Review: 2009 Star Trek By J.J. Abrams
U.S.S. Enterprise's New Edgy Cast with Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto
May 10, 2009
Star Trek is a trip down memory lane for those who loved the original series from 1966 to 1969. And while The Next Generation has held much of the attention over the last decade, the trek gauntlet has been passed on to a new crew with an old identity.
On May 9 a fresh audience met each of the classic characters and found out how they all ended up together on the U.S.S. Enterprise. Directed by Lost creator J.J. Abrams, it features a younger cast led by Chris Pine as the iconic Captain James T. Kirk and Zachary Quinto as Kirk’s logical best friend and executive officer, Mr. Spock.
The new crew is clearly marketed to a new generation of movie goers who seek out films with heart-pumping action, eye-popping special effects and a dash of comic relief and sexuality.
This Star Trek has all of these components.
Special effects have come a long way since a cardboard model of the Enterprise hung in front of a draped sheet in 1966 or men dressed in creature costumes acted as villainous aliens. Today's computer-generated effects are extravagant and manage to encapsulate the look of the original Enterprise and its technology.
Abrams’ story is true to Star Trek lore, a universe filled with Romulans, speeding ships and the dreaded Klingon Empire, but the film unfortunately has some scenes better left out including a cameo by the highly-sexualized Orion Slave Girl, scenes where Chris Pine is sporting swollen hands and when Mr. Scott (Simon Pegg) is trapped within a water pipe on the engineering deck.
The original series and film used humor but never employed such blatantly cheesy scenarios to garner a cheap laugh.
Star Trek Boils Down To The Development of Crew Member Relationships
Fans of the original series will be surprised to find that Spock and Kirk aren’t friends throughout most of the film. In fact, for three-quarters of it they absolutely abhor each other.
In Abrams' Star Trek, the destinies’ of all the crew are altered by a renegade Romulan named Nero who utilizes a time traveling ship to attack Vulcan and Earth. Events in time are altered including the friendship between Kirk and Spock.
At first Kirk grows closest to the young Leonard McCoy (Karl Urban). Out of all the actors portraying each classic crew member, Urban’s is perhaps the most entertaining. He not only resembles Deforest Kelly’s McCoy, but he mirrors his personality and even revives his classic rants. Quinto also does a fine job portraying the half-human, half-Vulcan Spock.
Although Kirk and Spock are at odds through most of the film, by the end they form that classic bond that carried them through three years worth of TV episodes and six motion pictures.
Quinto is best known for his psychopathic character Sylar on NBC's Heroes, yet once the curtains open and he is wearing the blue science officer's uniform there is no confusion that Quinto is Spock. Fans are also shown much more of Spock's emotional side in this film, even enjoying an unexpected relationship between him and the young Lt. Uhura (Zoe Saldana).
New Trek Gives More Than One Nod to Original Series
The new Trek reinvents the series for a younger generation, but includes some nods to the classic series and films.
Like the old series, Captain Kirk inherits command of the Enterprise from Christopher Pike, originally played by Tab Hunter in the show’s pilot episode. And Spock also worked as Pike’s second-in-command before befriending Kirk.
A substantial portion of the film is also set at Starfleet Academy and Abrams rightly dedicated some screen time to Kirk’s clever solution to the no-win situation in the Kobayashi Maru. This academy exercise was first seen in Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan.
Leonard Nimoy also makes a rather large cameo as the older Spock. None of the other actors from the original cast appear in the film.
Enjoyable Rating: 9 out of 10 for excellent special effects and intriguing story.
MPAA Rating: Rated PG-13 for sci-fi action and violence, and brief sexual content.
Minutes: 126
Cast:
Chris Pine as James Kirk
Zachary Quinto as Spock
Leonard Nimoy as Spock Prime
Eric Bana as Nero
Bruce Greenwood as Christopher Pike
Karl Urban as Leonard 'Bones' McCoy
If You Like “Star Trek” You’ll Also Like: Any of the original films including The Motion Picture, The Wrath of Khan, The Search for Spock, The Voyage Home, Final Frontier and Undiscovered Country.
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