Ok, I admit it – I was a skeptic about the choice of theme for the new Star Trek movie considering that it was to be based in the Original Series time frame and with new actors playing the iconic characters we know. How could someone else play Kirk, Spock, McCoy and all the others – each with their own distinctive personalities and styles of playing the character. I watched all the trailers and read all the reviews of how well the new Star Trek movie is doing – becoming the top grossing movie of 2009 so far, beating Wolverine, Angels & Demons and Terminator Salvation. I was still not convinced.
It was after I watched the movie that I realized I had been wrong – completely so. The movie was not just a great summer sci-fi action flick – it was Star Trek. As a full fledged Trekkie (see what I wore to the show– thanks Binesh), I loved the new movie. Here are some thoughts around it.
The movie brought back memories of turning on Doordarshan on Sunday mornings as a kid to watch the (probably) only English serial being telecast with my parents – obviously Star Trek. We used to have a black & white TV back then and it was still compelling. All the kids used to make matchbox communicators and have a ton of fun pretending to be Kirk or Spock!
If you are really interested in the movie and it’s backstory, I highly recommend that you read the Star Trek: Countdown graphic novel before you go see the movie. This lays down the motivation behind the hate of the villain Nero. It also re-introduces some of the beloved characters from Star Trek: The Next Generation in the post-Nemesis time frame and ties in the new movie as the logical continuation of the franchise without disturbing canon. You might also want to read the novelization of the movie by Alan Dean Foster to pick up some smaller threads that you may have missed. But do this only after you’ve seen the movie at least once.
There are a bunch of small inconsistencies from earlier canon all around –but nothing to nitick too much about. The writers have very cleverly used the quantum multiverse theory to explain away all (well most) of these and works well as a plot point.
A quick thought of each of the characters:
- Loved the new Enterprise 1701! It’s both majestic and powerful – and reminds me of the Galaxy-class Enterprise 1701-D with the power of the Sovereign-class 1701-E. According to the producers, the new Enterprise is about 900m in length – larger than the 24th century Enterprise-E! I guess in the new timeline, StarFleet started building bigger ships knowing of the new threat from the Narada with much greater firepower. The new phaser banks are awesome although I did miss the quantum torpedoes of the newer ships.
- James T. Kirk played by Chris Pine is just cocky young hell-raiser one could imagine the original Kirk to have been. Pine hasn’t copied William Shatner’s mannerisms in any way and yet manages to convey that his Kirk is just as destined to be in the big chair.
- I was really, really skeptical about Zachary Quinto as Spock since I’m a regular watcher of Heroes as well where he plays a homicidal super-villain called Sylar. I felt that there was no way I could accept him as Spock – a logical, controlled Vulcan. Again, I was completely wrong. Quinto steps into the Vulcan (or StarFleet regulation) shoes with ease and aplomb. The only one time I was reminded of Sylar was during the fight on the bridge of the Enterprise. I really felt that he was going to lift his finger and slice off the top of Kirk’s skull!
- Karl Urban’s McCoy was just “Bones” brought to life. Perfect casting – the asperity and the “Dammit Jim” was just like it always was and felt just … right.
- Uhura’s HOT - Period! I liked her even more than the Orion girl! Not too sure about [Spoiler Alert]the romance between her and Spock[/Spoiler Alert] though.
- Scotty, Sulu and Chekov had their moments but this was primarily a Kirk/Spock/McCoy tale – as it should be.
J.J. Abrams has done it again. With a bunch of stuff like Alias, Lost, Cloverfield and Mission Impossible III behind him, he was a great choice to breath life back into this franchise. The action scenes are fast and furious and the graphics never take away from the story and the interaction of the characters. I also didn’t find the lens flares intrusive other than in a couple of scenes – something Abrams himself agrees to.
Of course, it will be interesting to see where the franchise now heads. There are some things in canon that would not have gotten affected by the alternate timeline – for instance, both V’Ger and the Whale Probe would still be on the way to Earth. Khan is still out there in the Botany Bay. Not to mention the Guardian of Forever, the Borg and more. The future movies will need to keep a reference to them as well I guess.
All-in-all, whether you are a Star Trek geek like me or not, this is not a movie you want to miss. Go see it now – in a theatre near you as soon as you can.
