Star Trek

Director: JJ Abrams

Starring: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Eric Bana, Karl Urban, Simon Pegg

Space the final frontier; these words describe perfectly the essence of what Star Trek the original series was, an exploration of Gene Roddenberry’s vision of space and the future.  What Roddenberry, and those involved with Star Trek, created was a frontier of space that was new and completely different from anything during its time.  Star Trek’s technology inspired much of what we have today by sparking the imagination of those who viewed it.  JJ Abrams has decided to revive the Star Trek franchise with his new film, bringing the beloved characters into the new age, while attempting to tell an origin story.

                I was skeptical of the films premise immediately, as it intended to tread over territory that had been already covered while injecting a new character, Nero, into the mix.  Rather than ruining how they pull this off I will just say that the Star Trek film Abrams has created, while possessing the same characters, occupies a completely different universe. 

                The film primarily focuses on Kirk and Spock’s early experiences in fleet, their budding relationship, and his ascension to Captain of the enterprise.  Many trekkies will be severely disappointed with the decisions made in the film.  While the character’s personalities and look are the similar their origins have been largely changed.  At first I wondered why this would be, but the answer is a rather clear one.  Abrams and Paramount are attempting to please two separate audiences, they are attempting to attract hardcore trekkies with the characters they know and love while making it simple for newcomers to enjoy the film without having to backtrack.

                What this does, however, is create an unsatisfying movie experience, while the actors are largely convincing in their roles, with Pine and Quinto excelling in the roles of Kirk and Spock, the film feels very different from the series it emulates.  This film focuses on action, attempting to please the summer moviegoers, rather than being about space adventure or futuristic technology.  The action sequences are undoubtedly great, with the ever talented ILM handling the CGI duties, creating believable space battles that pop off the screen.  These scenes by themselves are terrific but it seems as if Abrams would have been better served creating his own sci-fi series rather than taking elements of a beloved one and creating his own film.  The plot device that allows this is absurd, even for the Star Trek universe, and drags the plot down with it.  The performances, as good as they are, cannot save the script and Star Trek ends up being a summer sci-fi action movie that is without a heart, a shiny film lacking the punch that it could have had.

                If you are looking for a movie, set in space, that looks great and has plenty of action Star Trek probably will not disappoint and if you are a Trek fan that can forgive the plot, and enjoy an alternate take, it is an enjoyable film.  If you are looking for an origin story that sets up the previous Trek films this is not it. 

Score: 7/10