Click to play videoCast: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Leonard Nimoy, Eric Bana
Director: JJ Abrams
I've never been a Trekker and yet I must confess I was amply entertained by the new Star Trek movie that's opened at the cinemas this week. With a legacy of six television series and 10 feature films behind it, the cult following of Star Trek is virtually unparalleled in the sci-fi genre, with only George Lucas' Star Wars films posing any serious competition to Star Trek in the popularity department.
Rebooting the Star Trek saga in a way that it must appeal to both its loyal fan base of Trek faithfuls and a whole new generation of young, unfamiliar film-goers couldn't have been an easy job – even Lucas more or less failed in achieving that with his less-than-spectacular Star Wars prequels – but director JJ Abrams does a pretty good job of it.
Creating an original story that's simple and unconvoluted and introduces us to our leads – rebellious underachiever Kirk, and nerdy half-human-half-Vulcan Spock – in their childhood years, Abrams rewires us into the original Star Trek's primal appeal by focusing more strongly on characters and their spirit for adventure than on plausible plot.
That's a cue for one of the film's terrific opening scenes in which a classic red Corvette hurtles down an Iowa dirt road, followed by a Robocop in a 23rd century hover-car. The Corvette plunges down a cliff, but not before the blond preteen driver jumps out of it, stands back on his feet, and responding to the cop's demand for his ID, says, "My name is James Tiberius Kirk."
Soon after, we meet our future heroes at the Starfleet Academy as they prepare for their premier voyage on the USS Enterprise, a sleek spacecraft that will invariably sail into intergalactic storms. In the tradition of many great buddy-buddy films, Kirk and Spock take an almost instant dislike to each other, and this in fact provides the story its dramatic arc. In terms of plot, Kirk and Spock must save the galaxy by vanquishing Nero, a wrathful Romulan who's getting revenge for the decimation of his planet by blowing up other planets.
Much of this film's charm lies in its characters, especially the Enterprise's crew who you may or may not be familiar with depending on whether you're a Star Trek fan or not. Grumpy medic Dr "Bones" McCoy, communications specialist Uhura, cheery physicist Sulu, wiz-kid navigator Chekov, and lovable engineer Scotty – they're all on board.
Also quite remarkable is the film's spectacle factor – the exciting shoot-outs between those flea-shaped Romulan spaceships and the USS Enterprise, even that jaw-dropping monster attack scene in a time far away in the future – all of it of course borne out of top-class special effects that thankfully don't take away from the movie's emotional chemistry between its leads.
Chris Pine plays the devilishly handsome Captain Kirk with a bizarre mix of arrogance and likeability that makes him the man we know, while Zachary Quinto steps up to play the pointy-eared Spock with much sharpness. In the role of the heavily-tattoed, bald-headed Nero you have a practically unrecognisable Eric Bana who effortlessly pulls off his part as the twisted villain. As a surprise for die-hard fans, an old favorite Star Trek cast member returns for a cameo in this film.
Despite the occasionally indecipherable mumbo-jumbo about time-hopping between the past and the future, Star Trek is an easy watch, enjoyable even for franchise virgins. I'm going with three out of five and a thumbs-up for JJ Abrams' Star Trek. It may not go boldly where no one has gone before, sticking to a safe and simple initiation, but it's unlikely you'll be bored even for a minute!
Rating: 3 / 5 (Good)
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