Star Trek Movie Review (Philip’s Take)

Star Trek is the anti-Watchmen. Most of you will scratch your heads, but the two share much in common. Both were handled by directors whom the fans were either against or didn’t think could do it. Each property is hard science fiction that isn’t as accessible to the common folk as would be Batman or Star Wars. Where they begin to differ (aside from one being a comic and another a television show) is how Zack Snyder and J.J. Abrams approached their respective material. Snyder chose to honor the Watchmen novel as best he could without trying to alienate people who never read it. My thoughts on his masterpiece aside, the general audience didn’t take well to it. Enter J.J. Abrams who went for the opposite, and has crafted a Trek film made clearly with a Star Wars mentality but hoping to keep what was so loved about The Original Series.

As a film, J.J.’s Star Trek is one of the most entertaining films of the year. It’s thrilling, exciting and the cast gels perfectly together. Those afraid that something would be lost due to Abrams’ modernization of the material need not fear. There are some liberties taken (more later) but overall they honor what worked about the original series to craft a film that’s sure to get people watching the original crew’s adventures. The biggest reason Star Trek works is due to its leading man and, dare I say, Chris Pine is James Kirk to a T. His performance isn’t as comical as Shatner’s (no “we…must…GET over there”), in fact he makes the role his own. It’s a wonderful thing to watch as Pine battles wits with Spock or has his way with a certain green alien. I expected Simon Pegg to steal the show when in fact, this is Chris… no, KIRK’s film. There’s no denying Shatner will always be Captain James T. Kirk, but Pine deserves to be in the conversation with him. It’s tough coming up with words to describe how great he is so I’ll leave it to the audience to discover his brilliance this weekend.

Zachary Quinto’s Spock is another matter altogether. He was my biggest concern coming in after hearing reports he was dull but that’s not the case. He honors Spock well and while he doesn’t do what Pine does with Kirk, Quinto is far from dreadful. His take is a little different than Nimoy’s which rings especially true toward the end of the flick. Whereas Nimoy’s was laid back and had a sense of cool about him, this Spock is quiet, a stickler for logic, and more feminine. Some things don’t work but overall he’s serviceable and hopefully will grow into the role with the later installments. Maybe it’s not his fault though because along with Pine, Karl Urban fits like a glove into Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy. He’s essentially channeling DeForest Kelley but you can tell he’s enjoying the part. He’s probably the second best to enjoy next to Chris Pine. Much was made of Simon Pegg playing Montgomery Scott and he, like always, delivers. He’s the opposite of the laid-back Scotty we all know and love but it’s barely noticeable. If James Doohan was alive, he’d be proud of what Pegg does here. He also gets one of the most memorable lines in the film. Zoe Saldana is decent as Uhura, but for a good part of the film she feels like just another plot device. She’s independent, sure, but they sort of take that away from her when she they show her relationship with Spock (again, more later.) Anton Yelchin is just as good as Chekov while John Cho is pretty nice as Sulu although not as memorable as George Takei. What helps us remember who these people are, though, is that every character is given a moment to shine but in a different way. Yes, it’s the Kirk/Spock show for most of it but the film allows enough time for Sulu to show off his skills or Chekov to make the save in the nick of time. Special mention has to be given to Leonard Nimoy who still proves that he has been, and always shall be Spock. It’s one of the best moments of the film to see him light up the screen once more with that bowl cut and those pointy ears.

Star Trek’s action has always been more naval to Star Wars‘ air force action and that rings true here. It’s faster paced and understandably so, but the Enterprise can’t move like an X-Wing. The action is classic Trek complete with ship-to-ship communication and photon torpedoes being fired to finish off a ship. In fact most of the hyper action takes place away from Enterprise rather than on it. None of it feels like it’s too much but it’s just enough to keep both classic and new fans happy. The real treat are the visual effects which are some of the best I’ve seen in a film. Every dollar of their budget is spent on the screen as everything looks like it was shot in space using the real Enterprise. I don’t know if it’s set the new standard like Transformers was, but I do know if this doesn’t get the Best Visuals award then shame on the Academy again. Also, I’d like to know where J.J. is hiding the Enterprise so I can take her out for a spin. As for the references to the original show, they are in there but none of them feel forced. I geeked out a couple of times for some (notably a couple of Wrath of Khan ones) and I appreciated how organic most of them feel.

Star Trek has always been about the characters first and while the actors do a fine job, the story that’s around them isn’t half bad. Nero is a sort of one-note villain but Bana raises him above being one of the worst Trek villains. His plan isn’t that illogical in the grand scheme and he is sort of an interesting character. There are some things that don’t work, starting with Spock being the programmer behind the Kobiyashi Maru test. As much as I loved seeing Kirk beat the test, I felt indifferent to Spock being the one who designed it. It feels like it’s there just to give more tension to Kirk and Spock’s relationship and not because it’s an interesting idea (which it’s not.) Things are also fumbled with having Spock and Uhura in a relationship which just happens. It’s hinted at so quickly as things get underway that it feels random and out of place when the two engage in a kiss. They also have a golden opportunity to utilize the chemistry Pine and Saldana have together and instead pair her with a fire extinguisher. It’s not that Spock is devoid of all emotion, it’s that there is no sparking from the actors. There are other things I want to get into, but as to not reveal spoilers, I shall remain silent. The other distracting thing in this film are the lens flares. I’m not too sure why J.J. or cinematographer Daniel Mindel decided this was a good idea but it gets really distracting, really quick. A friend turned to me and said you could make a drinking game out of how many lens flares are in this movie and he’s right. I’m all for a director using a gimmick as long as it makes sense within the film he’s trying to tell. Here, I don’t see the purpose or need other than to blind the audience.

Overall this Star Trek works largely due to it’s leading cast and especially Chris Pine. The real captain, though, is J.J. who did a tremendous job of updating this franchise for new fans while keeping everything we love about The Original Series intact. I’ve seen the film twice now (once on IMAX) and at the end my feelings largely remained unchanged. It’s one of the best times I’ve had at the theater all year and is really enjoyable to watch unfold on the screen. In my book, the summer movie season starts here and kicks off with a bang. There are problems, yes, but the film is simply too fun to let those bog down an otherwise entertaining flick. Beam me up for the sequel, J.J.