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Star Trek
(2009)
This part-prequel, part-reboot of Star Trek: The Original Series
has moments to rival the best of Trek, but unfortunately it also
has moments that rival it at its worst, although the film as a whole
is somewhere in-between those two extremes. Not a complete success,
but not a complete failure, either.
Seeking revenge on an elderly Ambassador Spock (Leonard Nimoy),
Romulans commanded by the obsessed Nero (Eric Bana) are thrown back
in time and decide to wreak their vengeance in the past, and their
mission intersects with the lives of young Cadet James T. Kirk (Chris
Pine) and young Commander Spock (Zachary Quinto) at Starfleet Academy
and aboard the newly launched USS Enterprise commanded by Captain
Christopher Pike (Bruce Greenwood).
Director J.J. Abrams (Cloverfield, and co-creator of
television's Lost and Fringe) delivers spectacular visuals and
action scenes, making for the most viscerally exciting Star Trek
film of them all, but Trek at its best was a morality play in
space, yes, a ham-fisted one at times, but still at its core it was
about more than just exciting action. This film is a fun roller
coaster ride with a hollow center, and even a scene of genocide plays
out as a visual effects spectacle with little emotional weight.
Abrams gets so much right here that it's disappointing when he also
gets so much wrong.
Writing team Roberto Orci & Alex Kurtzman (Mission: Impossible III,
Transformers, and co-creators of Fringe) deliver an uneven
screenplay. At its best, it delivers a fresh but still familiar take
on a venerable franchise, spot on younger versions of iconic
characters, and a few moments of joyous perfection, while at its
worst it veers into the camp humor territory of Star Trek V: The
Final Frontier, easily the worst film in the franchise, while giving
us a one dimensional villain and plot holes galore. They marry a
lazy time travel plot (one of the most overused Trek plot device,
seen in two previous films and numerous episodes of each television
incarnation) to a Romulan bent on destroying the Federation that
recalls the plot of Star Trek: Nemesis, a film so poorly received
that Paramount decided the only possible solution was to reboot the
franchise. And while some of the changes to canon make sense because
of the timeline being modified, others make no sense even in that
context.
This is hands down the best looking Star Trek film thanks to the
contributions of cinematographer Dan Mindel (Enemy of the State,
Mission: Impossible III), production designer Scott Chambliss
(Mission: Impossible III, television's Alias), and costume
designer Michael Kaplan (Fight Club, I Am Legend). The design of
Star Trek: The Original Series reflected a 1960s view of the
future, while this film brings a slick 21st century view to the table
while still paying homage to the classic design principles. Visual
effects supervisors Roger Guyett (Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge
of the Sith, Mission: Impossible III) and Russell Earl provide
seamless, eye-popping effects at every opportunity. Composer Michael
Giacchino (Mission: Impossible III, Speed Racer) delivers a
rousing score that also makes good use of Alexander Courage's classic
theme music.
The true strength of the film is its cast, which manages to recapture
the magic of their predecessors while also making the roles
undeniably their own. Chris Pine's James Dean-esque performance as
Kirk, full of swagger and bravado masking emotional wounds, dominates
the film as the character should, while Zachary Quinto is ideally
cast as a younger Spock still struggling with an emotional side
inherited from his human mother. Pine wisely eschews imitating
William Shatner's mannerisms except in one scene when he comes close
in an obvious homage to the original Captain Kirk, but Quinto is able
to capture Leonard Nimoy's mannerisms without making it seem like
imitation or, worse, parody. The third member of the classic "Trek"
trinity of characters, Dr. McCoy, is excellently played by Karl
Urban, who seems to be channeling the spirit of DeForest Kelley and
threatens to steal every scene he's in. Nimoy shines once again as
the older Spock, bringing genuine emotional resonance to his scenes.
His Spock is one at peace with himself and his half-human heritage.
Zoe Saldana as Uhura, Simon Pegg as Scotty, John Cho as Sulu, and
Anton Yelchin as Chekov all provide fresh interpretations of their
classic characters, although Scotty and Chekov are played for laughs
too often for my liking (but the blame goes to the writers and not
the actors). One area in which this film improves on the original
series is that other Starfleet commanders are portrayed as competent
and heroic officers in their own right, in this case Bruce Greenwood
as Captain Pike and Faran Tahir as Captain Robau of the USS Kelvin.
As one dimensional as Nero is written, the performance from Eric Bana
isn't any better. He's more Shinzon from Star Trek: Nemesis than
he is Khan from Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, and this film
deserved a better antagonist than that.
The rest of the cast is solid, including Ben Cross and Winona Ryder
as Spock's parents Sarek and Amanda, Chris Hemsworth and Jennifer
Morrison as Kirk's parents George (another heroic Starfleet officer)
and Winona, Rachel Nichols as a Starfleet cadet from Orion, Jimmy
Bennett playing Kirk as a rebellious child, Jacob Kogan playing Spock
as a child, and Greg Ellis as Chief Engineer Olson. Deep Roy plays
Keenser, a strange little alien living in a remote Starfleet outpost
and who seems to be the Star Trek equivalent of an Ewok. I'm not
even sure why that character was included.
There are several notable cameos, including the late Professor Randy
Pausch as a USS Kelvin crewmember, screenwriter Akiva Goldsman
(Batman & Robin, The Da Vinci Code) as a member of the Vulcan
Council, Tyler Perry as Admiral Barnett, Paul McGillion as a
Starfleet Academy barracks officer, and voice cameos by Greg Grunberg (of television's Heroes)
as Kirk's step-father and the late Majel Barrett as the voice of
Starfleet's computers.
Star Trek is very much a mixed bag, with moments of excellence and
moments of less than excellence, but a strong cast and some genuinely
exciting action scenes make it watchable. Star Trek II: The Wrath
of Khan's reputation as the best of the films remains safe. When
all is said and done, this new film ranks somewhere in the middle of
the eleven films made to date. It's entertaining enough, but it
simply doesn't live up to the potential it had to boldly go where no
one had gone before.
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All contents ©
2004-2009 Thoughtsonfilm.com |
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Director:
J.J. Abrams
Writer: Roberto Orci & Alex Kurtzman
Starring: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Eric Bana, Leonard Nimoy, Bruce Greenwood, Karl Urban, Zoe Saldana, Simon Pegg, John Cho, Anton Yelchin, Ben Cross, Winona Ryder
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
Runtime: 126
min
Rating: PG-13
Release Date: May 8, 2009
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