Star Trek (A or 4/4 stars)
Calling all Trekkies, 'Star Trek' is back. And this time, it is directed by tv's hottest creator, J.J. Abrams (Alias, Lost). I'm not a big Trek fan, but am always open to new onscreen ventures. Telling the incredible story of a young space crew's maiden voyage, we open in flashback with a rousing battle btwn. the U.S.S. Kelvin, helmed by Capt. George Kirk (Chris Hemsworth), & a Romulan vessel commanded by the villainous Nero (Eric Bana). With genocidal intentions, Nero opens attack on the Kelvin. Tragedy strikes. And so sets the stage for the next 110 minutes of this film. Action picks up some 20 yrs. later in Iowa where a coltish, thrill-seeking James T. Kirk (Chris Pine) has been haphazardly recruited into Starfleet by Capt. Pike (Bruce Greenwood).
Kirk has an arrogance about him that doesn't sit too well with his new crewmembers. Specifically, when a communications officer named Uhura (Zoe Saldana) continually turns down his advances. When Pike's crew is called to emergency duty aboard their new flagship, The Enterprise, Kirk realizes that he must buck up & try to help his comrades. They include: First Officer Spock (Zachary Quinto), a half Vulcan/half human whose been trained to keep his emotions bottled; Doctor McCoy (Karl Urban), Sulu (John Cho), & Chekov (Anton Yelchin). Chief engineer Scotty (Simon Pegg) - as in 'beam me up, Scotty' - joins the crew later in the story. The brunt of the plot involves The Enterprise preparing for battle against Nero's black ship. Despite being overmatched in nearly every capacity, we watch our heroes finds ways to stop the cosmic peril that they've been thrust into. The fate of the galaxy rests in the hands of this young, but talented crew.
Something unique about this film is that it's both a prequel (or 'origin' story) and a sequel. We're 'meeting' the crew (that have been established for 40 yrs.), but the story also hop-scotches around & advances farther than you'd think; even containing scenes with the original Spock (Leonard Nimoy) as an elderly entity who travels backwards through time to help The Enterprise. 'Star Trek' is an EXCELLENT movie. Though, because it's an origin story, a significant (if entertaining) portion of the film is devoted to meeting the iconic characters & the learning their back stories. This makes the character development feel somewhat truncated. For the next 'Trek' film, our characters will be more weathered, & the plot will have breathing room to expand & progress in more challenging/interesting directions.
Chris Pine suggests William Shatner without doing an outright impersonation; capturing both the charisma & pompousness of a young Kirk extremely well. Zachary Quinto is just as impressive (if not more so). Karl Urban is bang-on accurate as McCoy. Simon Pegg is great as Scotty. The gorgeous Zoe Saldana makes the most of a minor role. Sidekicks John Cho & Anton Yelchin have their moments. And while Eric Bana's Nero is a fairly flaccid, one-note character ... man, is he an ominous villain. There is one more character to mention ... The Enterprise itself. I only saw one Star Trek movie (the 1979 version), but even then I realized how iconic & special the starship was. In this film, it's the epitome of exquisite art direction.
Speaking of art direction, the technical achievements throughout this film are outstanding. The editing is stellar (brilliantly paced), the production designs are magnificent, the make-up work is great, the sound design will challenge for an Oscar next March, the effects (while not groundbreaking) are eye-poppingly impressive, & the action got my hands sweating (though some felt a little choppy, or uninvolving). And while the film lacks the necessary dramatic heft & character depth to qualify it as a masterpiece, it's still one of (if not) the best movie I've seen in quite a while. I loved 'Star Trek', & highly recommend it as blockbuster entertainment. It's fun, optimistic, humorous, exciting ... and will warp speed up to the top of the box office ranks.
Kirk has an arrogance about him that doesn't sit too well with his new crewmembers. Specifically, when a communications officer named Uhura (Zoe Saldana) continually turns down his advances. When Pike's crew is called to emergency duty aboard their new flagship, The Enterprise, Kirk realizes that he must buck up & try to help his comrades. They include: First Officer Spock (Zachary Quinto), a half Vulcan/half human whose been trained to keep his emotions bottled; Doctor McCoy (Karl Urban), Sulu (John Cho), & Chekov (Anton Yelchin). Chief engineer Scotty (Simon Pegg) - as in 'beam me up, Scotty' - joins the crew later in the story. The brunt of the plot involves The Enterprise preparing for battle against Nero's black ship. Despite being overmatched in nearly every capacity, we watch our heroes finds ways to stop the cosmic peril that they've been thrust into. The fate of the galaxy rests in the hands of this young, but talented crew.
Something unique about this film is that it's both a prequel (or 'origin' story) and a sequel. We're 'meeting' the crew (that have been established for 40 yrs.), but the story also hop-scotches around & advances farther than you'd think; even containing scenes with the original Spock (Leonard Nimoy) as an elderly entity who travels backwards through time to help The Enterprise. 'Star Trek' is an EXCELLENT movie. Though, because it's an origin story, a significant (if entertaining) portion of the film is devoted to meeting the iconic characters & the learning their back stories. This makes the character development feel somewhat truncated. For the next 'Trek' film, our characters will be more weathered, & the plot will have breathing room to expand & progress in more challenging/interesting directions.
Chris Pine suggests William Shatner without doing an outright impersonation; capturing both the charisma & pompousness of a young Kirk extremely well. Zachary Quinto is just as impressive (if not more so). Karl Urban is bang-on accurate as McCoy. Simon Pegg is great as Scotty. The gorgeous Zoe Saldana makes the most of a minor role. Sidekicks John Cho & Anton Yelchin have their moments. And while Eric Bana's Nero is a fairly flaccid, one-note character ... man, is he an ominous villain. There is one more character to mention ... The Enterprise itself. I only saw one Star Trek movie (the 1979 version), but even then I realized how iconic & special the starship was. In this film, it's the epitome of exquisite art direction.
Speaking of art direction, the technical achievements throughout this film are outstanding. The editing is stellar (brilliantly paced), the production designs are magnificent, the make-up work is great, the sound design will challenge for an Oscar next March, the effects (while not groundbreaking) are eye-poppingly impressive, & the action got my hands sweating (though some felt a little choppy, or uninvolving). And while the film lacks the necessary dramatic heft & character depth to qualify it as a masterpiece, it's still one of (if not) the best movie I've seen in quite a while. I loved 'Star Trek', & highly recommend it as blockbuster entertainment. It's fun, optimistic, humorous, exciting ... and will warp speed up to the top of the box office ranks.