Very few films I've seen in my young 26 years of life have left me speechless and struggling with words. I've seen quite a few great ones. I loved The Dark Knight which redefined the superhero film for today's audiences. Lord of the Rings proved that nerd fantasy can be oscar bait. Heck, you've even seen me wax poetic on this site about smaller films that are long forgotten by many(like The House of Sand and Fog, for example). But Star Trek, J.J. Abrams big budget relaunch(and prequel) has performed a cinematic miracle. It has taken an dying(beloved though it may be to it's cult of Trekkies and casual sci-fi fans) franchise and turned it into a super ginormous, effects-laden action comediy extravaganza that will please fans and general audience members alike.
Star Trek's main focus is on reintroducing the classic characters from the original 1966 tv series in new and more modernized ways. The film begins with the childhoods of Kirk(Chris Pine in a star making role) and Spock(Zachary Quinto who takes his acting range to a whole other level here) and then dovetails into the two joining starfleet academy. It then introduces the other infamous characters like McCoy(Karl Urban doing the best Deforrest Kelly...EVER), Chekov(Anton Yelchin, who i regreted underesitmating), Uhura(the sexy Zoe Saldana who I've been a fan of since the first Pirates film in 2003), Sulu(Harold and Kumar's John Cho who gets arguably the most kickass fight scene in the film), and Scotty(cult horror funnyman Simon Pegg who gets some of the biggest laughs in the film). After the group finishes starfleet, an emergency happens on Spock's home planet of Vulcan involving an renegade Romulan named Nero. Nero HATES Spock and is intent on destroying him now..and FOREVER.
The film is basically Batman Begins only Star Trek as we learn how each charcter came to be and hear all of them utter damn near every famous line we've ever heard them say on the show before. J.J. Abrams(who has impressed me by direcing all of the best episodes of Alias and an couple of Lost episodes during it's first season) does an outstanding job of directing. He makes it looks like he's already directed ten or more fx heavy features and it's crazy that this is really his first one of this nature. The script by Robert Orci and Alex Kurtzman with a hand or two from Damon Lindelof is mack tight and never slows down to catch it's breath. The audience is hit with either one hilarious comedy beat or one mindblowing action sequence after the next and sometimes a combination of both as one liners and lazer blasts are firing at 1000 miles an hour at warp speed!
Let's talk about the actors for a minute. I had my doubts about all of them but they all deliver. I've never seen Chris Pine before but now I can't wait to see him again. He never apes Shatner and yet feels EXACTLY like Kirk. He's great and I think he would make a great Flash or Green Lantern as well. Zachary Quinto I had some doubts about since i'm so used to seeing him only as Sylar on Heroes but he's actually MUCH better at this then he is on that show. He's not quite as good as Leonard Nimoy(but then again who could be, right?) but he crafts his own version of Spock that while not the same is a palpable and great character in it's own right. Urban(who I thought was a tepid actor...until now) is amazing as Bones and I think he'll be many fans' favorite character in the flick. He nails McCoy's mannerisms, speech patterns and infamous lines with no effort. Cho, Yelchin and Pegg as Sulu, Chekov, and Scotty respectively have the least to do but all get some great scenes and or lines to make it worth it. As a way of expanding Uhura's role a bit, Zoe Saldana is asked to be Spock's girlfriend for this version of the classic saga and while weird at first, it works and Saldana plays the part with grace and an very good amount of warmth. Rounding out the cast is Eric Bana as Nero the Romulan villain and Leonard Nimoy as Spock(from the future). Honestly, the movie could've been done without Nimoy's Spock but they've managed to make it work and not be contrived. Nimoy is moving as usual and gives the film an continuity with the older series that makes any Trekker with trepedition easily more forgiving. Nero doesn't have a whole lot of depth or dimension to him but ERic Bana does a great job with what little he has. At least his motivations are admirable and he's not just a mustache twirler.
The fx work and sets look amazing. There is obviously cgi that had to be used but you never feel like you're looking at a big mess of cgi splattered everywhere. Everything looks practical and real without looking cheap.
Does Star Trek have any problems? Not much, just minor quibbles. It's an hilarious film but I'm not quite sure how hilarious a sci-fi adventure film is supposed to be. I mean, at times it was borderline action comedy and the writers and J.J. probably should've dialed things back a tad a couple of times. Also, as I mentioned before, Nimoy's Spock didn't HAVE to be in this for it to work. I liked his presence but the story could've gone on pretty similarly with Spock written out and with an slight rewrite about Nero.
But I digress. Now is a time of nothing but celebration. J.J. Abrams and his team of cast and crewman have saved Star Trek. Not only have they saved it, they've breathed new life into it, reigniting the passion of older fans and gaining what are sure to be tons of new ones at the same time.
Live long and prosper my friends and go see Star Trek. I can't say enough good things about it.
4.75/5 stars.