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Thursday, May 7, 2009
‘Star Trek’ set to stun
The new Star Trek movie does not sport a subtitle, but if it did, “Warp Speed” would be fitting.
Since Star Trek: Nemesis came and went in theaters with yawns at best and jeers at worst, the series has been on life support, leaving some people to wonder if Trek could ever come back.
It has - with a vengeance.
From beginning to end, this fantastically entertaining film zooms along as if Scotty had just come through with that desperately needed burst of speed to avert certain doom.
I’m not a “Trekkie” or “Trekker” or whatever fans prefer to call themselves these days, but I have enjoyed most of the movies and TV shows over the decades. Even at its best, however - and I say this with affection - Trek was always kind of staid and pokey. Sure, there were bursts of excitement with a thrilling fight or space battle, but Star Trek never quite had the adrenaline charge of Star Wars. And that was OK. Trek was more interested in being introspective.
J.J. Abrams’ new movie changes all that. Unlike any of the other Treks this one can legitimately be called an action movie. Advance buzz has labeled the film “Not your father’s Star Trek,” and that’s true - up to a point.
For this new Trek to work, it has to please the hardcore fans who have adored the franchise for years, while offering something to those who have never seen Trek before. That’s a fine line, but the movie walks it brilliantly.
Star Trek reboots the series the same way the Batman and James Bond franchises did. Not only does it tell us how the characters became who they are, it also asks us to throw out a lot of what we know, so the movie has a new playing field. We see how Kirk, Spock, Dr. McCoy, Chekov, Uhura, Sulu and Scotty made their way into Starfleet, but the script changes the history imaginatively. (Time travel is the great rule-bender).
Our villain is a Romulan (Eric Bana) bent on revenge for the destruction of his planet. He sets out to destroy Vulcan, Spock’s home world. It falls to the crew of the Enterprise, commanded by Captain Pike (Bruce Greenwood) to stop him.
I believe longtime fans should be pleased because the story is absolutely true to the original characters, all of whom are very well played. Chris Pine brings a youthful brashness to Kirk, while Karl Urban is delightfully irascible as “Bones.” I wanted to see even more of him. Simon Pegg is a bit more hyper than James Doohan was as Scotty, but that fits the comic actor’s skills. Best of all is Zachary Quinto (Heroes) as Spock, who gives the Vulcan an emotional center that makes his story touching. Quinto’s feat is all the more impressive since one Leonard Nimoy also appears in the film. (It would be cruel if I revealed how).
As the movie opens, it uses sound effects from the original series to make us say, “Ah, I recognize this. Here we go.” Then the action takes off, and this is what non-fans will like. In the original series, the most the camera ever moved was when it zoomed in and out on the red alert light. In the very first scene of this movie, Abrams’ cameras, dart, swoop, pan and tilt with abandon, making the film pulse with energy that ought to carry along the non-fans.
I had such fun with this film that I’m reluctant to bring up flaws, but there are a few minor ones. As welcome as the active camerawork is, sometimes it gets a little too active for its own good. Every once in a while I wanted to give Abrams a Vulcan nerve pinch to calm him down. In addition, some of the scenes showing Kirk and Spock as kids are hokey. I don’t care how hip Abrams is, Star Trek and the Beastie Boys simply do not mix.
Still, you don’t have to take my word for it. I went to the movie with a rabid Trek fan and he essentially agreed with me, saying it was even better than he expected. Paramount has so much faith in the movie, it’s already approved a sequel.
No wonder. I can’t wait to see it.
GRADE: A
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