Someone took my "My Take" review opening, so I had to change my subject line! :)
My quick take: The new Star Trek is a fun movie, full of jokes ( a few too many perhaps), exciting action scenes, and great FX. The cast is good, the updates to the ship not too bad, and the stage is set for future films that should also be fun. JJ Abrams has been respectful to the spirit of Roddenberry's vision, and the human core of the franchise is there, especially for future efforts. Still, changes to Kirk and especially Spock were puzzling and unnecessary, and the change to the Trek timeline is puzzling and frankly needs to be reversed. Overall a fun movie that needs a few tweaks in future efforts. My Full Take: “You will always be a child of two worlds. The decision is yours to decide which is right for you”. This is Sarek’s advice to his half-human, half-Vulcan son, Spock, trying to help him deal with the conflicts of his heritage. Neither half is intrinsically better than the other, Sarek explains, and his son can benefit by taking the best of each. This seems to be the philosophy taken by director J.J. Abrams in his update of the sci-fi classic. Abrams has succeeded in making a fun film that is great on the eyes, and respectful of the human drama at the core of “Star Trek”. But in bringing “Trek” into a new world, Abrams has modified some of the core elements of the old. Like Spock, he has endeavored to combine the best of each; and like Spock, it is up for moviegoers to decide if the result is right for them. Things start off quickly enough, as the USS Kelvin is confronted by the sight of a giant spaceship emerging from a literal hole in space. The commander, a Romulan named Nero (Eric Bana) is bent on revenge for a past hurt. Before long, the captain is dead, Kirk’s father is in command, and ultimately sacrifices his life to save his crew--including his pregnant wife. Twenty-five years later, Kirk’s son Jim (Chris Pine) is a young ne’er do well who spends his time flirting and getting into bar fights. That is, until Kirk is approached by Captain Christopher Pike of the newly commissioned starship Enterprise. Pike encourages the young man to make something of himself by joining Starfleet. “I dare you to do better” (than your father), he challenges Kirk. “Enlist in Starfleet”. Kirk takes up the challenge, and thus sets on the path that will lead him to meet Spock and the rest of his future crewmates. Abrams keeps things zipping in “Star Trek” from the first moment. The explosions, phaser battles, and fights—and there are a lot of them--come at warp speed. Indeed, many times the action is a bit too frenetic: space battles move by too quickly to be taken in fully, and Abrams loves to put the camera right in the faces of people during fights. One wishes the camera would pull back every now and then, and that the action scenes were more drawn out rather than a series of quick-cuts. Still, it’s not boring. No expense has been spared in the look of the film: the Enterprise has been updated outside with a sleek new look that’s less angles and more smooth curves. Inside it’s all white and plexiglass surfaces, floating holograms, vivid computer displays, and surprisingly cavernous sections where crewmen do their stuff. One could cynically note a strong “Star Wars” feeling here, but give Abrams credit: he does pay great homage to the old as well. The uniforms (women in skirts! red-shirted security guards!), phasers, and communicators all hail back to the look of the series. Throw in sweeping vistas of Vulcan, beautiful shots of Starfleet Command in San Francisco, and you can see Abrams was really serious about making this movie look “authentic”. Even some of the sounds—the transporter, alerts, some computer noises—are very familiar indeed. Overall, the changes are nothing to complain too much about. It’s a great looking film, but as any fan will tell you, the true center of Star Trek has always been the relationships between its characters. Does Abrams manner to capture that feeling? Well, yes---mostly. At the center of this movie are the struggles Kirk and Spock are undertaking to find their way. Each man has in a way been running from his pain, with Kirk seeking escape in emotional excess. Though in the Academy, Kirk is still hiding behind the character of the irreverent, devil-may-care rogue. He’s still a womanizer, still thumbing his nose at authority. Spock has mostly avoided the issue of just how much of an emotional creature he can—and should—be, by trying to be the cool, consummately logical Vulcan. Some of the best scenes in the movie involve Spock issuing commands with authority, steely