MOVIE REVIEW: STAR TREK (2009)
Star Trek (2009)
CAST: Leonard Nimoy (Older Spock), Chris Pine (Kirk), Zachary Quinto (Spock), Eric Bana (Nero), Bruce Greenwood (Christopher Pike), Karl Urban (Dr. Leonard McCoy), Zoe Saldana (Nyota Uhura), Simon Pegg (Scotty) John Cho (Hikaru Sulu), Anton Yelchin (Pavel Chekov)
DIR: J.J. Abrams
SCR: Robert Orci, Alex Kurtzman
MPAA: PG-13 for some Sci-Fi action and violence and brief sexual content.
Studio: Paramount Pictures
“Forget everything you knew, or thought you knew…..”
That tag was my opening for a review of a completely different movie, “Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines”, but it is strangely applicable to “Star Trek (2009)”.
In the former, it was a case where the computer system “Skynet” had led John Connor on a merry chase, only to fool him into thinking he had averted the future war…which would have meant that he would no longer have any reason in the future to send back to protect his mother the man who would become his father…..
“Star Trek” also uses the temporal paradox in this latest “re-boot” of the franchise born of Gene Roddenberry’s televised space saga from the 1960’s and the movies that spun off from it starting in the late 1970’s. However, “Star Trek” succeeds in making effective use of the scenario and bringing a new dimension to its characters, whereas “Terminator” squandered its opportunity to do something with a like problem, going instead for action shots and special effects dazzle with a rather shallow story.
The Trek story opens up introducing us to a couple of characters we’ve heard a lot about but never met before on film, George Samuel Kirk, Sr., Kirk’s dad, and Winona Kirk, his mom, as they deal with an unexpected situation that requires a supreme sacrifice, changing the nature of James Tiberius Kirk’s character as he grows into young adulthood. Incidentally, we also learn that George’s father’s first name was Tiberius, and Winona’s father’s name was “Jim” – hence the combination for their newborn son. The set-up for their discussion of the names produces a wonderful, tear-jerking, visceral moment that will carry itself through the rest of the film, establishing a mood that reverberates throughout.
The rest of the film is almost as good. It could become a bit confusing if it weren’t for the clever and methodical way the temporal paradox is introduced. The “alternate reality” becomes the new reality as easily and smoothly as if the television series had been based on this concept, but we immediately see that there are many things from the series that cannot happen in the way that they did. It’s that disruptive of a change, and yet…we don’t seem to care. Things are on the right path, in spite of the changes.
Chris Pine (whose name is only one character different from Chris Pike) makes an astonishingly excellent James Tiberius Kirk. He starts out as a cadet at Starfleet Academy and three years later sets off on an adventure that will change everything yet again. Pine easily carries Kirk’s confidence and swagger, but is equally engaging as a friend to McCoy, as a loyal member of the Federation, and as a commander in a stressful situation. Pine doesn’t try to force his acting to be an impersonation of William Shatner, but intelligently gives just enough homage to make us believe in him as Kirk and accept the change as if it was all part of the temporal exchange caused by the Romulan Captain Nero.
Now I have to admit to being a Star Trek purist, and for purists, this could have gone either way. Luckily, both for us and the movie, it went the good way. Not that I don’t have quibbling points, but we’ll talk about those later.
Anyone who has seen Zachary Quinto as the bushy-browed Sylar from “Heroes” did not expect much from him as Spock. After all, that part *belongs* to Leonard Nimoy, and always has. But whether Quinto had his eyebrows thinned out as part of the makeup process or just has an innate ability as an actor (or both), he was pretty much spot on as Spock. Granted we get to see more of the emotional side of Spock in this incarnation (and the previews were alarmingly blatant about it), but it was completely believable, partly because Nimoy’s Spock sells it to us very effectively before we have to deal with it from Quinto, but the newer personification of the character still did an excellent job.
