Photo by: Paramount Pictures
The “Star Trek” franchise is a deeply ingrained element of nerd culture.
Since the original series’ debut in 1966, the voyages of the starship Enterprise have been celebrated by geeks, nerds, dorks, dweebs and many other manners of unwashed antisocialites.
One could argue that the entire franchise has been run into the ground and that one would have to be a madman to try and revive it.
Luckily for all of us, director J.J. Abrams was crazy enough to try, and he succeeded as well as anyone could have expected.
The story follows a young James Kirk (Chris Pine), from the moment of his birth on the doomed starship, the USS Kelvin, to his enlistment in Starfleet and his eventual promotion to an officer of the USS Enterprise.
Along the way, he meets up with Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy (Karl Urban), the eccentric engineer Scotty (Simon Pegg), the sultry Niyota Uhura (Zoe Saldana) and, of course, the cold, calculating half-human half-Vulcan Mr. Spock (Zachary Quinto).
Kirk and the crew of the Enterprise soon find themselves in conflict with Nero (Eric Bana), a Romulan from the future with a planet destroying ship and an axe to grind.
Abrams choice of all young, relatively unknown actors definitely injected a much-needed sense of newness to the production.
With the exception of Leonard Nimoy as a time-traveling older version of Spock, there are no vestiges of the old left in this film.
Everything feels new and fresh, an excellent way to start off this franchise revival.
The acting is superb. Pine portrays Kirk as the swaggering, confident youth that he was always meant to be.
Seeing Quinto with the pointy ears and the bowl cut, spouting lines about logic and reason very clearly illustrates that he was born to play Spock.
Pegg is wonderful as the eccentric engineer Scottie.
Bana, an extremely talented actor in his own right, portrays the sinister Nero in a light that is both disturbing and sympathetic.
The story is your standard Star Trek fare.
Brutal aliens seek the destruction of Earth as an act of vengeance, time travel gets involved and Kirk very enthusiastically makes out with a hot alien chick.
Bones declares loudly that he’s a doctor, not a physicist; Scottie cries in anguish that there’s not enough power; and, Spock makes snide comments about humans and their emotions. However, the nods to the old series are rare enough that the story remains very accessible to audience members with no prior experience with “Star Trek.”
Whether you’re a trekkie or a normal human being, you’re sure to find something to love in “Star Trek.” This is in exception to the guy in the theater on opening night who took it upon himself to have a livid shouting match with everyone in the theater over whether or not this was a canonical storyline. If you happen to be that guy, please seek professional help. Everyone else should go see this movie.
