May This New Trek Live Long And Prosper

Rating: 9/10 (8 May 2009)

Let me say up front I am not a die-hard Star Trek fan. I did grow up watching original series re-runs, the tapes of the movies, I've seen episodes from the spin-off shows and I've read some of the novels here and there so I've got a good working knowledge of the show. Having assumed that Star trek was dead after the lack-luster Nemesis and the cancellation of Enterprise (a show that remains underrated in my opinion) I was rather surprised over a year ago when the teaser trailer for this movie popped up before Cloverfield announcing that J.J. Abrams was bringing it back. Having raised my expectations since then I went to a screening last night with hopes for a good Star Trek movie. That in short was what I got and more.
To start off with there's the cast. It's never an easy task replacing a well known cast with a new group of actors especially when the cast in question is those of the original Star Trek series but not only has this film done it has done well. I was initially skeptical of Chris Pine as Kirk but Pine not only fills the rather large shoes left before him but fills them admirably and by the end of the movie you have no doubt that he is Captain James T Kirk. In truth that statement can really be applied to the entire cast of "new" old characters but in particular it can be said of Zachary Quinto as Spock and Simon Pegg as Scotty as both fill some rather large shoes very nicely indeed. There's also a nice (if underused) villain in the form of Eric Bana as Nero plus a fantastic supporting cast including the ever excellent Bruce Greenwood plus Ben Cross and a woefully underused Winona Ryder as Spock's parents. And then there's the return of Leonard Nimoy to the role that made him famous in some of the best and most unexpected scenes of the movie. In short it's one of the best Star Trek casts.
This has also got some really good production values. The set designs have echoes from the original series but give a nice modern feel to them and this is especially true of the bridge of the Enterprise itself. The film's CGI is (in two words I use very infrequently) awe-inspiring especially when it comes to the various ships sued in the film but especially of the Enterprise which looks like a perfect meshing of both the original TV series ship and the one used in the original series cast movies. In fact if one can find nothing else to say about this film it is that it has the best special effects in the history of Star Trek to date.
The film is an action film with a good story. From the opening teaser sequence right thru to the end the film is full of space battles, sword fights and fist fights. The fights are all well staged and put similar sequences in the two most recent Trek films to shame. The space battles, thanks to the excellent CGI mentioned above, also come across as the best yet done for Star Trek as whole. Yet while this might be an action film it hasn't lost what makes Star Trek so good to begin with: story. In what can be called increasingly rare in the Hollywood action movie the writers actually take the time to explore character development. In fact it is the journey of these two young men whose destines has always been intertwined that forms the emotional center of this movie. That really brings us to the Nimoy scenes and the sticky issue of continuity.
As I said I'm not a die-hard Trek fan so continuity doesn't really bother me in this case but I know it bothers some out there so let me say the following. While this film features the original group of characters from the original series they're different versions of them. This is thanks to one of the tried and true plot devices of Star Trek: time travel and interference with the past. That said the interference causes a lot of changes from the subtle to moments where I can see some going "blasphemy on the alter of Roddenberry!" In particular there's two plot points (one of them being a relationship) which might do that but for those of us who realize (as the movie itself says) that the past has been altered and this is a new time-line it shouldn't be anything too upsetting and if fact it makes for some fascinating viewing. The film is also full of nice little references to various Trek stories of the past especially the best of the Trek films The Wrath of Khan. The scenes with Nimoy (including the most impressive Vulcan mind meld I've ever seen) illustrate this point beautifully: this is the end of the beginning and the start of a whole new Trek.
Another aspect that brings the point of this being both an ending and a new beginning is the score by Michael Giacchino. Star Trek has always been known for some nice film score and this film is no exception to the rule. The score is bombastic when it needs to be and personal when it needs to be. Giacchino also makes very sparing use of the classic Star Trek theme itself until the end credits to let the audience know for certain that while things might have changed this is still Star Trek.
If this new Star Trek movie is any indication there's a life for this little TV series after all. With a fine cast, well designed sets, fantastic CGI work, well staged action, nice scripting and good music I can say one thing for certain. If this is the future of Star Trek then may this new Trek live long and prosper.