After a lackluster summer kick off with X-Men Origins: Wolverine, a worthy summer movie has been delivered. Star Trek is a return to form for the beloved series, it makes up for Star Trek: Nemesis. This isn’t exactly “smart” entertainment and it does feature more than a few conveniances and plot wholes, but it still rises above the standard summer movie formula.
Star Trek shows the early days of Captain James T. Kirk and the USS Enterprise crew members. The film centers around James T. Kirk who starts out lost and without a path, but after being recruited by Captain Pike, after enlisting in star fleet and has found his true destiny. Starting off clashing with the uptight logical Spock, they soon must work together to strive through danger. As the romulan Nero threatens the future they know, they must band together to foil his plans.
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The new take on the Trek world is quite refreshing. While it is heavy on the action, it’s also easy to be engrossed in this lovable team. The whole crew is engaging, despite a few being thrown to the side. They all mostly have their moments and none of them ever come off as “annoying” or unneeded. The story is also decent enough, but in all honesty, it’s not as great as it should be. Most of the problems are due to Robert Orci and Alex Kurtzman’s script. It limits too many characters, contains plenty plot holes, and it also features plenty of conveniences that come across as gimmicky. They’re all quite apparent issues that detract from the experience the more you think about it.
Taking over as James T. Kirk for the great William Shatner, is newcomer Chris Pine. Pine plays Kirk as sly, cocky, but yet remains a likable charismatic lead. He’s one of the most likable on screen leads in recent memory. Kirk easily could’ve come off as a smug jerk, but he never does. Zachary Quinto fares perfectly as Spock even with Leonard Nemoy there casting a big shadow. Quinto holds his own and makes for a fun uptight prude and a perfect counterpart for Nemoy’s Spock. This is the Kirk and Spock show, both Quinto and Pine play off each other perfectly. On paper, they should be hatable characters but somehow Pine and Quinto making them nothing but likable.
Eric Bana is menacing enough as Nero, but he’s unfortunately a one note villain. He’s a fine antagonist due to Bana’s screen presence, but he’s really just a caricature. He has a motive, but it’s one we’ve seen before. It’s a very generic villain. A big standout is Karl Urban as Leonard “Bones” McCoy. While the film is filled with a good amount of comedy, Urban steals the show. He’s the one character that represents the audience, he points out whenever Kirk is acting like an idiot. That happens quite often, of course. The actors that get left in the dust are Anton Yelchin, John Cho, Zoe Zaldana, and Simon Pegg. They’re all good and well suited for their roles, but they’re given very little to nothing to do.
TV legend J.J. Abrams shows that he is more than just a television director, improving upon almost every aspect of his directorial debut Mission Impossible: III. While that was, on its own terms, a fun action movie it pales in comparison to Trek. The action scenes are staged to near-perfection keeping you on the edge of your seat while also contributing to the story. There’s a clear geography and they’re easy to follow. They also never come off repetitive and are all unique. His lens flares may bother some for sure, but it adds a kinetic energy that gives the film a vibrant and unique look. It’s all vibrant and feels unworldly. As a nitpick, his use of shaky cam comes off a bit jarring at times. It works well during the action, but it feels jolty and distracting when it comes to simple conversations. This is most notable during Kirk and Captain Pike’s first exchange.
Star Trek may possibly be the best star trek film since Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan. While not in the same league as that film, it may be the most entertaining installment since then. This is a film that works far better than it should. The plot holes, heavy exposition, and conveniences should ruin this blockbuster, but it doesn’t. Most of the problems go unnoticed during your viewing experience, it’s too difficult not to feel pulled in and intoxicated by this universe.
8.5 out of 10
What did you think of Star Trek?