Thursday, May 7, 2009

Star Trek

by Michael

I’d like to open with a personal reflection.

I remember the first time I saw Star Trek VI. It was on a small screen Pay per View deal at the L’Enfant Plaza Hotel in Washington, DC. I remember being impressed that the hotel had tiny televisions in the bathroom, and a shopping mall in its basement. We (my mother, sisters, and I) were in Washington with my grandparents Hugh and Maura. This was not long after my father took his own life. As a child, I loved going to Washington, to see the NASA parts of the Air and Space Museum. And so did my dad. He loved Star Trek, too. I remember being seated by my mom the moment Spock utters those immortal words, “If I were human, my response would be, ‘Go to hell’, if I were human”. I remember laughing hard. The truth is, no matter how bleak things have gotten time and again, Star Trek has always been part of my life. And it always will be….

Now that I have laid my cards out on the table, I state with great joy that Star Trek is back. JJ Abrams’ film is as successful a reboot as Star Trek The Motion Picture, but with more forward momentum. Which is an odd thing to say about a movie I started off hating.
Well, technically, I didn’t start off hating the film, as I was moved by a wrenching prologue, in which Captain Kirk’s father makes a heroic last stand aboard the USS Kelvin. The ship is crippled in an attack by a vengeful Romulan from the future named Nero (played by a tattooed, unintimidating Eric Bana). This attack shifts Kirk’s timeline, turning him into an overeducated, underachieving barroom brawler in Iowa. He is saved from this fate when he is recruited by Captain Christopher Pike (Bruce Greenwood) to join Starfleet. The time shift works well in getting the original cast aboard the Enterprise as quickly as possible.

Now, why did I start off hating the film? There is an early sequence involving a young Kirk, a red coupe, a Nokia product placement, and a song by the Beastie Boys. I nearly choked on my popcorn. There is a crude crack Uhura (Zoe Saldana) makes at Kirk about sex with barnyard animals. Kirk, at one point, bangs his head on a low ceiling, which was not funny when Scotty did it in Star Trek V, and sure as hell is not funny now. The white and pink bridge of the Enterprise greatly resembles an Apple store. The special effects, though abstractly-beautiful, are less than photorealistic and, at times, make one yearn for the tactile look of model work. There is also an onboard romance which strains credulity. And lastly, for the first ten minutes, JJ Abrams’ direction is an incoherent preponderance of shaky cam and extreme close-ups. Fortunately, these ticks settle down for the rest of the picture, and his command of the frame clicks into place.

So, with all these gripes, why is the film successful as a reboot? Because it retains the central emotional core and character relationships that define Star Trek as we know it. Karl Urban, as Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy, is every bit as crusty as one would expect. Chris Pine makes a convincing Captain Kirk, commanding and radiating brashness, charm, courage, and intelligence. Zachary Quinto vividly captures Spock’s raging internal conflict of logic versus emotion, and does it well. Simon Pegg’s Scotty is suitably offbeat, but never a caricature. Zoe Saldana is a sexy, confident Uhura (like Nichelle Nichols), Anton Yelchin makes a passable Chekov, and John Cho does what the script allows him to, as Mr. Sulu.

Much has been made about Leonard Nimoy reappearing as Spock, and, I assure you, it is not an act of pandering. It really is Spock, as a Vulcan alone(courtesy of Nero), who, with simple, moving words evokes friendship, heroism, and self-sacrifice, all the utopian ideals that make up Gene Roddenberry’s vision of the future. In short, Spock carries the film’s themes on the weight of his pointy ears. It is Spock’s best latter appearance, easily topping the “Unification” episodes from "The Next Generation”.

And George Takei may stone me for saying this, but while I am psyched that original crew’s back in place, I hope there is more private time for the trinity(Kirk, Spock, McCoy) in the next installment.

Special mention should go to Michael Giacchino, whose score, alternately stirring, brooding, and full of wonder, recalls some of Jerry Goldsmith’s brightest moments with the film series. And yes, Alexander Courage’s classic theme makes a rightful appearance.
In the end, it is writers Orci and Kurtzman, who display an understanding of what makes Star Trek special, in direct contrast to, say, the ignorance of the Star Wars prequels, despite being made by George Lucas. The film is dedicated to Gene and Majel Barrett Roddenberry. It is a service to their memory. If you love Star Trek, I have two words for you: “Buckle up.”