Movie Review #1

Star Trek (2009)

I grew up watching the first series of Star Trek on TV. I had Star Trek toys. Star Trek comics. Star Trek books. Then when I was ten I persuaded my parents to take me to see Star Trek: The Motion Picture at the cinema. It killed the magic. In an ill-advised attempt to transform Star Trek into the sort of cerebral sci-fi epic that Stanley Kubrick had produced with 2001 A Space Odyssey it succeeded only in being so turgid and longwinded it sent my ten year old self to sleep. In the years since i've been sporadically impressed by subsequent entries in the series (mainly, it has to be said, the even number episodes) with the high points being Wrath Of Khan and The Undiscovered Country. This new Star Trek trumps both of them on almost every level (admittedly Wrath Of Khan's villain as portrayed by Ricardo Montalban is a far more effective presence than Eric Bana's Nero). In addition to being the best Star Trek movie in the history of the franchise it also stands a fair chance of being the best of the plethora of big fantasy/sci-fi blockbusters heading our way this summer with, in my reckoning, T4 being it's only true adversary.

So why does it work so well? First there's the cast. These characters are iconic so it must have been terribly daunting for the actors who were chosen to fill what are inarguably some pretty big boots. How does one go about reinventing one of the holy trinity of James Tiberius Kirk, Spock and Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy? The answer is that there's no single answer. Each actor chooses a different path from Chris Pine choosing (wisely) not to ape William Shatner's arch acting style while Karl Urban takes the very opposite route by doing a dead on impersonation of DeForest Kelley. The stand out though is Zachary Quinto whose resemblence to Spock was uncanny even before he put on the ears and visited the stylist. Most of the rest of the cast have their moments with Simon Pegg's Scotty handicapping himself with a quite awful comedy Scottish accent that he somehow manages to overcome with sheer exuberance. I would have welcomed more screen time being granted to John Cho's Sulu but he does get to take part in one of the movie's standout action sequences when he joins Kirk (and an anonymous red shirt clad victim) to foil Nero's plans to destroy Vulcan. Only Zoe Saldana as Uhura is given little to do but she's an agreeable enough presence nonetheless.

The second reason why the movie works so well is that it's very cleverly plotted and succeeds at being both prequel and sequel to all the movies and series' that have gone before. I'm certain that everyone is aware of Leonard Nimoy's presence in the movie as the older Spock. I wasn't sure going in how he would be integrated into the plot but felt certain that time travel would be involved (the other possibility being that the movie could have had the older Spock relating the story of his early adventures). Nimoy is a stately and endearing presence in the movie and having recently read that Abrams at one point contemplated trying to shoehorn an appearance by William Shatner into the movie's concluding moments I can only say that i'm glad he abandoned the idea as it would have been a little too much icing on an already sweet cake.

Another reason why this stands a good chance of being the best of this year's summer blockbusters is that it finds the perfect balance between drama, comedy and action. There are dramatic moments in this movie that had this movie geek trying desperately to swallow the growing lump in his throat and stop his eyes from getting all leaky. In particular the first fifteen minutes form an emotional rollercoaster that culminates in a moment of self sacrifice that almost made me embarass myself in public by sobbing my thirty-eight year old heart out. My fiance, who accompanied me to the movie, would have slapped me smart. There are also many moments that are laugh out loud funny scattered throughout the movie. From Kirk's swollen hands to Simon Pegg's aforementioned failure to come within a thousand light years of a creditable Scottish accent the movie could not be further removed from the agonisingly po-faced Star Trek: The Motion Picture. Then there are the numerous action set pieces. These are expertly staged, exciting and aren't let down by the sort of dodgy CGI that often blights special effects heavy Summer blockbusters.

So what doesn't work? In truth, very little. I mentioned earlier in the review that Eric Bana's Nero doesn't carry anything like the weight of Ricardo Montalban's Khan. While that's true it's hardly Bana's fault. The script lets him down a little not providing him with enough screen time to allow him to forge a significantly menacing presence. He doesn't, however, embarass himself and is adequate (his spaceship, though, is supremely menacing). That's pretty much the only weakness I can identify. Otherwise it's about as perfectly formed as this sort of thing gets. The only sci-fi flick I can think of in recent years that impressed me this much was Joss Whedon's stunning Serenity. Here's hoping that J. J. Abrams sticks around to helm the inevitable sequel.

9.5 out of 10