Star Trek: The Review

10 minutes.

That is all it took for JJ Abrams to make a believer out of me.

10 minutes.

Let us set the stage for my viewing of Star Trek. IMAX? Check. Perfect seats? Check. Enthusiastic crowd? Check. Worries? Check.

Why worries? Well, as I said in my earlier post, I grew up on classic Trek. The Next Generation was during my college and grad school years. I had read of how Abrams was making wholesale changes to canon, and that worried me. You see, he had attempted something similar with Superman a few years ago in which Luthor morphed into a survivor of the planet Krypton and Superman had all sorts of strange new powers.

Yeah, I know.



So as the lights dimmed, and the never ending parade of production company logos played out across the screen, I waited, anxiously. The giant IMAX screen was filled with the images of Abrams interpretation of a Starship bridge. There was no indication of when these events were taking place. We found out that we were on the bridge of the USS Kelvin. Business as usual is going on until a massive lightning storm anomaly appears in front of the ship. An enormous ship emerges from the anomaly-a great black hulking monstrosity with tentacles of metal reaching out towards the smaller ship. Immediately the Kelvin is under attack-an AMAZINGLY dynamic space battle. Gone are the days of slow moving models on strings with hit or miss phaser shots from the various banks. In this version ,the camera was dynamic as it swooped and turned around the space battle. However, as cool as that was, what caught my attention early on was the human component of the story. Within the first 10 minutes, Abrams introduced us to 3 characters who we honestly cared about and developed an emotional connection to before things changed for them forever. Right at the climax-opening title credit. I was breathless. I turned to Alleged Lady and said "THAT was the first FREAKING 10 minutes? HOLY CRAP-this is already one of the best Trek films I have seen."

I did have to adjust my feelings as the film wore on, however. It became not only one of the best Trek films I have ever watched but one of the most enjoyable action films I have ever watched. We the audience were treated to the creation of the legends of James Tiberius Kirk and Spock of Vulcan. We saw each of the secondary crew members have their moment in the sun. We see Karl Urban INHABIT the role of Leonard McCoy. Most importantly, we see a story that was NOT bogged down in technobabble and expansive views out the screen of the ship. With Abrams, the audience felt INVOLVED with the story and not mere spectators. The screenwriters made some bold story choices as well and changed the historical timeline for Trek for good. One major event was stunning in how it forever altered Spock's role in the story.

SPOILERS BELOW:

Changes in Trek lore include the destruction of the planet Vulcan, the death of Spock's mother Amanda, a libidinous Spock involved with Uhura, the death of Kirk's father well before he was supposed to die, and the permanent residence of Spock from 120 years into the future into the past. Of all of these changes, the only thing that did not sit well with me was the libidinous Spock. It changed one of the fundamental aspects of the character for no good reason. Other than that, however, none of the changes to Trek canon particularly bothered me in a "get a life" kind of way.

SPOILERS END:

The real effect of these changes is that now, many of the events first depicted in the original 1960s series never happened. That series is now considered an alternative timeline from what was introduced in Star Trek: the movie. That is not a big deal. What is important is that this movie injects energy into a moribund franchise that desperately needed it AND allowed people too eager to dismiss Star Trek as the epitome of nerddome to enjoy a new story and finally be able to understand what it was about the characters that made it so great. The music was great, the special effects were stunning, and the performances were...wow. Chris Pine IS James T. Kirk. Karl Urban IS Leonard McCoy.

I am excited for what the future of the franchise holds, and I am excited to see new fans embracing the...dare I say it...coolness of the franchise. I never thought that Star Trek would ever be considered cool, but as Chris Pine's steel blue eyes glared out across the screen (causing Alleged Lady to turn away from the "incredible hotness in front of" her), I knew that the cast would be a hit with the non-fans. This is the beginning of something great. I am glad that I got to experience it AND I cannot wait to see it again.