes with timelines and technology not fitting into this early point in the characters history; the high-tier special effects, familiar characters, and a decent enough script will make this film a sure-fire hit at the box office. Still, the question does need to be asked; is it worth slighting over 50 years of television series, feature films, and dedicated sci-fi loyalists just to keep the Star Trek franchise alive for future generations?
Knowing the vigor and importance creator Gene Roddenberry had for the future, I believe he would say yes.
Story: 7.0
Acting: 8.0
Writing: 7.5
Captivation: 8.5
Replay Value: 8.5
Total = 7.9
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