Star Trek Will Rock the Summer

As a lifelong Star Trek fan, I had my doubts about this movie.  All the trailers looked great, so I had no worries about whether it would be a good film, full of exciting action…but would it be a good Star Trek movie?

Star Trek has always used the sci-fi genre the way it was meant to be used: not as an end unto itself for the sake of spaceships, aliens, and other weird things, but as a vehicle for exploring such deeper themes as politics, economics, religion, relationships, and the human condition, to name a few.   Plus, Star Trek has always been focused on developing solid, relatable characters in the midst of its topical exploration.  Kirk, Spock, Bones, Scotty (to speak only of the original series, let alone The Next Generation and others) — these are  characters and performances that have been established over the last 40-some years of Star Trek and are now some of the most iconic in our pop culture heritage.

So who in their right mind would try to to take it all, start over from scratch, and actually expect it to work?

Ladies and gentlemen, I propose now that J.J. Abrams be admitted to the new pantheon of geek gods.  Not simply because he is responsible for LOST (though that may be enough in itself), but because in my opinion, he has done what so many — mostly irascible, picky, die-hard Trek fans — have thought impossible.

Director (and producer) Abrams, producer Damon Lindelof, writers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, and one heck of a cast brought a dying franchise back to life with an excellent film.  All of the elements worked, from the effects, to the cast, to the humor, and even to some of the explanations given for some possible non-canon elements (though to avoid spoilers that’s all I’ll say about that).

While the plot itself was enjoyable (although not terribly complex), the really bright spot in this film was — as it should be in a Star Trek movie — the characters.  To me, this was the biggest obstacle in rebooting the franchise.  Would we ever be able to believe that anyone but Shatner is Kirk, anyone but Nimoy is Spock, and so forth? Surprisingly, the answer is a resounding yes!

While it would have been incredibly easy for the filmmakers to give the actors free rein to do whatever they wanted with the characters, they instead paid very close attention to helping the cast recreate familiar characters in a familiar way.  While each actor had some room to breathe in interpreting their character, they also each stuck very close to the original, in everything from manner of speech, to facial expressions, to movement.  There were moments where I had to shake my head in disbelief at the faithfulness of these performances to their original counterparts.  Far from being the disappointment that had been all-too possible, it was instead a very fun thing to witness.

Along with the cast, there were a couple of other ways that the filmmakers helped make this a great movie and simultaneously connect it to the original series in a believable way.  One is design, and one is sound.  From a design aspect, Star Trek works hard to make you believe that what you’re watching truly fits on a timeline prior to the events of the original series.  With interior environments that more reflect George Lucas’s theory of a “used future” than the immaculate environments we’re used to seeing in Star Trek, the ships and surroundings in this film show us a Federation that is still in its early stages.  The innards of the Enterprise sometimes look more like something you’d expect to see in a Tom Clancy movie than the clean, sleek panel-and-carpet sets of previous Trek incarnations.  The real exception to this is the bridge, which has a very futuristic look while still managing to function in a more “low-tech” fashion than what we’ve seen in previous installments in the series.  In addition to the sets, the Starfleet uniforms sell the look of the film by somehow successfully mirroring the original vintage 60′s look without appearing out of date.

Finally, the sound ties it all together.  In a movie that features the most advanced Star Trek visual effects yet, the use of original sounds for the transporters, communicators, phasers, and so forth drives home the time period.  Add in a spectacular score by Michael Giacchino, and this film isn’t just fun to watch, but it’s a treat to listen to as well.

In case you can’t tell, I really enjoyed this movie.  It’s a great film on its own with lots of fun references and inside jokes for lifelong Trekkers while still being a place for newbies to jump on board without all the continuity baggage.  It’s certainly the most exciting, fast-paced Star Trek movie in a long time (perhaps ever) while still remaining true to the core elements of what Trek is all about.  While I’ve already seen examples of hardcore Trekkers whining about this or that on message boards (adding further validity to this terrific parody review that The Onion released earlier this week), this Star Trek is, as many reviews have already stated, a movie for everyone to enjoy — with the possible exception of the most fanatical fans, for whom this movie might seem sacrilegious.

The other summer releases now have their work cut out for them to beat what may already be the most enjoyable flick of the season!