Synopsis:
The fate of the galaxy rests in the hands of bitter rivals. One, James Kirk, is a delinquent, thrill-seeking Iowa farm boy. The other, Spock, was raised in a logic-based society that rejects all emotion. As fiery instinct clashes with calm reason, their unlikely but powerful partnership is the only thing capable of leading their crew through unimaginable danger, boldly going where no one has gone before.
Review:
For years the creative and marketing powers behind the Star Trek Empire have been trying to reignite the thrusters on the “franchise” with some notably dismal results (See Star Trek: Insurrection). Starting May 7th they take one last stab at it with the release of Star Trek.
If you are a self-professed “Trekkie”, or “Trekker” as most prefer, you will likely find yourself going to this movie with some expectations, and those expectations may put you at a disadvantage when compared to the generic movie-goer. I can attest to this, because I grew up watching Star Trek on TV in the late 60s/70s and graduated to the movies in the early 80s, then tried stubbornly to stick with it through the Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, the Next Generation movies and finally Enterprise with Scott Bakula.
By the time Enterprise had come to a close, I, a long time fan of the “universe”, was exhausted and beaten. They had killed off my hero Captain Kirk in the lamest of fashion, ignored the richness of their past intelligent storylines, introduced marketing department-driven characters and launched prosaic movie plots that were about as exciting as a soap opera. At this point, I was almost welcoming the end of the franchise.
Not any more. One of Hollywood’s new golden boys, J.J. Abrams, has wrestled this Denebian Slime Devil to the ground and made it respectable again. In fact, when you consider the story developments contained within Star Trek (2009) you have to concede that its future has been completely re-written.
In my opinion this is a great film. The young cast, to varying degrees, pays homage to the original characters while still lending their own slant to them. As an old “first generation” dog, I was particularly giddy about Karl Urban’s faithful rendering of the ship’s curmudgeonly practical doctor, Leonard McCoy. Just hearing him blurt, “Are you out of your Vulcan mind” set many in the audience to cheering… and rightly so, because no truly successful continuation of the Star Trek universe can be achieved without some, if only minor, acknowledgement of the original archetype.
Admittedly, the plot motivations of the film’s antagonist are strangely unconvincing, but if you’re going to suspend belief into warp space travel, why quibble over whether the villain’s motives were adequately justified? Let’s just call him crazy and move on.
Personally, I think it would have been better if Bill Shatner had been given a little piece of this cinematic pie, but you can definitely see where it didn’t make sense for the story. The special effects are tremendous, the humor is rich, and the action is steady. Whether you are a fan or not, I think it’s safe to say, the Star Trek Empire has struck back. (Review by Elbow Murderpants)
Star Trek Review
