“Space: the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Its five-year mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations; to boldly go where no man has gone before.”
I remember my father, who was a devoted fan of the original 1960s run, setting me down in front of the television to watch re-runs of The Original Series with him. I recall fondly the weekly gatherings around the couch to watch The Next Generation. It was our family time, our church, if you will. Star Trek was my introduction to science fiction. It was my introduction to dramatic television. It was my introduction to geekdom. And while I have moved on from Star Trek fandom I am still a trekkie1 at heart. I can still quote lines off the top of my head and, with embarrassing skill, recall episodes at the drop of a clue. So of course it was inevitable that I would have to sink my teeth into the new J.J. Abrams film.
It’s obvious to those fans of the original Roddenberry works that the franchise has gone downhill. Attempts to revive the series have usually been soulless generic formulas with the franchise name slapped on. After these poor attempts came the movies. Generations was good and first contact was watchable but then came Insurrection followed by Nemesis. Nemesis, another film about evil Romulans (yes, I know, Remans) which decided to distill all the worst qualities of the next generation down into a fine powder that was then blown in your eye. So you can imagine that I was apprehensive about this new film and it’s potential for unmitigated disaster. Those fears were understandable but luckily, I believe, proven wrong.
The story generally follows traditional Trek conventions: time travel, unknown distress signals, as well as a convenient and inexplicable deus ex machina. An alternative timeline is created in which Kirk is more arrogant, Spock is more emotional and Scotty is funny. A Romulan named Nero with the word “Villain” practically tattooed to his forehead and painted on the side of his ship starts causing some trouble. So the gang go investigate the haunted house, I mean mysterious distress signal and try to stop him from destroying earth. Along the way Kirk is marooned on Hoth and gets chased by a random creature for no apparent reason (but doesn’t get a chance to kill it by creating a bazooka out of bamboo and a diamond) until he runs into future Spock. They get the band back together, Spock gets high on spores and slaps Kirk around, and then they use technobabble (Red Matter) to save the day. So for those of us who loved the Original Series it’s like any good episode.
The trio, Kirk Spock and McCoy, are written and acted surprisingly well. I must say that it was this point I was most skeptical of. No one can replace Shatner, Nimoy, and Kelley but in this film you have a damn good approximation. Chris Pine gives us a cocky and even arrogant Kirk; what one would expect of his natural bravura untempered by age or a sound childhood. Spock is played as the quintessential Vulcan, cool and neutral; something that is surprisingly hard to do. Compare Quinto and Nimoy’s performance with that of any of the Vulcans from enterprise for instance. Quinto plays Spock as Nimoy did, aloof rather than cold, staid rather than blank, and witty rather than dull. And while the accent slipped into the unintentionally comedic at times Karl Urban played a fine Bones complete with a classic Spock/McCoy argument.
Unfortunately outside the trio the characters had much room for improvement. Checkov has his trademark “accent” which is funny the first time and simply grating the following twenty or so other times. Sulu is somewhat of a geek, bumbling about the controls and awkwardly speaking his few lines. Uhura is actually more fleshed out here then in most of the original series amusingly enough, though her depth is limited as well. Then there’s Nero. Nero is the bad guy. We know he is the bad guy because he lives in a ship straight from Hellraiser. He’s your cookie cutter generic villain whose lack of dimensionality made me wish they would finally make a good Romulan villain. Maybe Balance of Terror, the movie.
On top of all of this is fan service. I’m not just talking about green alien women, not just red shirts, or even simply trademark lines. I’m talking about references to the old films (transparent aluminum anybody?). I’m talking about tribbles in the background, Spock’s ship’s cockpit forming an IDIC, western style fistfights, Spock beating up Kirk in an emotional rage, Pike wearing a uniform from the motion picture, and so much more. There is so many hidden easter eggs that it not only makes those of us who devoted far too much time to the original trek smile but also gives it an ephemeral connection to the classic series.
I actually really enjoyed this film. Even after seeing it twice, this time under a more analytical eye. It’s a fun take on the classic paradigm. The trio feel right and bring back all the memories of the original characters with fresh new energy and bringing a bit more comedy to the mix. I have detested all the attempts to retool and reboot Star Trek until this film. I fear, of course, that any follow-up will pale in comparison but I am left hopeful for this new direction. Is it like watching an old episode? No, nothing can replace that, that’s what Hulu is for. It’s new and crisp but it’s still Star Trek, it’s still that same old formula that you’ll recognize and enjoy. So long as you don’t go in expecting to see Rodenberry’s own wholeheartedly recommend this to old fans.
The biggest disappointment however was that during the entire movie at no time did Kirk’s shirt rip. What the hell is up with that?