Review: Star Trek

Star Trek
Written by Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman; Directed by J. J. Abrams
Starring  Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Eric Bana, Karl Urban
U.S. Theatrical Release: 9 May 2009

In the hype-filled ramp-up to this reboot of the beloved Star Trek franchise, the spotlight shone on director J. J. Abrams, creator of geek TV franchises Alias, Lost, and Fringe, and groundbreaking films like Cloverfield. While Abrams’s directorial chops are on prominent display in the new Trek film, the film’s writers are the real unsung heroes who make the movie a success.

Before I proceed, I should caution readers that I am not a trekker, trekkie, or any variant thereof. I grew up in the era of Star Trek: The Next Generation and have a passing familiarity with that series, but I’ve only seen a smattering of the original cast TV episodes and films. The advantage to this, of course, is that I went into the fil with very little in the way of expectations, since I wasn’t carrying in any major geek baggage of Star Treks past.

The first third of the movie plays out like a VH1 Behind the Music of the characters who will become the central crew of the Starship: Enterprise. What these scenes lack in plot, they more than make up for in character development. The movie takes pains to explore the motivations for each character’s decision to join Starfleet. Special attention is paid to the backstories of James T. Kirk and the vulcan Spock, as they are without a doubt the film’s central characters.

As soon as  the viewer is nice and settled in to the rich world of the Starfleet Academy crafted by the writers and brilliantly executed by director Abrams, the action begins in earnest when the Starship Enterprise investigates a disturbance at planet Vulcan. The villainous Romulan Captain Nero, slightly overplayed by Eric Bana, has used a black hole event horizon to travel back in time from the future and wreak retroactive vengeance on Vulcan for mysterious reasons. To reveal anything more about the plot would ruin some of the film’s more delightful, though perhaps to fans divisive, surprises. Time travel seems to be in vogue nowadays, in film, in television, in literature, and Star Trek handles the theme reasonably well, although I have some nebulous misgivings about its execution.

Star Trek excels by virtue of its balance of action, humor, and emotion. As directorial veteran of Mission Impossible III, J. J. Abrams feels right at home directing the movie’s exhilarating, sometimes heart-stopping action sequences. The film’s humor largely takes the form of inside jokes that even a casual viewer of the original series like me was able to appreciate. While these moments occasionally feel forced–case in point: Bones’s “dammit Jim, I’m a doctor” line–most of them work in their own right. Surprisingly, much of the film’s heart flows from the development and internal conflicts of the logical Vulcan Spock. As a half-human, half-Vulcan outcast, his story is by far the most compelling thread in the film’s tapestry.

Spock’s story is complemented by stellar acting by Zachary Quinto, of NBC’s Heroes fame. His portrayal of a cool, cerebral, stone-faced Spock with emotions roiling just beneath the calm exterior is poignant without straying into the territory of overwrought. The other actors play their roles well. Chris Pine’s young James T. Kirk carries the necessary weight as the film’s other central character along with Spock. I find Karl Urban’s comedic performance of Doctor Leonard “Bones” McCoy noteworthy if only in contrast to his stern, somber Éomer in Lord of the Rings. Eric Bana’s performance as the vile Captain Nero is the only weak link; Nero is little more than a cardboard villain cum plot device. The writing is probably at much as fault here as Bana’s performance, though.

I really enjoyed Star Trek for what it was: a fun, rousing, and occasionally thought-provoking science fiction flick. If its aim was to kindle the interest of a new generation in a series that, for me at least, held little immediate cultural relevance, then it certainly succeeded. I’ve always fallen on the the Star Wars side of the Trek/Wars divide, but this movie is certainly tipping the scales.

For a contrary opinion, see author George R. R. Martin’s take.