Going Where No Trek Film Has Gone Before

Rating: 10/10 (26 July 2009)

Some TV shows become famous.
Some become legends.
And some are Star Trek.
This big-screen reboot of the most famous television show in history is a masterpiece, blending a reverence for its origins into a modern update of a classic franchise. The special effects were absolutely stunning, but more than anything, this movie is a glorious feast for Trekkies old and new alike. It is so identifiably Star Trek without being a pale imitation that I can easily understand why it's called the best Star Trek movie to date.
Michael Giacchino's score is a masterpiece. The thundering orchestra as the Enterprise is revealed for the first time is guaranteed to send shivers down anyone's spine, but the ending - the grand recapitulation of the original series' main theme in glorious stereo - brings tears to the eyes.
It is, however, the actors who make the show. Cho, Yelchin and Saldana are divine. Karl Urban as the country doctor Leonard 'Bones' McCoy brings a rough, raw sex appeal to DeForest Kelley's 'piss-and-vinegar' grumbles. Urban was a Trekkie growing up and it shows, as he nails the character every scene. His chemistry with Pine, as well, is off the charts, to the point where many fans indulge the same speculation about new-Kirk and new-McCoy that the original Trekkies carried on about Kirk and Spock so many decades ago.
But the high points, as in the original series, are Zachary Quinto and Chris Pine as the immortal, dynamic duo Spock and Kirk.
Quinto spent hours discussing Spock with Leonard Nimoy. His Spock is utterly believable, and Quinto perfectly embodies Spock's struggle between emotion and reason, humanity and Vulcan teachings. As he walks onto the bridge to offer himself as First Officer, anyone familiar with the original series can see the echo - and the beginning - of Leonard Nimoy's immortal character - a little rough, perhaps, with more emotion still than he would like, but he is so utterly, recognizably Spock it sent chills down my spine. And Quinto's chemistry with Pine makes it unbelievably easy to believe that this is just the beginning of "a friendship that will define them both." Which leads me in to Chris Pine as Captain James T. Kirk. Pine watched some Star Trek to prepare for the role, but stopped because he didn't want to copy Shatner's performance. He was so right - no one could ever have done what Shatner did with the role. But it doesn't matter, because everything Kirk is glows out of his eyes, his face, his voice, his gestures. That derring-do, devil-may-care attitude we all know and love is tempered with the fierce, undying loyalty that made Kirk the best Starfleet captain the Trekiverse has ever seen, and Pine manages to convey both no matter what the situation. He becomes Kirk, different perhaps thanks to a different childhood but still utterly, heartbreakingly recognizable.
In the end, for new fans, the movie is sure to draw them into the franchise. For old-time Trekkies, it is an achingly beautiful homage to the very best of Star Trek, the spirit that made it famous and its lead characters into archetypes themselves - and I believe that Urban, Quinto, and Pine, with their talent and their chemistry, can carry those archetypes to a new generation.
I can't wait for the sequel.