A bold and immensely satisfying adventure

Rating: 8/10 (25 May 2009)

When I walked into the theater, I barely knew anything about Star Trek. My knowledge consisted of a few character names and other tidbits I had picked up, mostly from reviews of this very movie. However, luckily for me, while there are probably some in-jokes and subtleties that I missed, it did not matter. My ignorance of Trekkie-lore did not hinder my enjoyment of an expertly-made and thoroughly entertaining movie. While I would not say that J.J. Abram's Star Trek is quite on par with The Dark Knight or even Batman Begins, which were both movies that successfully rebooted a failing franchise just like Star Trek, I agree with what many critics and audience members have been saying since the sci-fi movie first hit theaters: it is phenomenal for the way it managed to please fans of the original series while still welcoming newbies like me.
One of the first things worth noting is the stellar ensemble cast. While no single performance stands out, though both Chris Pine as James T. Kirk and Zachary Quinto as Spock come rather close, every cast member gets a moment to shine and they all take advantage of that opportunity. Though they are relatively new to the movie industry, Pine and Quinto do a brilliant job as the two main characters and their relationship, which changes from one of mutual hate to something more amiable, develops extremely well, largely due to their unique chemistry. As the villain, Eric Bana brings just the right amount of menace and, strangely, humanity, allowing the audience to sympathize with his cause without compromising the evil nature of his character. Other performances that deserve mention are Karl Urban as Dr. "Bones" McCoy, John Cho as Mr. Sulu, Simon Pegg as the quirky but intelligent Scotty and Anton Yelchin as a very Russian Chekov. Zoe Saldana does a fine job as Uhura but her character lacks the development and distinctive personality of the others as, though some comes through occasionally, she turns into little more than a love interest.
Other than the fantastic cast, an infinite amount of credit for the movie's success should go to director J.J. Abrams. As a fan of Lost, I was ecstatic when I heard the praise reviewers were giving Abrams, and after seeing the movie, I completely concur with everything people have said about him. Given the amount of effort put into the film, it's surprising that he was, in fact, not originally a fan of Star Trek, yet that actually seems to be more of a good thing because he approached the movie as a newcomer, enabling him to tell the story without getting bogged down in the mythology as a die-hard fan might have done. Of course, he could only achieve all of this with the help of producer Damon Lindelof and writers Roborto Orzi and Alex Kurtzman, all of whom also worked with him on Lost. They all did a great job of developing the characters and combining action, romance, drama and science fiction into a credible, gripping story. The dialogue was clever, often funny, and occasionally cheesy, though that is not necessarily a bad thing. Also, there is enough emotion to make the audience - even non-Trekkies - care about the characters, many of whom are not even human, but it never becomes sappy or overly melodramatic.
Last come the techs. The cinematography was very good and the visual effects, while nothing groundbreaking, were nonetheless quite spectacular. Fortunately, unlike many modern blockbusters, Star Trek does not fall into the trap of relying on special effects or action; in fact, the action is always secondary to the characters and story. The score by Michael Giacchino finds the right chord between heroically uplifting and urgent. It never distracts from the movie itself, instead emphasizing the tone or emotion of a particular scene and lending the film an almost epic feel.
Initially, I was conflicted between seeing this or Terminator Salvation, which just came out, in theaters. A combination of impressively good reviews and word-of-mouth, the enticing trailer, a promising looking cast and, of course, J.J. Abrams convinced me to see Star Trek, and I in no way regret my choice. While I have not been converted to a hardcore Trekkie, nor do I think I ever will, I will certainly be interested in any sequels that come out in the future. May this franchise and the careers of all those involved live long and prosper.