single serving review: star trek
pew pew pew! that’s the sound of phasers hitting my heart. part of what made me the geek i am today is gathering in front of a childhood best friend’s tiny family television and watching old star trek vhs movies on sleepovers; but that’s about the extent of my trekkie-ness (or trekker-ness, if you prefer). as far as this year’s movie goes though, the good news is you don’t need memories or a viewing experience like that to enjoy j.j. abrams’ star trek.
the embodiment of a summer popcorn flick, star trek has it all: action, comedy, impressive (and practical - as in serving the story and not just there for their own sake) special effects. abrams nails the look and feel of the star trek universe while simultaneously updating both, and ultimately gives the impression of already planning out the enterprise crew’s story well in advance (which is no surprise given the heavy involvement of lost talent). however, this does reveal one of its very few flaws: there are several verbal and visual winks and nods that the unfamiliar viewer may not get, thereby reducing (or in some cases eliminating) an intended comedic or dramatic effect.
the plot itself is the movie’s biggest weakness and is ultimately forgettable, although in a story where the core function is setting up the whos, hows, and whys of the main crew ending up on the ship, it’s a forgivable one. it is interesting enough to keep the movie’s pace going as well as give ample “intro” time to each of the saga’s primary members. the ship’s crew as a whole is splendidly well-cast: chris pine’s cocky kirk, zachary quinto’s conflicted half-human/half-vulcan spock. karl urban’s mccoy steals the show though; here kirk and spock share little with their previous portrayals but urban’s near spot-on imitation of deforest kelley’s verbal inflections provide humor and recognition to great effect. the movie’s comedic relief provided by simon pegg’s mr. scott and anton yelchin’s chekov are counterbalanced by john cho’s skilled sulu and zoe saldana’s intelligent uhuru, although i wouldn’t be surprised if abrams and co. mix it up a bit in coming sequels; all are redeemed by a glimmer and promise of opposite disposition in their character.
despite some heavy retconning to scrutinous eyes, by the end of the movie viewers old and new should be well-prepared and clamoring for the further adventures of this incarnation’s inevitable sequels. by the end of the movie, i was immediately ready to watch star trek all over again.
4.5/5 nacelles
