Star Trek (2009)

 

As with all things, even Star Trek would get a reboot in the cinemas. The signs were fairly positive, seeing as JJ Abrams was set to direct and the man knows his stuff. This isn't 'Star Trek' as we used to know it, but it isn't bad, not by a long stretch. It's just different, more based on action than conversation. Nothing wrong with that, but a warned person is worth two in the bush. Or something along those lines. 

How do you get a reboot started? By flipping the known universe on its head thanks to time travel. As soon as the film starts off, a massive Romulan ship comes through a wormhole and blows up the USS Kelvin, with James T Kirk's father on board. So the kid now grows up without a father figure and becomes rather rebellious. A genius, but a rebel nonetheless. He is convinced by Captain Pike to join Starfleet Academy, where he rises through the ranks in rapid fashion, meanwhile seducing as many ladies as he can. Just Uhura manages to brush him aside, it seems. Things become a little tricky when he cheats with the Kobayashi Maru-test, designed by... Spock. They instantly dislike one another, but when a distress signal is intercepted from the planet Vulcan, all the cadets have to quickly board their espective starships and find out what is happening. The fleet is decimated by the Romulan ship and even the planet Vulcan is destroyed, essentially dooming the Vulcan race to extinction. 

I presume that if you know your Star Trek, you will have spotted that they have many beats from the previous films, yet with a twist. Naturally, this is done on purpose. 

Now it's on, but Kirk is marooned on an ice planet, where he meets the old version of Spock, who is partially responsible for all these calamities. They then find Montgomery Scott and eventually the crew as we know it is together and will now do their best to stop the Romulans from destroying Earth. 

This is pretty enjoyable, even if it is more action-packed than ever before. I guess you need to try something different. It doesn't really bother me, but except the name and the winks, this doesn't make me feel like this is 'Star Trek'. This could have been any science fiction-franchise, just done well. But it's the nods and winks that can give any fan a little enjoyment. Heck, there are quite a lot of these throughout these recent iterations anyway. 

The story isn't anything special, but it works because it is all edited and written neatly and sharply and this film flies by without skipping a beat. You get some exposition here and there, but it is kept to a minimum so as not to grind the story to a halt. Well done there. 

The best part are the new actors portraying well-known characters from the past. You can tell they did their best to try and take on traits and mannerisms from the classic actors and then give it a little spin of their own, which is a lot of fun. Zachary Quinto as Spock is especially good. Zoe Saldana is probably my favourite character as Uhura, who finally gets a lot more to do, whereas she always used to be just 'there'. Nothing against the legendary Nichelle Nichols, but she was often treated as an afterthought. Simon Pegg is having the time of his life as Scotty and if you like Simon Pegg, you'll love him here as well. Chris Pine as Kirk does an okay job, but he can feel a little too cocky at times, and that doesn't always endear you to him as a character. Maybe this was intentional, but he can feel a bit like a douche. 

What does feel a little off, is the principal villain Nero. Eric Bana is one of those actors who often feel rather bland and this is no different. His motivation is okay, I guess, but he is neither compelling nor imposing, as it is the ship and technology that is the biggest threat. Maybe this is a typical curse of Star Trek, that the villains are often underwhelming. 

Except for Khan, but maybe that is because Ricardo Montalban knocked it out of the park with his performance. Who knows? 

All in all, this is a fun ride and a nice science fictionfilm to watch. Stylistically, it is rather removed from what Star Trek used to be, but the nods and winks are fun for the fans and for everyone else, this gives plenty of spectacle and entertainment. 

And lens flares. JJ Abrams loves his lens flares.