The prequel to Star Wars... oops, sorry, Star Trek
Written: May 21 '09
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Product Rating:
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| Bang For The Buck |
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Pros: Likable cast, nice action, accessible
Cons: Turns Star Trek into Star Wars, very formulaic
The Bottom Line: Trekkies will be upset by this film more than anybody else. If you're not a Trekkie, consider this an early summer blockbuster.
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| wrestler's Full Review: Star Trek |
In Hollywood, there haven't been many better cash-grab ideas than prequels. They are especially great because they don't require much from the creativity department, since the characters everybody knows and loves all return, only now we see them before they needed facelifts. Star Trek is the latest series to get the prequel treatment as J.J. Abrams drops his version of the cult TV series.
During the Gene Roddenberry years, Star Trek was a science fiction phenomenon, with the science and the fiction getting their fair share of the pie. All of the Star Trek TV series, but for the abject Star Trek: Entreprise, could challenge you with issues of science, morality and ethics. However, as I expected from a director most famous for his work in Mission: Impossible 3 and Alias, Star Trek 2009 almost completely ditches the science in favor of the fiction and has us watching lots and lots of scenes where CGI colors bounce off one another. I guess the cinema trailer that said "This ain't your grandfather's Star Trek" was a clue.
Now don't take this the wrong way. This is, in more ways than one, a fun movie to watch. Is there anything better than a proven formula to give us safe escapism? We meet a young James Tiberius Kirk (Chris Pine), who clearly has issues with the absence of a father he has never known. The first ten-fifteen minutes of the film show how Kirk's father heroically saves 800 lives, including that of his pregnant wife (House's Jennifer Morrison) and his son. To do so, he evacuates his ship and crashes it into the Romulan vessel of Captain Nero, the movie's main villain (and played by the unrecognizable Eric Bana). But back to Kirk. After a conversation with Federation Captain Christopher Pike (Bruce Greenwood), Kirk enrols in the Federation.
The rest of the film proceeds to introducing Kirk and us to the rest of the characters who need no introduction. We meet Bones McCoy (Karl Urban), Uhura (Zoe Saldana), Scotty (Simon Pegg), Chekov (Anton Yelchin) and, of course, Spock (Zachary Quinto). Then we move on to the big fight.
As I said before, Trekkies who liked the intellect that was such a pillar of the TV series will be sorely disappointed. The closest thing to philosophy we get in this film is a series of deliberations about the worth of the Vulcan mantra of concealing one's emotions. In fact, Quinto's Spock struggles big time with his half-human side and finds himself vulnerable in the face of a very personal loss, not to mention Kirk's wise-cracking antics. It's no wonder, then, why he's fallen for Zoe Saldana's Uhura, who's very pretty, has ditched the afro (or whatever it was) and dresses like a school girl, go-go boots and all.
One bizarre thing is that while the series' Spock epitomized emotional neutrality, Quinto's take on the character has a sort of self-righteous arrogance about it.
Chris Pine plays the young Kirk as the cliché brash and arrogant guy who makes it his life's work to disregard regulations. In return, this gives the film opportunities to hit Kirk with the cliché lines ("you're a long way from being the man your father was," etc). That being said, I like Pine as a screen presence and his charisma is perfect for the role (something William Shatner had as well, to compensate for his horrendous acting skills).
Karl Urban, who was good in films such as Lord of The Rings, puts up a rather non-descript performance. Meanwhile, the naturally funny Simon Pegg turns out to be a wise choice as Scotty, although the all-action mentality of the film makes him much more of a buffoon than he was in the series. I don't know if it's because I have British blood in me, but somehow funny lines seem even funnier when delivered in a deep Glaswegian accent. Anton Yelchin will make you smile at times in his performance as the 17-year-old wiz kid Chekov.
The film uses spatial black holes as a time-travelling device (LOL). However, one single scene in the film provides an excuse to ignore the absurdity of this premise. I, as I'm sure many Trekkies did, was filled with a deep satisfaction when Kirk stumbles across a futuristic and much older version of Spock, who is played by, you guessed it, Leonard Nimoy himself. Strange, isn't it, that the Vulcan turns out to be the most human character in the film?
As a stand-alone movie, Star Trek feels like a good summer blockbuster with its big-time action and its uncomplicated story. You just know that J.J. Abrams made it his mission to make the film accessible to non-Trekkies who might be unfamiliar with the series. In this regard, the film is a job well done, perhaps too well done. I can see the Trekkies who will be unhappy with the mood of the film coming from a mile away. And they should be. In a way, Star Trek 09 is to the series of the same name what Quantum of Solace was to James Bond. Quantum made the mistake of turning Bond into Jason Bourne or Ethan Hunt, and now this movie turns Star Trek into Star Wars. Abrams turns the philosophically-driven series into a special effects extravaganza.
That being said, what irked me even more is the movie's lack of ambition. Loyalty to the series aside and in spite of the fact that the film sports a story with a modicum of interest along with fairly likable characters, the plot and the writing are all remarkably formulaic. It's weird that I should find myself reviewing this movie right after seeing another (much less successful) prequel in X-Men Origins: Wolverine. X-Men is of much less interest than this one, but they share a common flaw: they get bitten in the backside trying to take the easy way out. The fact that you've likely seen these characters on TV is not the reason why you'll be unable to shake the feeling of having seen this movie many times before. The reason why is because this plot comes in chain production at the screenwriter's guild and the Star Trek label does not give it any bit of novelty. The film left me entertained but unimpressed. Here is a film that definitely cannot claim to have boldly gone where no one has gone before.
Recommended:
Yes
Movie Mood: Action Movie
Viewing Method: Other
Film Completeness: Looked complete to me.
Worst Part of this Film: Plot
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Epinions.com ID:
wrestler
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Member: Alexandre Turp
Location: Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Reviews written: 161
Trusted by: 18 members
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Evolution is all that matters.
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