Star Trek (Movie Review)

Before reviewing this movie, I should give you a sense of where I'm coming from in relation to the Star Trek franchise.

I began watching Star Trek around the second or third season of "Next Generation" and continued faithfully watching every Star Trek show and movie since, with the exception of "Enterprise". I think that the original Star Trek series and "Next Generation" were groundbreaking and changed the way we make and view science fiction television. I loved these shows and never missed an episode.

Having said that, Star Trek retained a fatal flaw that ironically, given Gene Roddenberry's Darwinian views, the TV franchise never "evolved" beyond. That flaw is summed up in one phrase: "Concept over character".

Although we loved the members of each crew, the real star of most episodes were the "aliens/singularities of the week". Problems were usually solved in a single episode, keeping characters from changing, and most episodes could be watched in any order.

This was great, for a time. I didn't know it could be done any other way. Then, along came a show called "Farscape", followed a few years later by the reinvented "Battlestar Galactica".

Farscape had wild new concepts and aliens every week that made the recycled plots of the Star Trek franchise look tame and sterile by comparison. The Jim Henson creature shop pumped out strange alien week after week, when Star Trek had stuck mostly to putting play-doh on people's faces and calling them aliens. Farscape's characters pulsed with passion and displayed the full spectrum of human emotions so tangibly you could almost smell them.

Battlestar Galactica showed us "military in space", but unlike Star Trek, allowed for unprofessional behavior among the crew. Relationships were constantly strained and lives were messy. There were "sweat stains" on those uniforms.

I look back at Star Trek with nostalgia, but no longer with any real interest. When I saw that first teaser trailer for the new movie, however, my hope was reignited. Maybe this movie would bring powerful characterization and life to the Enterprise bridge! Maybe this would be the Star Trek that the "Enterprise" tv series should have been, but was to afraid to risk itself on?

No "maybes" about it. This movie is what sci-fi fan's like me have been waiting for.

From the very beginning, the film is more action-packed and intense than any of the usual Star Trek episodes. Aliens also look unique and oddly shaped, putting visual effects, animatronics and make-up to wonderful use. Yet despite the explosive action and dazzling effects, this is not simply a summer popcorn flick. Care has been taken to look at the original characters and amplify the traits about them we love, using young yet experienced actors to get the job done right.

Chris Pine gives us a Kirk that actually acts like the renegade we were always supposed to believe Kirk was, but that Shatner never really gave us.

Zachary Quinto presents a Spock much more complex than ever realized by Nimoy, displaying the cold rational Spock we all expect, yet also revealing his inner struggle with his human emotions. His dual heritage was all too easy for me to forget in the original series. Not so in this version.

Karl Urban turns out a very sympathetic performance as Dr. McCoy, providing some of the earthy grounding that space opera often lacks.

Zoe Zaldana's "Uhura" serves a practical purpose in her position on the bridge and a dramatic purpose in relation to other characters that never seemed present before.

Simon Pegg stole every scene he was in, providing us with a genuinely funny, down-to-earth and likeable "Scotty". I only wish he had entered the story earlier than he did!

Although John Cho was not given much to work with in the script, Sulu's fencing background was affirmed and put to very exciting use, making him a welcome "action" presence in an already exciting film.

Anton Yelchin is a more interesting Chekov than we've seen before. He's the likeable underdog of the crew, and the language barrier he faces was acknowledged and used to charming effect. He made me want to put an arm around him and say "It's okay, buddy! You're doing great!"

Finally, Eric Bana was almost unrecognizable as the film's villain. He wasn't over the top "evil". Just insanely disgruntled.

People get angry and stay angry with each other. Roddenberry's utopian future is given a much needed reality check. Even in the future, people are still people and still very flawed. Although this story was by no means a "human drama", nor was it as character-driven as Farscape or "Battlestar", it was a HUGE step forward in both areas for the franchise. This was not a movie about ideas. It was a movie about people and some pretty crazy events they had to deal with.

A few conventions of the franchise are also modified for the better-

Teleporters were strategically "damaged" by the script, allowing for more leaping and death-defying stunts than would otherwise be possible with this oh-so-convenient technology. And in several instances, even the transporters are used in ways that stretch their capabilities, and those of their operators! Nothing is "easy" for these characters.

The steady beams of the old phasers have been replaced with percussive, short energy bursts. The result is that action scenes are more intense, subconsciously reminding us of modern handguns. Hand-held phasers have some kick in their wielder's hands, and ship phasers pummel other ships like massive machine guns. They are still energy weapons, but far from the tranquil, almost quiet phasers of old.

Lastly, ship battles are not lumbering, slow-motion "submarines in space". Both full-size starships and smaller "shuttles" maneuver in exciting ways that feel appropriate for their size, yet far more thrilling than what used to feel like a game of "battleship". (Commander! This time, try E4... Nothing? Okay, let's talk for a moment about our next move while the shields are holding so remarkably well and our enemies are so mercifully slow to kill us all.)

This is far more than a fresh coat of paint. It is Star Trek re-imagined. And while it embraces much that is new, I believe it retains the most important elements of the old.

On to my "Relevance" evaluation. Is there anything in this movie that is likely to result in meaningful conversation afterward?

Thematically, this movie looks at one key issue that is vital for everyone to examine. The role of emotions. Does the movie tackle it successfully? No.

What starts as an interesting setup for discussing the role of emotions finally comes to a stupidly simplistic close as one key character says to another, "Set aside logic. Do what feels right." The character who said this is a fan favorite, and the scene is written as one character passing on wisdom to the younger generation. So this is the voice of the writers, here, saying what they think is the right thing to say in this instance.

I have never in any movie seen this idea so clearly stated, and upon hearing it I couldn't help but mutter a "good grief" that hopefully only my wife heard. (I hate it when people talk during movies, so I feel a little guilty.)

Why do we have to polarize our views of logic and emotion so much? Biblically, there is a place for both, but we so often kill one and uphold the other. Lately, our tendency in America is to kill logic and "follow our hearts".

Unfortunately, our hearts are often wrong, or even tell us to do things that are harmful to ourselves or others. We have conflict all over the world because we are all doing "what feels right" rather than pursuing knowledge of objective truth and virtue, and then emotionally RESPONDING to that truth.

Emotions are wonderful things, but they are a terrible compass for decision making. Use of language requires logic, so logic has to be used to even SAY "do what your heart tells you". Otherwise opiuhas ljiq872 9rhjajlyas. Oops! I stopped incorporating logic into my communication.

On the other hand, logic is vital, yet our lives are meaningless if we are not emotionally invested in anyone or anything.

Back to the movie. What this character SHOULD have said, is: "Our knowledge is finite, therefore our ability to reason has its limits. So choose the path that the most reliable evidence suggests is correct, and then hope for the best."

Logic and reason are used to discern reality and truth. Emotions are meant to be a RESPONSE to what is true.

Not a perfect film, but very well done! Just what this tired franchise needed! And the continuous theme of emotions and their place in our lives couldn't be more relevant. This film provides a great jump off point for some very meaningful conversation!

Rated PG-13 for sci-fi action and violence, and brief sexual content

Quality: 9.0/10

Relevance: 8.5/10