In this era of cinematic recycling, has there been a more ambitious rehash than JJ Abrams latest, Star Trek? I mean it’s one thing to make another Summer popcorn muncher about robots from the future trying to destroy humanity (wait, which one?), but to take on the roots of a forty year old Sci-Fi universe…that’s gutsy.
Then again, it’s not like there haven’t been a history of Trek clunkers on the big screen, so despite the hype, fans wouldn’t be surprised to see another miss.
Still, this is not just another Trek movie with better CG than the last. It’s one that reboots all the best known, and most loved, characters – all with shiny new actors, of course. And it weighs heavy on those actors, because for all the battles and jumps to warp speed, this is just a character pic.
It’s with these new actors that this movie succeeds, so I’ll spend some time on them. The new lead, for example, Chris Pine, manages to embody the swagger and machismo of James T. while leaving out some out of Shat’s more parodied mannerisms. Qunito does a surprisingly good job with the challenging role of playing a young Spock. Then there’s Karl Urban, who plays Dr. ‘Bones’ McCoy and nails so many classic lines pitch perfect it really saves him from coming off as a shticky impersonation. Speaking of classic lines, they’re all pretty much here, delivered well and in the right situations. Sure, a couple maybe be a little forced, but I still loved every one. Zoe Saldana (who?) does a killer job as razor sharp Uhura. Simon Pegg (always Shaun to me) was a clever choice for Scotty. I’m really happy they cast a Russian-born actor (Anton Yelchin) to play Chekov, since I’m so critical of Russian accents. Unfortunately the “w” for “v” substitution he portrayed was really annoying (albeit humorous at times) since it’s a more Eastern Europe thing. And then there’s Sulu, played by Harold of and Kumar fame. While I like the actor (John Cho), this is the one character who took me out of it. The physical resemblance wasn’t there, nor was the odd aloof demeanor; but at least the sword play was true to form.
Unlike the throngs of harder core aficionados, the movie wasn’t going to be made or broken for me on styling alone, but I saw more kind nods to the past than away from it. Yes, I’m not a huge fan of the white and translucent Apple-esque Enterprise bridge. Yes, the curvy lines of the Enterprise looked Romulan-ish while the Romulan craft looked all spiky like it escaped from the new Transformers flicks. And yes, it took a damn long time to hear the familiar soundtrack strains. But on the other hand, most of the sound effects were there – right off from the start with the instrumentation warbles of the USS Kelvin. The uniforms stuck to simple untucked shirts and black pants, and even skirts and tall boots for the female crew members. And gosh darn it, Uhura still had that big silver dongle stuck in her ear!
Maybe best of all is just the lightness that they maintained with this reboot. Sure, there are serious moments and lots of action-packed sequences, but the healthy dose of humor throughout ends up sealing the movie with the same levity as TOS. While all the other blockbusters are going darker and grittier, this flick stays true to Roddenberry’s optimism (even if there is a lack of the usual underlying social commentary).
I have to give Abrams some due credit here. I haven’t been a fan of his previous work (gasp). Alias, nope. Lost, nope. Cloverfield, not really. I think in general I like his concepts, but not his results. Maybe he’s a better director, than producer. Maybe his writers have improved. In the end, watching this Trek was just fun, like sitting down with old friends reliving old tales, and telling a few new ones.
