Directed by: J.J. Abrams
Starring: Eric Bana, John Cho, Bruce Greenwood, Simon Pegg, Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoë Saldana, Karl Urban, Anton Yelchin
Rating: PG-13
 |
| Zachary Quinto. (Courtesy photo) |
In one way, rebooting a franchise as beloved as
Star Trek is like raising children: it’s not a question of whether you’re going to cause some damage; it’s just a question of how much. In the hands of J.J. Abrams, the damage is kept to a laudable minimum. It would have been nearly impossible for him to please everyone, so he covered his bets by simply making sure it was a slam-bang delight of a movie. With a carefully selected cast of little-knowns and an origin story that goes heavy on the fun and light on the brain,
Star Trek is probably the most enjoyable space opera since the first Star Wars. In a formula along the same lines as last year’s Iron Man, it pays its respects to its forebears, then soars off to its own universe.
James Kirk (Chris Pine) seems to be little more than a self-destructive hot-shot causing trouble in the 23rd century southwest. Luckily, Captain Pike (Bruce Greenwood) knows that Kirk is the son of the best Federation officer he ever knew. He manages to convince Kirk to join cadet training, telling him that if he’s half as talented as his father, he’ll be the captain of a starship within four years. It ends up taking Kirk three, thanks to his undeniable instincts and a Romulan attack on the planet Vulcan.
Cadet school is where he meets the lovably grouchy “Bones” McCoy (Karl Urban), the sexy and intelligent Uhura (Zoë Saldana), and the inscrutable Spock (Zachary Quinto). The attack on Spock’s home planet lands all three on the Enterprise, where pilot Sulu (John Cho) and communications officer Chekov (Anton Yelchin) are already at their controls. It turns out this particular Romulan, a vindictive miner named Nero (Eric Bana), has a deep grudge against Spock. The tricky part is that his grudge is from something that happens years into the future. Before the adventure is over, Kirk and Spock will lock horns, Scotty (Simon Pegg) will make his way onto the ship, and an unnecessarily dense time-travel plot will make the parts a lot more satisfying than the whole.
But what parts they are. Like most origin stories, the plot is simply an excuse to watch these characters intermingle for the first time. Writers Robert Orci and Alex Kurtzman give each character more dimension than they managed over three seasons and six movies. The best change: Uhura. Not only is she far more ambitious than her predecessor, but she has a very illuminating romance. Sulu gets to leap onto a drilling deck and sword fight. Bones actually practices some medicine, with mixed results. And Scotty is both sillier and more inventive.
I do enjoy the original series. Star Trek fans all gained deep affection for the actors, as we watched them gamely climb into their uniforms decade after decade. But frankly this bunch is a lot more fun. Pine and Quinto have the toughest jobs, taking over for two of pop culture’s most identifiable icons. Both do a tremendous job. Pine (Smokin’ Aces) balances his wise guy and tough guy in a manner relatable to William Shatner’s original Kirk, but he immediately makes his own mark on the character. Pine is unsettlingly young-looking, and he sounds a lot like Jason Bateman. But he’s also sexier and more physically adept than Shatner. Quinto (Heroes) seemed like the kind of on-the-nose casting that can suffocate originality. But thanks to his own vulnerable intelligence and the revisionist approach of Abrams, Orci, and Kurtzman, he’s more relatable than Leonard Nimoy was ever able to be—at least until he shows up as future Spock here.
I’ve liked Zoë Saldana since her spunky debut in Center Stage (2000). It was a very smart move to make Saldana and her character the emotional linchpin to the franchise. She has the best dramatic scene in the movie. Karl Urban is surprisingly cartoonish as Dr. McCoy. Yet from a guy who’s never been anything but brooding on film (Lord of the Rings, Bourne Supremacy), it’s a delight. Cho (Harold and Kumar) and Pegg (Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz) were inspired casting choices. Yelchin gets least to do this time around, but the appealing young actor (Alpha Dog, Charlie Bartlett) will have his due. Only poor Eric Bana (Munich, Troy) gets the short end of the stick as Nero. This villain seems so unimportant compared to meeting all these characters we’ve already known for 40 years. Bana makes the most of his part, but yet again it won’t be the role that brings him the stardom he deserves.
When ravenous fan Zack Snider brought The Watchmen to the screen this spring, the result was reverential and disastrous. J.J. Abrams is not a Trekkie, thank goodness, and has no problem steering away from the traps that sapped the pulse from each successive incarnation of this series. It’s true this Star Trek isn’t nearly as heady as the others—at least not yet. J.J. Abrams seems to be operating on the theory that when the science outweighs the fiction, the audience stays away. But remember, Abrams is the guy who brought the smarts to the television series Alias, Lost, and Fringe. Sure, the time-travel logic is, as always, a complete mess. But the joy here is seeing a new ship take off right. I can’t wait for the next mission.
Alex Manugian lives in Sherman Oaks, Calif. He grew up in Groton and has reviewed movies for Harvard readers for many years.