Salt Lake Tribune Review
Kicking the rust off the good ship Enterprise and a 42-year-old franchise, the 2009 model "Star Trek" is fast, sleek and tightly constructed -- a well-made vessel that, for all its upgrades, remains true to the space-faring characters we know and love.
"Star Trek," which captures the epic adventures of the heroic James T. Kirk, cerebral Mr. Spock and the rest, is often called a "classic" of science fiction. But to be a classic, in the Shakespearean sense, the work has to have life beyond the work's original actors. Thankfully, this cast meets that challenge.
As Captain Kirk,
Chris Pine won't make you forget the lusty bravado of
William Shatner (before he became a self-caricature in Priceline ads and "Boston Legal"), but he brings his own charm and swagger. Zachary Quinto (Sylar from TV's "Heroes") not only dons the pointy ears and Beatles haircut of the logic-driven Mr. Spock, but he finds the fire of self-conflict lying just beneath the Vulcan's emotionless surface -- and, as if to beg comparison, he does this with the original Spock,
Leonard Nimoy, in the same movie.
What are new Spock and old Spock doing in the same movie? The answer involves a tricky bit of time travel and a renegade Romulan ship from the future. That ship's commander, Nero (
Eric Bana), is out for vengeance against Ambassador Spock and the Federation (for reasons eventually made clear). In the movie's opening action sequence, Nero first takes out his anger at the U.S.S. Kelvin, as young James Tiberius Kirk is born in a fleeing escape pod.
Director
J.J. Abrams and his writers,
Roberto Orci and
Alex Kurtzman (who have written for Abrams projects like "Alias," "Fringe" and "Mission: Impossible III"), set up parallel backgrounds for Kirk and Spock. While Spock challenges his father (
Ben Cross) to join Starfleet, Kirk is picking bar fights in Iowa until Capt. Christopher Pike (
Bruce Greenwood) urges him to enlist.
Kirk and Spock meet at Starfleet Academy as adversaries, but soon Nero's assault on the Federation brings them together on the U.S.S. Enterprise, commanded by Pike with Spock as first officer. Also on board are familiar names such as Dr. Leonard McCoy (
Karl Urban), communications expert Lt. Uhura (Zo Saldana), helmsman Hikaru Sulu (
John Cho) and the young Russian navigator Pavel Chekov (
Anton Yelchin). Eventually, we also meet engineer Montgomery Scott, played for laughs here by "Shaun of the Dead" star
Simon Pegg.
Abrams, who created "Lost" and updated the "Mission: Impossible" franchise, knows a few things about cultlike devotion and '60s TV titles. The bridge of Abrams' Enterprise has smooth lines and is brightly lit -- which is photographed in intimate angles to give the feeling of documentary-like immediacy -- while the ship's innards are a beehive of industrial might. Orci and Kurtzman smartly install dialogue and situations that any "Trek" fan could cite, but they also pick spots to mix up the formula and make it fresh for newcomers. The results stay true to creator
Gene Roddenberry's optimistic view, but revved up for action.
The time-travel plotline not only fuels this exciting movie, but jump-starts the old franchise into new directions. This "alternative timeline" will satisfy all but the most fastidious Trekkies, the ones who treat the original series like holy scripture. More important, it allows this Enterprise crew to boldly go where not even "Star Trek" has gone before.
-- Sean P. Means
Rebuttal to the Tribune 'phasers on dumb' article
Submitted by: average bear
I understand wanting to relive the glory days of the Star Trek saga, but then you can; it's easy to find the old episodes on DVD or on TV marathons every week. I would think most real fans of Star Trek do not want to re-live the original series again with its limitations.
This movie appeals to both original fans and the new generation of Trek fans and that is what is required to make a successful series with ratings and sponsors, you know, all that behind the scenes stuff that finances production.
Hopefully the producers and writers will not make the mistake the writers of Deep Space Nine and whatever that Lost in Space/Gilligan's Island series was called, by trying to pound a fresh round peg into that old, tired square hole. Not that I am calling older fans squares, I grew up watching Star Trek and I think this cast has a great chemistry, even though they have only done one movie.
Fantastic!
Submitted by: tivogirl
I'd have given this 3 1/2 but the system won't let me, so I went with 4, even though it's not quite perfect.
This is the Star Trek movie for the non-trekkies. But even if you are a fan, you'll find plenty to love. They sort of reinvent a lot of the back stories, which should help build a whole new legion of fans. The effects are great and the story is exciting and really moves along.
One complaint: not enough Simon Pegg!
The rundown: A new cast - led by
Chris Pine as Kirk and Zachary Quinto as Spock - energizes the Enterprise in this "reboot" of the science-fiction classic. 126 minutes. (SPM)
Synopsis: The story of a young crew's maiden voyage onboard the most advanced starship ever created: the U.S.S. Enterprise. On a journey filled with cosmic peril, the new recruits must find a way to stop an evil being whose mission of vengeance threatens all of mankind. The fate of the galaxy rests in the hands of bitter rivals. One, James T. Kirk, is a delinquent, thrill-seeking Iowa farm boy. The other, Spock, was raised in a logic-based society that rejects all emotion. As fiery instinct clashes with calm reason, their unlikely but powerful partnership is the only thing capable of leading their crew through unimaginable danger, boldly going where no one has gone before.
