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Techtite's DVD Reviews! |
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Star Trek (2009)Review by TechtiteRarely does a remake succeed as well as this movie does. Off the top of my head I can think of only two remakes of classic TV series that actually worked: The Untouchables starring Kevin Costner, and The Fugitive starring Harrison Ford. Yet with Star Trek, not only has JJ Abrams brought something spectacular to the cinematic screen: he's done so with an array of almost completely unknown actors...though after this movie, I doubt they'll be unknowns for much longer.The action picks up right away, when we see a space ship from an era roughly one generation before the original series. In it, a high tech spaceship arrives from the future, dwarfing the small Starfleet ship nearby. In the resulting battle, a young Ensign sacrifices his own life so that the remaining crew can escape unharmed, including the Ensign's pregnant wife. When the wife gives birth in the escape pod, the new parents quickly name their baby based on the grandfathers he'll never know. That boy's name is James Tiberius Kirk. Now, with that one final line, every fanboy is thrilled. Yet I would dare say that even for agnostic viewer: the story so far is pretty interesting. That's what makes JJ Abram's Star Trek movie so enjoyable: it is made for fans, yes, though it's also made to introduce new fans to what made the series so popular. It's that great of a movie. I refuse to spoil anything major in this review, regardless of all the reviews that will spoil all the surprises, anyway. So allow me to simply say that this movie is like episode "zero" of the original series, as we jump through major moments in the lives of a young James Kirk (Chris Pine) and Spock (Zachary Quinto). Along the way, we meet other mainstays of the original series' intriguing character roster, including Doctor McCoy, Uhura, Sulu, and Ensign Chekov. While it's true that agnostic viewers can enjoy this movie, that isn't to say there isn't a lot of fan service here as well. There's a lot of moments to make a fan especially giddy here, from the swelling music as the first shot of the starship Enterprise comes on the screen, to the reprisal of some of the series most memorable catch phrases. While hearing a young spock say "Fascinating" was pretty inevitable, I had to smile when Doctor McCoy said such classic lines as "Damnit man! I'm a doctor, not a physicist!" and his classic reference to Spock as a "green hobgoblin." Speaking of McCoy: we even learn where he got the nickname "Bones." As I said earlier: I will spoil nothing of the script itself in this review, aside from the opening prologue. However, there is one plot device I just have to elaborate on, if only because of its sheer unadulterated brilliance. Simply put: how can you please fans as diehard as the ones for the original Star Trek series? Answer: let them have their cake and eat it too. In other words: give them an "out." It may be a techno-babble-laden "out," though in the world of Star Trek, there's none better. Which is the final definitive thing I love about this movie. See; at one point a memorable star of the original series (in a brilliantly written-in cameo) makes it clear that everything that happened in the original series did indeed happen, but ---and this is the cool part--- the arrival of the Romulan from the future (as seen in the prologue) changed the past in a big way. So this isn't so much a re-imagining as much as a totally changed timeline. It's a simple story idea that really sells the whole remake idea in a brilliant way. Yet what makes this changed timeline so cool is how it seemingly alludes to not just a sign of greatness in these classic characters, though also a form of destiny. Sure, the original Kirk was a five star hero of starfleet who would be a shoo-in as captain of the Enterprise, though this new Kirk had his entire childhood rewritten since birth, and how did this change his future? Not at all. His destiny was untarnished. He was destined to be Captain of the Enterprise. He was destined to be friends with Spock, Scotty, McCoy, and Uhura. Even with the timeline totally screwed up: their fates as Starfleet heroes was unchanged. Cool...! I could go on and on like a giddy fanboy here, though I'll be merciful to the agnostic viewer. Suffice to say however, that even an agnostic viewer has something to love about this movie. Like JJ Abrams said himself: this is a movie for people who have and have never seen the original series. For years Trek fans have tried to explain to others what is so great about Star Trek. Now, thanks to Abrams, anyone can see that answer in a big way.
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