Zoe Saldana’s Uhura was just a bit of a mix for me, and I don’t think it was the actress’s fault. Overall, the part was perfect, and Saldana pegged it wonderfully. My only problem was when she follows Spock into the turbolift and gives him that first hug, and implores him to let her know if there’s anything she can do. (To say anything more would be a major spoiler….) There was something about the stoic character of Spock that seemed to resonate with the female viewers during the series run in the 1960’s. Leonard Nimoy’s mail bags were overflowing with fan mail from women all over the world, who were just certain that, if they got the chance, *they* could get to Spock’s emotional side. Well, the scene in the turbolift smacked just a bit of trying to tap into that resonance on film, and make all the female audience members jealous of Zoe Saldana at the same time. And maybe they succeeded. But it did make the moment stand out for me…..
Speaking of pegging…Simon Pegg was a terrific Montgomery Scott. Introduced somewhat late in the film (or at least half way through) he nevertheless made his mark, as Scotty would have to. He was fun to watch, and gave a wonderful homage to the late James Doohan. He did exactly what we would expect Scotty to do, and maybe even a little extra. In fact, the irony of his receiving a certain formula from the future Spock played out wonderfully against his providing a different formula to a scientist in 1990’s San Francisco in “Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home” making for wonderful counterpoint with the overall Trek story arc. Of course, that could all be changed now…..
Karl Urban was joyously tremendous as Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy. My wife said several times before the movie was over how much she liked him, both the character, and the actor playing the character. This was another homage, this time to the late DeForest Kelly, so well done that we have to believe the earlier actor is looking down from the heavens to a projection screen somewhere, giving a nod, and saying, “Well done, young man!”
John Cho as Sulu and Anton Yelchin as Chekov both scored points; Cho’s Sulu was as glib as George Takei was ever allowed to be, and Yelchin was youthful, bright, energetic, most of the things we expected for Chekov…except that he became something of a Wesley Crusher genius at a certain point, and that didn’t seem to carry over for me from Walter Koenig’s interpretation. Sorry, Walter. Sorry, Anton. (I don’t know who to apologize to.)
Of the Enterprise, I have a couple of different comments. Where work went into new sets and set concepts, I was pleased, and thrilled; but the Enterprise engineering section was shot in some generic industrial complex. I’m sorry, it just didn’t look like what we want or expect in the engine room for the USS Enterprise, no matter what the time line or alternate reality. It looked more like … like a generic industrial complex. For the budget they must have had for this movie, I thought this should have been done a bit better.
But really, that’s my one complaint. My singular criticism. My solo critique. Everything else was minor.
Well, there was also the promotion of Kirk from Cadet to Captain, skipping over the ranks of Ensign, Lieutenant j.g., Lieutenant, Lieutenant Commander, and Commander. That’s quite a leap for someone just out of the academy. I do have a little difficulty believing that a military organization founded on the traditions and concepts centuries old in our present-day Navy would abandon them so readily and so thoroughly, but I’m sure the writers thought they were just getting Kirk caught up to where he should have been if a temporal paradox hadn’t been so unkind to him. I suppose it could have been a lot worse.
So that’s it, Paramount. Over all, well done! Give J. J Abrams the reins for the sequel, and let’s get going on it already! Fix the engine room and let’s move on it! If the early returns on “Star Trek (2009)” haven’t clued you in yet, there definitely will be a sequel…hopefully, several sequels! Hopefully this is the birth of a new world, a new universe, a new franchise. And it is poised to offer the same optimism that was embodied in Gene Roddenberry’s original concept.
I do have a couple of nagging questions that linger. Did this story take place before or after Captain Pike and the Enterprise visited Talos IV? (“The Cage”/”The Menagerie”). What will happen to the Klingons? And will there ever be Tribbles?
I’m sure time will answer all my questions…unless tomorrow morning at 7:29 a.m. there is an accidental temporal shift from an artificially created black hole that takes me, and only me, back to my fifth birthday and I get to tell my younger self all about my life, including my love for Star Trek and all about the re-boot, and which movies I liked and didn’t like. In that event, I might never know what the future will bring…..
