May 07 2009
Star Trek
posted by Steven Shaw at 10:15 pm
Star Trek, Directed by J.J. Abrams, Starring Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Karl Urban, Leonard Nimoy, Eric Bana, Zoë Saldana, John Cho, Simon Pegg, Anton Yelchin, Winona Ryder, Rating M — Contains violence
Sound the klaxons, power up the deflector shields, set phasers to stun and prepare for warp speed. And who’s the pointy-eared bastard? Yes, Star Trek is back, rebooted by J.J. Abrams and his Alias writing team…
Warning — you’re in spoiler territory.
Star Trek — or Star Trek 11 as it’s called on my ticket stub, is a rollercoaster thrill-ride through the origins of Captain James T. Kirk (Chris Pine), Commander Spock (Zachary Quinto), Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy (Karl Urban) and the rest of the USS Enterprise crew.
It’s laden with birth/rebirth metaphors — Scotty (Simon Pegg) rides a wave of water through an escape hatch in the Enterprise cooling system and we see the birth of baby Jim Kirk. It takes the viewer through Kirk’s years as a troubled teen, out joyriding in his step-dad’s antique Corvette.
Spock’s childhood is also revealed, with emphasis on the bullying he received for having a human, emotional side — another theme explored in depth. There’s death in the Kirk family and on the planet Vulcan, bringing a sense of Greek tragedy to the story and something for the main characters to hold in common.
Thankfully the pathos is tempered by plenty of humour, especially through Scottie’s antics. And the writers have had a ball, adding in plenty of cliffhangers. Kirk literally clings to a precipice at least four times. Somewhere a screenwriter is laughing.
Eric Bana plays the bad guy, described as “a particularly troubled Romulan” by Spock. And Leonard Nimoy, appearing as Spock the elder, is gracious as always.
There’s plenty here for the elastic waist-banded Trekkie contingent, although you don’t need an unhealthy obsession to figure out what’s going to happen to the red shirted security guy on an away mission or who’s going to hop in bed with a green-skinned woman. You’ll be pleased to know that Sulu (John Cho) shows off his fencing skills in a mile-high battle and Uhura’s (Zoë Saldana) skirts are suitably short.
The well known catch phrases are all here, although they’re used sparingly … “Prepare to energise”, “Set phasers to stun”, and of course “Live Long and Prosper”. All pretty er, logical really.
The best performance comes courtesy of Karl Urban, who completely nails the mannerisms of the grumpy, wisecracking Bones McCoy, originally played by DeForest Kelley. “I’m doctor, not a physicist. Dammit Jim.”
J.J. Abrams has really saved this flagging franchise by taking it back to its core values. The only thing missing in this celebration is a duel between Kirk and his evil twin. Maybe we’ll see that in the next instalment. In the meantime, Star Trek can be summed up with one of Spock’s favourite phrases. “Fascinating.”
Watch the trailer here
May 19th, 2009 at 9:54 pm
Great review, I too think this is a much needed breath of fresh air for Star Trek which has always been an amazing cult hit, but lacking in mainstream followers and lets face it, Money.
JJ has fixed that, now lets get back to the Utopia!