"Star Trek" review by Ben Kenber

I have been into the world of “Star Trek” since I started watching the original series at the tender age of 5. I reveled in Captain Kirk, Mister Spock, and the rest of the Enterprise crew hurtling through space and battling those who would put the Enterprise in danger. I still remember watching one episode (it was “The Return of the Archons”) in the family room of our home (at the time) in Georgia. There was a moment where the Enterprise crew was being held prisoner, and then there came on this overwhelmingly loud noise that subsequently rendered them all unconscious. As they slowly descended to the floor, overcome by the sound they could not tolerate, I mimicked what I saw on that ancient Zenith television we had, pretending I was part of this great crew. Back then, I envisioned myself as a character on the original show, and this continued when “Star Trek: The Next Generation” became a reality.

As “Star Trek” expanded from its original incarnation that finally found its deserved success in syndication, and then later to a never ending movie franchise, I stayed with it as much as I could. All events Trek became the most memorable of family events, good and bad. My dad had to carry me out of “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan” after I burst into tears after Spock died. The fact that I kept saying he would come back to life was truly an utter coincidence when “Star Trek III: The Search for Spock” came out (I cried after that one as well). I later became determined to be the first kid in Thousand Oaks, California to own a copy of “Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home” on VHS. When my family moved from Thousand Oaks to the Bay Area, I found myself wanting those transporters to be real so that I could beam down south to hang out with the friends I was forced to leave behind. My solace from this sudden uprooting was limited to the various “Star Trek” novels that came out each month, and “Star Trek: The Next Generation” which soon premiered to an unheard of popularity in first-run syndication.

But somewhere along the line, I found myself losing interest in all things Trek as I started to miss out on the last couple of seasons of “Star Trek: TNG.” I also came to the point where I felt I had read one Star Trek novel too many, and I turned my attention to Stephen King. When “Deep Space Nine” debuted, I found myself not wanting to tune in. Keeping up with any show, let alone a Star Trek show, can be a real chore. Then there was the arrival of “Star Trek V: The Final Frontier,” a movie I couldn’t wait to see. That one forever forced me to keep my expectations in check, and I was in denial over William Shatner’s first (and last) feature film directing effort for the longest time.

“Voyager” was more of the same and filled with characters that were nowhere as interesting as their predecessors (except Seven of Nine, so incredibly irresistible she was), and it ended up repeating tired old plotlines from the shows that spawned it. With “Enterprise,” they took a fresh direction by doing a prequel to the original show. Things suddenly seemed exciting in the Trek universe again, but that excitement lasted only a brief period of time, and it soon turned out to be the same old outer space opera bullshit. By the time “Star Trek: Nemesis” was released and ended up plummeting to a box office gross that was horrifyingly less than “Star Trek V.” After being pimped out endlessly by Paramount Pictures, the franchise seemed dried up of all creativity. Plus, its message of hope and peace got drowned out by the low points (and there were many) of the Bush Administration, leaving us with not much to be happy about.

Despite my respect for Star Trek fading, I still believed that the franchise would and could be resurrected. As Spock would say, “there are always possibilities…”

That resurrection has now arrived, seven years after “Star Trek: Nemesis,” thanks to producer wunderkind and filmmaker J.J. Abrams. Indeed, his new “Star Trek” movie is the most exciting film the series has seen since “First Contact,” and I fucking loved it! Unlike some of the previous entries which, while good, felt somewhat inert, this origin story of the first voyage aboard the Enterprise with Kirk and Spock gives the franchise a much needed (and very welcome) kick in the ass. By taking the series in new directions, J.J. Abrams has more than succeeded in opening up the world of Trek to an audience that has never fully embraced it before. Seeing it have such an astounding opening (over $70 million) puts a smile on my face that was as big as the one I had as I walked out of the theater once the end credits vanished from the silver screen.

