Until this summer, I had never seen a single episode of Star Trek on TV, and I’d also never seen any of the films, however many there were. Nevertheless…
I loved the new movie – JJ Abrams really pulled off a masterpiece here. Not only did he transform the dense Star Trek universe into something easily understandable for the casual movie-goer, he also made the film funny and entertaining. I think one of the real strengths of the film is its humility. It doesn’t try to be too serious. Sure, there are some very emotional scenes (the movie opens with a major tragedy), but on the whole, it’s not as stressful as you’d think an intergalactic conflict should be.
Chris Pine (Bottle Shock, Smokin’ Aces) does a great job entertaining and captivating the audience as James Kirk. Kirk is extremely arrogant, but he never comes off as annoying. Rather, he gets into amusing situations and, despite his pride, he eventually makes the right decisions, so he’s a guy that the audience can easily cheer for.
Meanwhile, Zachary Quinto (Heroes, 24) cleverly portrays the Vulcan commander Spock, a half-human, half-vulcan military and academic prodigy who struggles to reconcile his conflicting desires. He lives by ruthless logic, a tendency of the Vulcan race, but he also feels human emotion, thus, his character is very deep and intriguing.
We also see John Cho, Zoe Saldana, Leonard Nimoy, and Eric Bana in prominent roles.
The story is fairly interesting – the galaxy is invaded by the Romulans, who seek revenge for the destruction of their world (with some time travel shenanigans involved). The Starfleet Academy sends out a response team, spearheaded by the USS Enterprise and its crew, and a series of battles ensues.
As you would expect, the movie has plenty of futuristic weaponry, vehicles, time travel, outer spaces physics, and plenty more stuff that you’ll just have to accept in the name of science fiction. That’s what Star Trek is after all – an escape into another world for the characters and the viewers. I took it at face value, and I really enjoyed it.