December 17: Star Trek (2009)

I recently got a Blu-Ray player to go with the new big screen TV. (I figured if I'm spending so much time watching movies at home, I'd better have the proper equipment.) So, I upgraded my Netflix and got one of my first Blu-Ray discs - the 2009 remake reboot of Star Trek. Now, I know that a lot of TV geeks worship at Abrams' shrine, particularly for his contributions to Alias, Lost and Fringe. On the big screen, some of his efforts have been less than stellar:  Armageddon, anyone?  Mission Impossible III?  So his selection to oversee the "new" Star Trek didn't necessarily mean it would be a slam dunk. Even though that's pretty much how it turned out. I remember the original short-lived series; when it premiered science fiction wasn't really all that popular in primetime television but several of the episodes have stayed with me and one in particular that featured the gods and goddess of Greek lore led me to seek out and read Edith Hamilton's classic Mythology. Watching those episodes now -- with a more adult perspective -- I can see the cheesy special effects, the cheap sets and the terrible acting, but to a kid, it was revelatory. I wasn't all that pleased with the various spin-offs and the first round of movies. The rule was that only the even numbered ones would be pretty good but you had to try to sit through the others to know what was happening.

The idea that the franchise needed to be remade or rebooted or whatever creative term they are using nowadays was cause for concern. A lot of 60s television series that served as the basis for movies turned out badly (The Mod Squad, The Beverly Hillbillies, I Spy). We had the films that were made. Why couldn't we just enjoy those for what they are? Could they improve on the material?

Abrams and the screenwriters Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman took Gene Roddenberry's basic concept and added his own special twist. While the characters on screen in this version were younger than the originals, they also exhibited slightly different traits. Parents who were alive in the series didn't survive in this version. Romantic relationships were skewed a bit. It soon becomes clear -- and indeed is a major plot point -- that events occurred that changed the universe in which the characters existed: they were in an alternate world, a parallel reality. If you went with the plotting, it all began to seem, well, "logical".

The plot is somewhat convoluted but revolves around a group of Romulans who survived the destruction of their planet and are led by Nero (Eric Bana, who isn't nearly as menacing as he should be). Perhaps in a nod to another of Bana's movies this year, Nero has time-traveled and is out to seek revenge against the man he feels responsible for his planet's being wiped away. (Hint: It's one of the members of the crew of the USS Enterprise.)

As the film opens, Nero is wreaking havoc on Federation vessels and the USS Kelvin is caught in this battle. One of the passengers is a woman (Jennifer Morrison) who goes into labor with the ship is under fire. It happens that her husband George (Chris Hemsworth) had just been promoted to acting captain and he must make a life or death decision that will have impact on their lives. He sends his wife and newborn son, James Tiberius Kirk, to safety while he stands his ground and, like a good captain, goes down with the ship. That's just the prologue.

Little Jim grows into a young man (Chris Pine) who likes his women (including Zoe Saldana's Uhura) and his booze and who isn't afraid of a brawl. It turns out he's also very smart and catches the attention of a Starfleet commander named Pike (the efficient Bruce Greenwood) -- the name is meant to pay hommage to Jeffrey Hunter who portrayed Captain Pike in the TV show's original pilot. Pike makes an offer to Kirk who accepts and trains at the Starfleet Academy. Gradually, we meet the various actors who will fill out the characters that fans have come to know. Karl Urban is superb as Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy, John Cho is fine as Sulu, Anton Yelchin does a nice turn as Chekhov, and Simon Pegg finds the right balance of comedy and seriousness as Montgomery Scott. Zachary Quinto has one of the more difficult tasks -- to step into the boots of Leonard Nimoy as the half-Vulcan, half-human Spock, and the actor does so completely and successfully. I would argue that he delivers the best performance in the film since a great deal of the time, he struggles to keep the human (read: emotional) side of his personality in check. He and Pine also balance one another well, going from dislike and mistrust to begrudging admiration to outright friendship. Theirs is the bromance at the heart of the film.

The rest of the large cast does yeoman work, although as I mentioned, Bana isn't quite in the pantheon of memorable villains. He's too timid, not theatening enough. He is capable of portraying a vile character as anyone who saw Chopper could attest, but here he is lukewarm. Ben Cross, Winona Rider and Clifton Collins, Jr. are also good in small but pivotal roles. The one jarring appearance -- at least, for me -- was Tyler Perry as a Starfleet admiral. I guess I just didn't expect to see this actor-director in a sci-fi film and it momentarily took me out of the movie. It was an example of stunt casting that backfired a bit.

Otherwise, I readily enjoyed Star Trek and am looking forward to seeing what will unfold in the inevitable sequels. Perhaps they can get it right each time and not every other time.

Rating:    B+