We get to see a young James Tiberius Kirk driving a hot rod while blasting “Sabotage” by the Beastie Boys out the car’s sound system, and this is the first sign that “Star Trek” is not going to be the same old shit. Indeed, I have always wanted to see more rock music featured in this series. We then get to see a young Spock getting taunted by his classmates, and we see him using methods other than that famous Vulcan nerve pinch to subdue his enemies. This is one of my favorite moments from the movie as I always wondered how one Vulcan would cruelly tease another. Since full blooded Vulcans have no emotion, what kind of enjoyment could they possibly get out of picking on Spock? Seeing Spock beat the crap out of others would have seemed hilarious and hard to take seriously in any other movie, but Abrams takes the character in fresh new directions that we have not seen him go to before. This plays much more intensely on the fact that Spock has always been half-human and half-Vulcan.

The plot of “Star Trek” revolves around the device of time travel which has played a part in the most entertaining and successful films in the series (“The Voyage Home” and “First Contact”). It involves a large mining ship of Romulans commanded by Nero (Eric Bana) who is as thirsty for revenge as Khan was in “Star Trek II.” These two elements combine together to create and fuel the kind of origin story that “Wolverine” should have been. It doesn’t matter how much you knew about what happened previously in the Gene Roddenberry’s sci-fi creation because anything and everything you remembered about it previously will seem very different, and that makes the movie all the more entertaining and unpredictable.

One of the key successes that J.J. Abrams has with his “Star Trek” is with the actors he has chosen, and that none of them try to do imitate or mimic of what the actors who originated these roles did before them. Each actor, even those who are given limited screen time, has succeeded in making these iconic characters all their own. Among the most impressive in the cast is Chris Pine who plays Jim Kirk as a hotshot who gets himself in trouble constantly and who lacks a father figure in his life. Chris really succeeds in capturing the same cockiness and over confidence that William Shatner brought to the role so many times before.

But even better is Zachary Quinto who plays Spock at his most emotionally unhinged. Of all the actors in the movie, he has the biggest obstacle to overcome since the original Spock (Leonard Nimoy) is in the film as well. I really admired how Quinto strongly displayed Spock’s inner turmoil and of the fact that (as his father puts it) he is “a child of two worlds.” One of his best moments comes near the beginning when he essentially flips off the Vulcan High Command after he is accepted into their prestigious science academy. By describing Spock as having done so well despite the “disadvantage” of having a human mother (played by Winona Ryder of all people), we get a huge thrill out of Zachary’s performance as he basically tells his emotionless elders to kiss his Vulcan ass goodbye.

One of the truly inspired casting choices in “Star Trek” is Simon Pegg as Engineer Montgomery Scott. As the movie heads to its exciting climax, it is almost frightening how much Simon ends up looking like Scotty, and that’s even more so as he gets to where he is telling Kirk:

“I'm giving her all she's got, Captain!”

Simon gives us a Scotty that is a perfect comic foil, and it will be great fun to see where he will take Scotty in future installments. And we all know that there will be future installments!

As Nero, Eric Bana gives us the strongest and most lethal villain the series has had in the longest time, and he is almost on a par with Khan from “Star Trek II.” Whereas some of the previous antagonists seemed more refined in how they acted among their prey, Nero’s fury is so personal and uncontainable that he is a live wire like Khan was all those years ago. The fact that Bana’s character is named after the Roman Emperor whose rule was marked by tyranny, and that he ordered the execution of his mother and adopted brother should give you an idea of how screwed up his character is.

The rest of the cast includes Bruce Greenwood who is perfectly cast as the Enterprise’s first captain, Christopher Pike, and it reminded me a lot of his vastly underrated portrayal of John F. Kennedy in “Thirteen Days.” John Cho of “Harold & Kumar” fame plays Hikaru Sulu, and he has a great moment where he gets to put his fencing skills to the test. Zoe Saldana plays Uhura with a calm sexiness and an intelligence that is underestimated by others until she makes you see the big picture. Karl Urban gives us a pitch perfect Dr. Leonard ‘Bones’ McCoy and captures the characters infinite crankiness and the undying friendship he has with James Kirk. Anton Yelchin takes on the role of Pavel Chekov, and while his character feels underused here, he is still well cast and has some great moments on top of having a flawless Russian accent. And of course, we have Winona Ryder playing Spock’s mother, and her performance is all the more impressive when you take into account that she is only 2 years older than Zachary Quinto.