logic in control, cutting down smart remarks with dry witticisms. These moments best captures the wry Spock of old, and they’re great. But like Kirk, we see that Spock hasn’t really found himself. Despite his cool exterior, one can still sense the anger just beneath the surface, evidenced whenever someone challenges him. It’s the march of both characters toward realizing their potential that is the heart of this film. Along the way, they go from initial mutual dislike to respect, and we see the glimmer of the great friendship that is to come. For the most part it works, with some exceptions. In a small way, the portrayal of Kirk feels just a bit over the top. He’s too much of a rebel, too flip, such as when he cheats on a test simulation .It’s a funny scene, and another great nod to Trek history, but it feels a bit—off, as if Abrams is playing up the cavalier Kirk to set the stage for the hero he will one day become. A bigger problem is Spock’s emotional control. One character who challenges him is literally thrown off the ship in a fit of pique. And in one pivotal scene, Spock is goaded by insults into completely losing control, nearly killing a man in the process. Sure, he’s suffered a huge loss at this point, but really! Most surprising of all are the outward signs of affection Spock shows for his lover: kissing in the turbo lift, hugging in the hallways. Like Kirk, his character seems to have been exaggerated just a bit to highlight the struggle. In a recent interview, Abrams related, “I wasn’t a fan of Star Trek as a kid. I could never understand why I should care about the characters.” Perhaps that explains changes to the characters, with Abrams thinking the originals were too boring? Too bad if so… And perhaps it explains the curious tact of rewriting continuity. Abrams has said he felt the move was necessary in order to let him bring in a younger cast, but frankly the need wasn’t there. A story could have been crafted that brought the crew together temporarily, and it could have been done in the original timeline. The changes—especially a particularly devastating attack by Nero that will have permanent repercussions to the Trek universe—really don’t seem necessary to tell a good story. And the final resolution of the crew’s fate seems a bit too rushed to be believable. Despite these changes, Kirk and Spock are fun, as is the rest of the crew. Karl Urban does an okay job as McCoy, though he needs to work on that Southern accent. Simon Peg as Scotty mostly plays the character for laughs, though we get a hint of some dramatic possibilities underneath. Anton Yelchin’s Chekov is just a funny kid, flittering about nervously, deep accent really played up to affect, especially when trying to pronounce the letter “V”. John Cho is surprisingly effective as Sulu. He makes the most of a fight scene, showing a steel underneath that bodes well for future movies. Disappointing however, was Zoe Saldana’s Uhura, who really has little to do beyond playing the object of two men’s desire, and flashing her underwear in one brief scene. She’s a good actress, but really needs more to do. Most disappointing of all is Eric Bana’s renegade Romulan Nero. Despite the devastating havoc he wreaks, Bana’s Nero is actually one of the least memorable villains in Trek movie history. He’s not onscreen much at all, and has very few lines beyond “I want Spock to suffer as I have!” Nero’s motivation for the murderous rage he feels seems—illogical. And the writers don’t explain how this former self-described family man and simple miner has somehow turned his ship into a dreadnought capable of defeating several starships at once. Nero is simply a plot device, an excuse to give Abrams a way to rewrite history. Once that’s accomplished, Nero is defeated in spectacularly under whelming fashion. It’s rather a wasted role. In the end, is “Star Trek” a good movie? Absolutely. It’s fun and exciting, holds one’s attention, and provides laughs as well as thrills. Abrams has been respectful to the spirit of the original. The cast is roundly good, and can easily be entrusted to carry the mantle of the franchise toward whatever future awaits it. Still, the little changes to Spock, Kirk, and continuity are puzzling, with their potential to render everything that’s come before obsolete. Perhaps in a future movie, the now two realities can be reconciled, and everyone—old fans and new alike—can be completely pleased with the result, turning what was a very good effort into the great one it can be. Until then, the new “Star Trek” and any sequels will definitely be a fun ride, if not a perfect one. My Grade: B
