Star Trek Review
by Homer Yen (homeryen88 AT gmail DOT com)May 14th, 2009
Star Trek: -- Still Manages to Go Where No One Has Gone Before by Homer Yen
(c) 2009
Living long and prospering, this franchise has. And with a burst of youth, a plethora of action, and a welcome sense of nostalgia, "Star Trek" continues to boldly go forth (or back, depending on how you look at it). This is a fun, stand-alone, space opera for even those who have never seen a Star Trek episode before. Just as "Batman Begins" and "X-Men Origins" explored the beginnings of those very iconic characters, this film goes back in time to explore when Kirk and Spock first meet at Star Fleet Academy and are subsequently thrust into a crisis situation.
Now, I have to get something off of my chest. The one aggravating flaw of the film is the time travel plotline, which seems to be a staple of many a-Star Trek film. Without giving away a spoiler and as gingerly said as possible, an alien menace blames the Federation for causing a cataclysmic event, and the alien menace goes back in time to eradicate the Federation. However, as this cataclysmic event was caused by natural phenomena, their anger was totally misplaced, making much of the us-versus-them story pointless.
But, tinkering with the timeline does allow the scriptwriters one very important out. It allows them to re-tool the storyline in an alternate reality without drawing the ire of Star Trek purists. Now that the alien menace has changed history and future, it's ok that Kirk is merely the 1st officer while Spock is the Captain; it's ok that the youthful Spock has a love interest; it's ok for Spock to release his emotions; it's ok for the younger Spock to meet his older self (played by Leonard Nimoy). Going back, we get the answers to some questions: How is it that Tiberius came to be James Kirk's (played by Chris Pine) middle name? How did he gleefully beat the Kobayashi Maru test? How did he develop his relationship with the logical Mr. Spock (played by Zachary Quinto)?
Now, here's the fanboy in me speaking: I was a big fan of Star Trek: The Next Generation. And I really enjoyed the episodes "Parallels" (where Lt. Worf hops from one parallel universe to another) and "Yesterday's Enterprise" (where a temporal rift causes a prior-generation Enterprise to appear, thus throwing the crew into a bleak, alternate reality). Having enjoyed these two episodes made my viewing experience much more entertaining. While not as gripping as "First Contact" and not as much fun as "The Wrath of Khan," this new entry certainly ranks as one of the best of the franchise.
You know how they say that one dog year is like seven human years. I think for Star Trek fans like myself, it kind of works the same way. It may have been seven years since the last Star Trek motion picture (a middling Star Trek: Nemesis); but it feels like it's been 49 years since we've had a chance to hear those familiar words like "energize" and "maximum warp" and "live long and prosper". The dilithium crystals are fully charged for this franchise reboot and especially for the opening sequence as said alien menace threatens the Federation. If any opening sequence wanted to declare a film to be a summer blockbuster, then this one is it. It may be early May, but welcome to the summer!
Grade: B+
S: 1 out of 3
L: 0 out of 3
V: 2 out of 3
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