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Space isn't the final frontier--rebooting franchise
appears to be. J. J. Abrams already took a pass at rebooting
the "Mission: Impossible" franchise with a solid film that
did mixed business at the box office due to Tom Cruise's
coach jumping antics and pushing his Scientology philosphy.
Luckily, there's no one in the cast of "Star Trek" that
would consider doing that. Abrams and his collaborators
on his other films/TV shows Robert Orci and Alex Kurtzman
do a terrific job of mixing just the right "Star Wars"/Space
Opera elements (Abrams is more a "Star Wars" fan than a
"Star Trek" fan he found the old series and films too talky.
That's evident also in many of his camera set ups which
echo "The Empire Strikes Back"). Orchi and Kurtzman are
fans of the original series as well as the films and make
it evident in their lovingly detailed screenplay which echoes
everything from the Kobayashi Maru sequence (where Kirk
eats an apple as he solves the unsolvable scenerio..echoing
a similar scene in "Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan" where
William Shatner as Kirk eats an apple as he describes how
he solved it) to references to other Trek episodes (the
Green girl that Kirk has an affair with at the beginning
of the film) . ***
The cast hits all the right notes with special notice
going to Karl Urban as Dr. "Bones" McCoy who perfectly captures
the right element of humanity, humor and cynicism that made
Deforest Kelley's performance such a delight in the original
series. Simon Pegg is a delight as Scotty who seems to get
in trouble almost as often as Kirk does because of his attempt
to test his theories. Quinto also captures the young Spock
very well and Chris Pine's performance which echoes the
daredevil nature of Kirk (that echoes Han Solo as much as
Shatner's portrayal) manages to be unique but also recall
elements of William Shatner's performance. Don't think too
hard about the plot because there are lots of scenes that
require a suspension of disbelief. The film like a lot of
Abrams projects require you to overlook plot holes big enough
for the Enterprise to slip through. ***
The film may not meet with long time Trekkers approval;
there are many changes to the "Trek" universe which reinvigorates
the series freeing it from the increasingly complex and
convoluted plots mapped out in the original TV show and
films. The result though is a film that takes considerable
risks many of which might alienate that core group but also
opens up "Trek" to a new audience. I've heard "Star Trek"
referred to as "Trek" for ADD or for shallow, less demanding
minds. That isn't quite fair however as any origin story
tends to be hobbled by introducing characters and their
relationships. "Trek" would suffer even more so because
fans know the backstory of the characters so well from the
TV series, films and novels that Paramount has pumped out
over the last forty years that the film could be predictable.
Using the plot element of time travel and an alternate timeline
is a clever way around this loop hole that increasingly
strangled the creativity of "Trek" as a ongoing franchise.
Abrams sleek, rapid fire direction also keeps the film from
becoming static during those scenes that do recall what
has been hinted at or told in previous "Trek" films. It's
a bold, daring strategy that pays off for the film and audiences.
***
A Romulan (Eric Bana) travels to the past altering the
flow of history resulting in James Kirk's ( Pine) father
being killed in battle. The result is that Kirk doesn't
join Starfleet and becomes a hellraiser often getting into
trouble. A visit from Captain Christopher Pike (Bruce Greenwood)
who served under Kirk's father sets Kirk straight and he
applies and is accepted to Starfleet Academy in San Francisco.
All is not smooth sailing for Kirk as he butts heads with
Pike's second-in-command Spock (Quinto) but does bond with
Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy (Urban). When the Romulan's attack
Vulcan with a planet killing device the fleet is called
into action requiring even recent graduates to be called
to arms. Whatever has altered the past has done so on a
massive scale altering the trajetory of the lives of every
one in the Trek universe in a profound way but their core
characters remain much the same despite these changes. ---
Image & Sound:
"Trek" in digital and IMAX is a delight to behold.
Crystal clear images and some stunning visual effects compliment
the story. The fast paced script recalls the pacing of Lucas'
space operas more so than the "Trek" films but the collison
of styles works surprisingly well. ***
The sound has an equal amount of detail applied to it.
Everything from sound effects to dialoge are cyrstal clear
even during the most turbulent scenes.
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