Film review: Star Trek
BY MARK BROATCH
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Who could have guessed? Spock, the unemotional logician we've known only from middle age, was once a way cool space dude.
Zachary Quinto, a regular for the director, JJ Abrams (Lost, Alias, Cloverfield), has invested the young Vulcan with wit, chutzpah and a real magnetism.
At the start of the film he's clearly the alpha male in this jostling pride of warp-thrusters, and even Chris Pine's jaunty young Captain Kirk has to work hard to catch up. Those pointed ears and quizzical brows are no turn-off to the women, either.
Abrams has calmly and deliberately set out to reignite the flickering Star Trek flame by creating a big-budget, unashamed crowd-pleaser, that takes the Enterprise crew back to their first days out of the Starfleet Academy.
This is an incredibly canny way to kick off a new chapter in the story. The millions upon sweaty millions of fans of the original TV series, and the spin-offs and the mixed bag of movies it spawned, have not only the formative years of the crew to look forward to, but at least a decade of boldly (and lucratively) going to seek out new life, new civilisations.
But for now, we have two hours to meld Kirk, Spock, Sulu (John Cho), Bones (Urban), Scotty (Pegg), Chekov (Anton Yelchin) and Uhura (Zoe Saldana) into an ass-kicking team to save the Earth and galaxy from a terrible new threat.
Old Spock will make an appearance, in which he explains something of immense importance. Worlds will be destroyed, martial arts will be deployed and on a precarious platform kilometres above the surface, Kirk's heroic DNA will be proven beyond doubt.
And at last his famous gaming of the Academy entrance exam can be shown. There is much to enjoy.
The new Enterprise is not, however, completely airtight. Although the digital effects are really, really good - the thing looks every cent of the 150 million greenbacks it cost to make - the hour spent setting up the backstory of Kirk and Spock's rivalry means no one else gets a look in.
The actors playing Sulu, Bones and Scotty simply don't have enough lines to move much beyond caricatures of the characters we know so well.
Chekov does steal a few scenes with his outrageous Russian accent but Uhura, after a strong start, almost disappears. We'll have to wait for the sequels to flesh out their early lives.
Surprisingly for an Abrams film, Star Trek also has a couple of flat spots halfway in. That's probably because, although it's a well-planned, beautifully executed rollercoaster, it's one where you can spot almost all of the hair-raising bits well ahead.
We know they'll get through it, after much frantic jimmying of warp drives, phasering and beaming aboard, but more threat and menace were required.
The film-makers could easily have cut the blizzard, which felt like a sop to those who like seeing new alien creatures. And I have no idea what the film-makers thought they were doing casting Winona Ryder and House regular Jennifer Morrison as characters' mothers. But blink and they are gone.
This is a boy's own story, as it ever was. And a damned good one.
Star Trek
Director: JJ Abrams
Starring Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Eric Bana, Karl Urban, Simon Pegg
Rating: M
Time: 126 minutes
Trailer: Flicks.co.nz
* What do you think of Star Trek? Post your comments below.
- © Fairfax NZ News
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Oh please ..move on. The reason Star Trek is not on prime time was exactly because the current generation laugh at the antics of 1960's Star Trek. This is the 21st Century Star Trek. Gene Roddenbuerry may or may not spin but this version works.
I think the Kobayashi Maru test showed in the film gave us enough Shatnerisms to prove we could not sit through... hours of... that.
This guy playing Kirk didn't want to play it like Shatner's charcterisation? Whats the point? Shatner was Kirk. Idiot. As for Bones & Kirk meeting at the academy, never happened in the StarTrek Universe. McCoy was odler than Kirk & already aboard the Enterprise when Kirk got command. Its deifnitely not Star Trek. I knew that any guy that does a TV series called lost, about a group of people lost on an island where there ae others living & visitors coming & going ( Hardly lost are they) would ruin Trek. I was right. Gene Rodenberry will be rolling in his space bound urn!
I loved it!! And I've been brought up on Star Trek.
Let's face it - Most Star Trek movies have been HORRIBLE (Wrath of Khan an obvious exception) - this one does really well to hold the audience.
I agree the story wasn't the best, and the bad guy wasn't developed beyond a backstory, but the point of the movie was to introduce the new crew. They did a great job.
Bones and Scotty were hilarious every time they were on screen.
Great film, terrible review. Honestly Mr Stuff.co.nz, can't we get some better film reviewers in here? 'Way Cool Space Dude'? Honestly....
AWESOME AWESOME AWESOME AWESOME AWESOME! Being a devout follower of the original series I was in HEAVEN. I am also an actress and the actors were spectacular at capturing the characters inner life (and uncannily most of them the look as well) and I couldn't have been more entertained with some of the original lines left in tact "I'm a doctor not a physicist!" and "We're up to maximum warp - I don't know if it will take anymore!" than if I had been a five year old at Disneyland. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE bring Jim Kirk back to life from that damnable series The Second Generation and put in WILLIAM SHATNER!!!! Although I am a woman James T. Kirk has always been my standard in life ("There is ALWAYS a solution")and I unabashedly say that I am IN LOVE with the fictional character!!! Kudos to the team and also a hat's off to Gene Rodenberry who wrote such great morality plays where good triumphs over evil. I will always be grateful. Live long and prosper!! LOL
I'm not a trekkie and I loved this movie!
It had everything, started great, middle was entertaining and the end was pretty great too.
This isn't going to make me want to go back and watch any old Star Trek because I've tried and I can't but this is at least a great stand alone sci-fi film suited to trek fans (i think) and non trek fans alike.
I think the alternate universe concept should help hard core trekkies accept the film and aspects of it that don't match the original series/movies (but I'm just guessing)
5 stars from me :)
Those trekkies who hate this film because is doesn't stick to "canon" (whatever that is) need to realise that Trek was never internally consistent enough to have a proper canon in the first place. Not to mention that a time travel storyline such as this one automatically puts the film in an alternate universe, thus freeing them of too much canonical obligation.
Trek was never meant to be a hard sci fi overall. Parts of it are, but it's primarily about the characters. Lets remember that when watching the "red matter".
Saw the movie with my wife Sat night - I wasn't ever a huge fan of Star Trek but I knew who was who and all the basic facts, my wife had no idea about Star Trek. But we went cos we are LOST fans and so we hoped JJ would give us something good. WE LOVED IT! Karl Urban (who @ DJ 14, is no relation to the Keith by the way) did a great job. I would watch this film again and again. Even with 'Shakey-cam' mistakes JJ Abrams kicks Butt. 5/5
Saw this movie last nite, thought it rocked I really enjoyed.
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have to say I enjoyed Scotty. To me McCoy & Scotty came across as you'd probably have expected them to have been as young guys. On 2nd viewing the characterisation of Kirk isn't as bad as on first watching. Probably a little wilder than he may have been but ok. But I have to say the ending where it appears they are setting up a love triangle with Spock Kirk & uhura is just lame hollywood gush! Leave it alone. Its not needed if they are going to relaunch the franchise. Have to say though that Abrahms guy needs to go. They bloody thing is like lost, jumps all over the place, disjointed to hell & things just happen for no reason. For example we get the bit where the old Spock tells Kirk he can't go to the enterprise & meet up with young Spock because things will clash in time. Yet hes able to meet him at the end in a space port? Whats that about? Either they are able to meet or their not. No wonder Lost is hoepless to follow. They're lost, but no really. And new charatcers appear & disappear without explaination. LEAVE IT ALONE! The session I went to had an ad for Land Of The Lost. Yet another reamke. Is Hollywood running out of ideas?