Not your father's Star Trek

Rating: 9/10 (24 March 2013)

J.J. Abrams "Star Trek" represents a new genre of filmmaking: part reboot, part prequel, part homage. The film's opening sequence takes place on the day of James Kirk's (Chris Pine) birth, with the tragic death of his father as he battles an unknown alien ship. Any fan of the original series immediately recognizes that this isn't a normal reboot of the franchise, as Kirk has always been known to have a close relationship with his father. The viewer is then left in a sense of wonder and intrigue trying to figure out what kind of film this will turn out to be. The plot centers around the young crew of the USS Enterprise, with familiar characters with new faces: Bones McCoy (Karl Urban), Uhura (Zoe Saldana), and Spock (Zachary Quinto) all fresh out of Starfleet. The young crew, commanded by Captain Pike (Bruce Greenwood), set out to investigate reports of attacks by an unknown alien ship. The first engagement with the alien ship forces Captain Pike to become prisoner to a Romulen called Nero (Eric Bana). Through a chance encounter with an aged Spock (Leonard Nemoy) after being marooned on a nearby planet, Kirk discovers Nero was taking revenge on Spock for a future event that lead to the destruction of Romlus. After a pursuit through a black hole, Nero arrived on the day of Kirks birth, forever altering his destiny (and the original Star Trek storyline). Spock was then captured and marooned, forced to watch as Nero destroyed planet Vulcan as vengeance for Spock failing to save Romulen. Nero's plans don't stop there, as he plans to destroy Earth as well. A fast yet smartly paced film reintroduces familiar faces for a new audience and simultaneously paying tribute to past films. Captain Kirk is now more of a rebel, Spock struggles to balance the logical upbringing with his human emotions, McCoy is portrayed perfectly by Karl Urban (thankfully being true to his characters voice pattern and not Pine doing his best Shatner impersonation). The theme of the film is that of rebirth and new beginnings, clearly portrayed as a modern take on a classic series. Abrams signature lens flare seems more appropriate that usual as the shiny and modern deck of the USS Enterprise gleans under its intense lighting. Wide angle shots are used brilliantly to take in the scope and scale of these massive ships. The space scenes are particularly impressive, borrowing from televisions own rebooted sci-fi franchise Battlestar Glactica, the camera is treated as a third person using a hand-held camera to sharply zoom in and out of epic space battles. Also like Battlestar, the themes of rebirth and a new respect for truly dramatic, and less cheesy, science fiction is presented; new love stories, brooding dark characters all while maintaining the fun. The film pays homage to the original series while making the reboot accessible to a new audience. Abrams rewards both newcomers with excellent character development and dialogue while rewarding die-hard fans with the occasional classic Star Trek line, such as Scotty screaming his now famous "I'm givin' her all she's got, Captain!" That line truly sums out Abrams efforts to rebirth the Star Trek legacy.