What impressed me even more about this particular “Star Trek” is that it was given a budget of over $100 million. All the previous films, with the exception of “Star Trek: The Motion Picture,” were given very tight budgets that were less than other movies of its genre. While it took away from the epic scope many of the movies could have had, it allowed for the film series to have a longevity that it would not have had otherwise. The budget for this latest adventure though, is almost twice that of “Star Trek: The Nemesis.” As a Trekker myself (however lapsed), I found this to be a big thrill as I would have loved to have seen the other films get this kind of attention. If only the box office would have allowed it…

There is no doubt that the money is there on the screen, and the effects given to this movie are remarkable. This is an especially good point to make as special effects have never really been the strong point of the “Star Trek” series, but here they are the best they have ever been. Abrams also takes the time to inject a lot of color into the movie as well. It’s as if this were a science fiction movie directed by Dario Argento, but without all the copious blood. The bridge of the Enterprise looks so much different than it ever did before, and it has a sleek style to it that makes being on the bridge all the more inviting.

I’ll be very interested to hear what die hard Trekkers think of this latest adventure of the Enterprise crew. This one does not dwell on big ideas the way Star Trek has done for the most part in its various incarnations. The main power of Roddenberry’s series was how it dealt with social issues of the day in the infinite realm of science fiction. This one is meant to be more like “Star Wars,” just as J.J. Abrams had intended it. In taking that direction, it helps give this aging franchise an invigorated feeling that many (including myself) felt it desperately needed. While it may not be a Trek rooted in deep philosophy, I think this one leaves the door open to writers exploring present day themes in a future installment.

Frankly, I am more than fine with the route that “Star Trek” has taken here, and what is presented in the film in no way diminishes the franchise. In fact, Abrams’ new movie brilliantly captures the infectious spirit that came from the original series. Besides, a “Star Trek” movie mirroring the events of Iraq and/or Afghanistan would have been a big mistake as we are so oversaturated with the events over there. It’s not just that so many Iraq-related movies have bombed at the box office, but it would have seemed all too obvious in what the story would have tried to accomplish.

But I cannot go on without mentioning the oh so welcome return of Leonard Nimoy as Spock (or “Spock Prime” as the credits list him as). This could have been a gimmicky cameo that might have been fun for a few seconds, but Nimoy’s Spock does play a very pivotal role in the movie. Nimoy also helps give this movie a sense of legitimacy in that it could not have achieved without his appearance. Keep in mind, his character was the only one who survived the rejected first pilot of the show

There was a lot of talk about William Shatner coming back as James Kirk Prime, but I honestly think this one was better off without him. While he did great work on the recently ended “Boston Legal,” I can’t help but think that his “over inflated” ego really would have gotten in the way, and that would have effectively taken us out of the moment. Maybe, just maybe, we might see him in a future installment if it makes sense, but Shatner for the time being is doing quite well without “Star Trek” in his life.

Don’t worry Bill; your Captain Kirk forever remains one of my childhood heroes.

Seeing this new “Star Trek” being so well received brings a lot of happiness to me. My mood seems to get inadvertently sidetracked depending on the health of the franchise. I honestly can say that I am not all that surprised by its longevity or its constant rebirth into something new. Roddenberry’s message of hope keeps going past all the hoopla and one TV series too many, and it always finds a way to win out in the end. How fitting it is that it is getting released around the beginning of the Obama’s first term as President. Granted, this is really a coincidence since the movie was put through development even before Barrack made public his decision to run for President. It’s a wonderful coincidence all the same though.

All those kids who gave me crap about liking this great series can suck it now, because the phenomenon of Star Trek is here to stay. Even those who picked on me for being a Trekker (and who ironically did better in science classes than I did) won’t be able to pass this one up. “Star Trek” can be seen as the first truly great odd-numbered movie in the series (technically, it is “Star Trek XI”), and infinite proof that this is indeed a franchise that will not die.

Live long and prosper? OH HELL YES!!!!

**** out of ****