“Star Trek” impresses even skeptics
Let me be the first to scream it from a mountaintop: I am not a Trekkie, and I don’t know anything about any of Star Trek’s incarnations except that the Borg are bad and William Shatner is as campy back in the original 1960s series as he is now.
But when I was finally persuaded to go see this flick, I’ll readily admit that I may have switched over to the Dark Side of the Force. Oh, wait—wrong space-themed blockbuster!
For someone as “Trek”-clueless as myself, this film carried an extremely heavy burden of successfully explaining all background information while integrating a fresh plot and dazzling special effects. Not one to disappoint, director J.J. Abrams rose to the occasion marvelously.
The film follows a young Jim Kirk from birth through his assumption of the captainship of the USS Enterprise as well as Spock from his childhood through his place on the starship. Along the way, we see their characters evolve from immature teenagers to destiny-driven young adults as they go through training and fend off attacks from a pirate-like band of vicious Romulans.
An interesting psychological component to the film is the idea of inter-planet relocation. When Spock’s home world of Vulcan undergoes a drastic “change” (I won’t spoil the movie for you here—but know that it is a MAJOR change!), he learns to adapt to a new home on Earth and in space. For Kirk, who temporarily abandons Earth to live aboard the USS Enterprise, the move is a welcome one with few strings attached. It suits his rogue personality. Both characters must cope with their new homes.
Leonard Nimoy returns in this film, donning his treasured Spock persona once again forty three years after his first appearance on the original series. He exudes both wisdom and calm reserve throughout his scenes and is a refreshing foil to the brash new recruits. While Nimoy’s part fits very nicely into the movie’s plot, it was disappointing that the original Kirk, William Shatner, was not able to make even a fleeting cameo appearance. Perhaps in a later installment?
The movie’s special effects are riveting. When a black hole opens up, it’s tempting to grasp the theater seat lest it begin to draw you in. As the starships cruise at warp speeds, it feels as though you too are traveling through space. And the intense battle sequences are particularly striking, combining unprecedented vehicular scale with fiery explosions, huge trails of debris and far flung laser beams.
Great Scott(y), I think I’ve been beamed up.
STAR TREK, rated PG-13
Directed by J.J. Abrams
Starring Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto and Leonard Nimoy
