Thursday, 16 April 2009 22:03
I'm afraid it’s always been something just out of my grasp as a "soft-core sci-fi fan". Sure I can do an okay Wookie impression and know why the Daleks are the scariest things this side of the Medusa Cascade. Yet when it comes to STAR TREK I can think of nothing else except incoherent jumbles of polyester red, blue and yellow sweaters, sixties bowl cuts and one-time legends transformed into senile lawyers. Needless to say, I was more than a bit apprehensive about the idea of spending two hours in a totally alien environment especially seeing how the closest I have ever come to watching a 'Star Trek' film was 'Galaxy Quest'.
When it comes down to it, I imagine my experience of 'Star Trek' is one many a modern day "young person" can sympathise with. 'Star Trek' as a franchise is just not that accessible to the average modern Joe. Yet we are the generation the latest movie serves as “Star Trek 101 – the Introduction” to bridge the gap between generations. It’s a brilliant idea: The U.S.S Enterprise gearing up for her maiden voyage with two young men; one Vulcan and one human, getting ready to tackle destiny, all while appealing to both new and old audiences. It’s a technique which has worked well in the past - take 'Batman Begins' for example - and it works well here, to a certain extent. Yet as origin stories seem to go, any well grounded plot is sacrificed in exchange to introduce the whole concept to us non-Trekkies out there. We need to go through seeing young Kirk grow up before we can get onto the business of hunting Romulans, and consequently any plot is rushed and slightly anti-climatic.
from left to right: CHEKOV / Anton Yelchin, KIRK / Chris Pine, "SCOTTY" / Simon Pegg, "BONES" / Karl Urban, SULU / John Cho, UHURA / Zoë Saldana.
The other advantage of taking the series back to the beginning is the opportunity to cast some hot young Hollywood actors for the leads. Although to be honest, I really don't have any complaints in this department. Chris Pine was surprisingly likeable as a reckless and slightly arrogant James Tiberius Kirk and Zachary Quinto was born to play the awkward misfit Spock. The cast all had a nice chemistry and worked well off each other to provide some lighter comedic moments. The only downfall was Eric Bana as Nero, who looked great but really wasn't that convincing as the main bad guy. It's not a good sign when the audience can almost sympathize with his plight. Elsewhere, the whole design of the movie was nice and well thought out. Yes, we have all seen alien planets and shots of shiny spaceships shoot through space before in many sci-fi movies, but the interior and costumes were thought through and create a nostalgic sixties sort of feel which was strangely heart-warming.
“In a larger sense, I wanted the movie to be a journey of the heart and the mind coming together. The beauty of Kirk and Spock has always been their relationship, but here we had a chance to explore not just the humour and fun of that tension, but also how they first became brothers in arms. It was to see how they were thrust into an adventure that not only tested them, but bonded them for life.”
- J.J. ABRAMS / Director/Producer ('Lost', 'Alias', 'Cloverfield')
“Kirk is not a superhero. He’s just a man like any of us faced with these incredible problems that need to be solved. What sets him apart is that he always fights with all he’s got and perseveres to the very end. Because we get to see Kirk as a young man, we are able to establish where his energy and passion come from and why he has to struggle to live up to his potential."
- CHRIS PINE / KIRK ('Smokin' Aces', 'Just My Luck', 'Blind Guy Driving')
"Spock was always fascinating to me because of the conflict between his mind and his emotions and by his ability to maintain equanimity no matter what is going on around him. In this new version, you get to see him figuring out how to find the balance that will allow him to achieve greatness. The common ground he shares with Kirk and the rest of the crew is that he wants to make the universe a better place.”
- ZACHARY QUINTO / SPOCK ('Heroes', '24', 'So NoTORIous')
All in all, it wasn't the perfect movie, yet for those two hours I enjoyed being aboard the Enterprise. I laughed, I was scared, the whole emotional scale. Yet nothing really surprised me. It was all thoroughly expected. And this is fine until you realise that this was made by the man who brought us 'Lost' and 'Cloverfield', two very different, very unexpected notches on the belt of popular culture. And this should have been just that - an unforgettable tribute to something universally worshipped. It came off as enjoyable, but that’s all.
