Style Over Substance

Rating: 5/10 (31 December 2013)

This movie starts off with a battle in space between an unknown alien vessel and a ship from Starfleet. On the ship is a man named "George Kirk" (Chris Hemsworth) who has been given command because the Starfleet captain has been summoned onto the alien vessel to parlay. The captain is subsequently killed and George Kirk manages to keep the enemy ship occupied while his passengers and crew attempt to evacuate by emergency shuttles. On board one of these shuttles is his wife who is giving birth while the battle rages and the father dies. The young child's name is "James T. Kirk". Years pass and eventually several of the characters from the original "Star Trek" meet at Starfleet Academy. These include "James T. Kirk" (Chris Pine), "Mister Spock" (Zachary Quinto), "Nyoto Uhura" (Zoe Saldana) and "Dr. Leonard McCoy" (Karl Urban). Other characters are also introduced in the course of the movie. Now, as far as the actors were concerned I thought that each of them performed adequately with their individual characters. However, on several occasions the actors were required to perform "out of character" and this weighed heavily upon its credibility. For example, the romantic relationship between Spock and Uhura is both unfounded and unwarranted. Another problem was the manner in which certain segments of either the television show or Star Trek movies were taken and "made over" which created a totally different outcome or perspective than originally broadcast . An example of this would be the "Kobayashi Maru" scenario which has Kirk acting much too cavalier--even for him. Afterward he is summoned to appear before a board of inquiry and is strongly condemned. However, in the movie "The Wrath of Khan" he is supposedly commended for his originality. Now, I realize that this film attempts to differentiate itself from both the Star Trek television series and previous Star Trek movies. Yet at the same time it seeks to establish the characters identities in relation to the televisions series and previous movies. Apparently the makers of this film figured that the creation of a time-warp would allow them to accomplish both tasks. But in order to be successful they probably needed to be more cautious on what they wanted to change. In this case change for the sake of change wasn't really necessary. Be that as it may, I think those viewers who enjoy style over substance will probably really like this movie. Star Trek "purists" on the other hand might have issues with it. Although I belong to the latter category, I understand that this movie is all about establishing an "alternate reality" and sets the stage for further sequels which are intended to develop a life of their own. Because of that I suppose it deserves the benefit of the doubt. That said, I rate it as average.