@NYCRockStar Feels the Love at Star Trek
Our pal Roger usually shares his rants at NYC Rock Star. But today he's giving his two cents about Star Trek for us lucky folks. Can Englishman Simon Pegg do a better Scotty than American James Doohan? Should Kirk quit chasing hot green chicks and admit his love for Spock? Is Karl Urban fit to fill old Bones's shoes, or should he go back to fighting Orcs? Dammit, Jim, we're bloggers, not reviewers! Oh wait, here's the review! Read on ...
Fans and non-fans may look at the new Star Trek movie, classify it as "science fiction", a "summer popcorn blockbuster," or even a "nostalgia trip," but I'm here to tell you that they're all right, and all wrong. Star Trek may the biggest, loudest love story ever. And it's fantastic.
Director J.J. Abrams honors the show's legacy without alienating and antiquating its best qualities. Whereas Abrams is indeed a solid director, he's truly enabled by a strong, smart script by Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman that contains just enough winks and nods to ring true to the Trekkies. But there's none of the cringing that I expected. There's really so much that could have gone wrong with this reboot—in fact, I was waiting for it to. Just about 10 years ago, I was at this very same theater (the Ziegfeld) to see Episode I of a much-loved science fiction icon. Awaiting the premiere of this Star Trek was a lot like that for me ... except without the massive letdown afterwards. Somehow accomplishing the enormous task of appealing to the wider, un-indoctrinated audience while satisfying the established base, one of the most astonishing qualities of this new Trek, is how it consistently fires on all thrusters and keeps from sucking.
So, where's the love?
You can sense the love that went into writing the script, with nods to older movies and episodes, in the form of lines, themes and symbols. The optimism of Trek, absent in most recent science fiction like Battlestar Galactica, is present. My favorite Trek has always been Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan; this movie both shows and references the Kobayashi Maru test (keep a lookout for a familiar apple) that sets the stage for Khan, along with that film's revenge theme. Time travel, another familiar Trek plot device (see Star Trek IV, or City on the Edge of Forever), once again figures prominently in this outing, but I won't talk too much about that, so as not to ruin any of the fun.
The plot is almost secondary to the much-more-interesting "origins" story that's being played out simultaneously. All props to Eric Bana as a great Romulan baddie and an exciting "destroy the galaxy" storyline, but it's been done before in countless tv episodes and movies, Trek or otherwise. Kirk's "saved the galaxy/Earth/alien" many times before—it's like his specialty. The real fun is seeing the characters enter the canon of Trek history. Characters in this case not only includes the members of the Enterprise crew/family, but all the great toys that we've grown up watching them use, like the transporter, phasers and even the Enterprise herself, who's gotten a facelift enough to hold her own with any other sci-fi starship of the genre, but stayed true to her iconically-shaped profile.
The same can be said for the aforementioned "toys" ... they're all updated here, but with reverence for the originals—they're instantly recognizeable. The doors still swish, the communicators still beep, and the ship's computer sounds like she always has (Majel Barrett Roddenberry, a.k.a. Nurse Chapel, in her final Trek role). It adds a layer of familiarity and comfort for the longtime fans.
There’s love in the design of the sets and costumes, with a thoughtful updating of the original Sixties look and feel, with just enough refinement to lose the campiness and be reasonably acceptable as 23rd-century Earth. That's one of the defining differences with Star Trek than other sci-fi shows—this is our future that's being portrayed, so it has to feel right too. I even bought the officers in miniskirts.
The ensemble cast lovingly channels the spirits of the show's original characters, instead of just impersonating the actors themselves. Karl Urban retains all the country-doctor charm of DeForest Kelley’s "Bones" McCoy, yet restores a youthfulness to the character with a bit of a more believable edge to his eccentricities. Anton Yelchin's Chekhov predictably mispronounces his w's and v's, and Simon Pegg as Scotty is pitch-perfect.
There's love of mythic storytelling: Shades of Howard Hawks and Kurosawa (and by design, Tarantino and Lucas) when the young Kirk is encouraged to join Starfleet by Captain Pike, who issues a challenge to "do better" than his father, "a Starfleet Captain for thirteen minutes and died saving the lives of 800 men and women," including Kirk and his mother. This is immediately followed by a scene with Kirk, en route to ship out to Starfleet, rides his motorcycle to gaze at the sun as it rises on the dawn of his new destiny. A nod to Hidden Fortress, Star Wars, or maybe even Top Gun? Steadicam cinematography and stylized editing reflect the influence of Trek TNG alum Ronald Moore’s Battlestar Galactica reboot.
That brings me to the grandest love story of all: James Tiberius Kirk and Mr. Spock. Notwithstanding the parody videos of homoerotic relationships between the two, their story is of the budding of a lifetime relationship and iconic friendship (with the occasional triangular complications added by an alien hottie or Dr. McCoy). That said, in classic romantic-comedy fashion (like Cheers' Sam and Diane, Moonlighting’s Maddie and Dave) they initially can’t stand each other at Starfleet Academy.
Chris Pine, as the young Kirk, reminded me a bit of Good Will Hunting, which I find amusing, because there were rumors of Matt Damon being offered the role. Like Will, he's seen as an extraordinarily gifted young man, with lots of potential and an attitude problem (which is how many geeks see themselves). A father-figureless townie living in the shadow of Starfleet Academy (like Damon's Southie to Cambridge), he's kind of an ass—but that's as it should be. Zachary Quinto fully inhabits the young, more impulsively emotional, Spock. Nimoy's Spock was always fun to watch when he was mortally threatening, especially to Shatner's Kirk. Quinto convincingly plays Spock *just* in control of his emotions, with sometimes logic being the only thing keeping him from kicking Kirk's ass. As per tradition, Kirk, seemingly reckless cowboy, calls shots from the gut, in contrast to Spock's logical, deliberate decision-making as the Nerd-in-Chief. You can see how these guys are going to "grow up" to be the men that we've come to know.
Bottom line, it's a satisfying, warp-speed reboot of a franchise held dear (and sometimes as equally derided) to many. I loved it back. Oh, and there are tons of the pew-pew-pew and kickass that makes it a fun summer movie for everybody else.
Thanks, Roger! And don't forget to watch the man-on-the-street coverage from@sciencegoddess as well!
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The Daily Beast: Jessi Klein