Star Trek Review

I'm a Star Trek fan but NOT a Trekkie.  Let's get that clear right up front. There's  a difference.  I've seen all the Star Trek movies and  incarnations of the series I thought were worth my time.  Several of the later ones were not worth anyone's time and because of that, a franchise once iconic in stature teetered on the brink of irrelevance.

Whatever possessed J.J.Abrams, the man responsible for such TV series as LOST, Felicity and Alias along with the films Armageddon,  Mission Impossible III, and Cloverfield, to tackle this once beloved franchise and its instantly recognizable characters I don't know.  But I want to thank them.  Mr. Abrams decided to give us a vision of Star Trek we hadn't seen before, the very beginning.  Oh, we've had bits and pieces of it in past films and series, but nothing like this.  Instead of trying to make us believe new faces in the form of old, beloved characters, he gave us new faces in the form of young, yet to be beloved characters.  Abrams mixed that with a little Trek lore, a dash of the old, some super-hot action and an acceptable plot to present the 2009 version of Star Trek.  It may become the version that defines the franchise.

After opening with a full on exciting action space sequence that both sets up the premise of the film and gives birth to one James T. Kirk that sucks us in like a Romulan tractor beam,  Abrams takes us to Iowa, planet earth and a glimpse into Kirk's youth. It's a glimpse that exposes us to the character traits and habits that explains the intelligent, brave, arrogant and womanizing Kirk we came to know in the person of William Shatner.  In fact, it is this sequence that convinces us Abrams knows his Trek lore in that young Kirk behaves exactly the way you think he might have.

On to the planet Vulcan then.  In the only real "issue" addressed in the movie (the TV series and films before were notorious for dealing with political, racial and all other kinds of issues). we find a young Spock dealing with harassment for having a human mother.  His reaction to the taunting reveals a side of him only hinted at before but never revealed. 

These two, along with the rest of the eventual crew of the most famous space ship ever, the USS Enterprise, find themselves at Starfleet Academy and, on into space together as they unexpectedly face an emergency of planetary proportions involving the planet Vulcan.  Seems a rogue Romulan mining ship captain, Nero (no relation to the CD Burning Software suite OR the guy who fiddled while Rome burned, by the way), who has travelled from the future has a slight bone to pick with Spock, and thus with the whole Federation of Planets.

Leading the charge to stop Nero is Captain Christopher Pike(Bruce Greenwood), commmander of the USS Enterprise on its maiden voyage with a crew of brave but green rookies, Starfleet Academy graduates Spock, Dr. Leonard McCoy, Nyota Uhura, Hikaru Sulu and Pavel Chekov.  Also on board is one suspended and so yet to graduate cadet, James T. Kirk.

THE BOTTOM LINE

The new, young cast of the Enterpise are instantly recognizable in their characters as they become this beloved crew yet bring a enough fresh to them so they aren't stale. We learn Kirk(Chis Pine) comes by his humorous arrogant bravado via a chip on his shoulder, that Spock(Zachary Quinto, who absolutely masters the character) made an early choice between his home planet and his humanity that went on to define him and made his and Kirk's future relationship possible.  "Bones" McCoy as played by Karl Urban becomes Kirk's friend early on and retains the same exasperated sarcastic tone that defines his later interactions with the crew. And, as will often be the case later, Chekov (Antov Yelchin) and Scotty (Simon Pegg) contribute in a major way to the outcome of the crisis despite being second bananas.

Where the very first Star Trek move way back in 1979, was, in a word, boring, and a little bloated with a lack of action, this "prequel" not only has enough back story to satisfy the fan boys, but more than enough spectacular action to please today's CGI hungry movie goers.  Abrams may have been a little afraid of disappointing with his take on the franchise, but he needn't have been. He reels us in with a quick 127 minutes of origins, action, time travel and a special, welcome appearance by the series' ambassador.  All hail the new Star Trek.  May it live long.  And prosper.  GRADE: A