Reviewed by: Dale Jay Dennis
CAST: Leonard Nimoy (Older Spock), Chris Pine (Kirk), Zachary Quinto (Spock), Eric Bana (Nero), Bruce Greenwood (Christopher Pike), Karl Urban (Dr. Leonard McCoy), Zoe Saldana (Nyota Uhura), Simon Pegg (Scotty) John Cho (Hikaru Sulu), Anton Yelchin (Pavel Chekov)
DIR: J.J. Abrams
SCR: Robert Orci, Alex Kurtzman
MPAA: PG-13 for some Sci-Fi action and violence and brief sexual content.
Studio: Paramount Pictures
“Forget everything you knew, or thought you knew…..”
That tag was my opening for a review of a completely different movie, “Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines”, but it is strangely applicable to “Star Trek (2009)”.
In the former, it was a case where the computer system “Skynet” had led John Connor on a merry chase, only to fool him into thinking he had averted the future war…which would have meant that he would no longer have any reason in the future to send back to protect his mother the man who would become his father…..
“Star Trek” also uses the temporal paradox in this latest “re-boot” of the franchise born of Gene Roddenberry’s televised space saga from the 1960’s and the movies that spun off from it starting in the late 1970’s. However, “Star Trek” succeeds in making effective use of the scenario and bringing a new dimension to its characters, whereas “Terminator” squandered its opportunity to do something with a like problem, going instead for action shots and special effects dazzle with a rather shallow story.
The Trek story opens up introducing us to a couple of characters we’ve heard a lot about but never met before on film, George Samuel Kirk, Sr., Kirk’s dad, and Winona Kirk, his mom, as they deal with an unexpected situation that requires a supreme sacrifice, changing the nature of James Tiberius Kirk’s character as he grows into young adulthood. Incidentally, we also learn that George’s father’s first name was Tiberius, and Winona’s father’s name was “Jim” – hence the combination for their newborn son. The set-up for their discussion of the names produces a wonderful, tear-jerking, visceral moment that will carry itself through the rest of the film, establishing a mood that reverberates throughout.
The rest of the film is almost as good. It could become a bit confusing if it weren’t for the clever and methodical way the temporal paradox is introduced. The “alternate reality” becomes the new reality as easily and smoothly as if the television series had been based on this concept, but we immediately see that there are many things from the series that cannot happen in the way that they did. It’s that disruptive of a change, and yet…we don’t seem to care. Things are on the right path, in spite of the changes.
Chris Pine (whose name is only one character different from Chris Pike) makes an astonishingly excellent James Tiberius Kirk. He starts out as a cadet at Starfleet Academy and three years later sets off on an adventure that will change everything yet again. Pine easily carries Kirk’s confidence and swagger, but is equally engaging as a friend to McCoy, as a loyal member of the Federation, and as a commander in a stressful situation. Pine doesn’t try to force his acting to be an impersonation of William Shatner, but intelligently gives just enough homage to make us believe in him as Kirk and accept the change as if it was all part of the temporal exchange caused by the Romulan Captain Nero.
Now I have to admit to being a Star Trek purist, and for purists, this could have gone either way. Luckily, both for us and the movie, it went the good way. Not that I don’t have quibbling points, but we’ll talk about those later.
Anyone who has seen Zachary Quinto as the bushy-browed Sylar from “Heroes” did not expect much from him as Spock. After all, that part *belongs* to Leonard Nimoy, and always has. But whether Quinto had his eyebrows thinned out as part of the makeup process or just has an innate ability as an actor (or both), he was pretty much spot on as Spock. Granted we get to see more of the emotional side of Spock in this incarnation (and the previews were alarmingly blatant about it), but it was completely believable, partly because Nimoy’s Spock sells it to us very effectively before we have to deal with it from Quinto, but the newer personification of the character still did an excellent job.
Zoe Saldana’s Uhura was just a bit of a mix for me, and I don’t think it was the actress’s fault. Overall, the part was perfect, and Saldana pegged it wonderfully. My only problem was when she follows Spock into the turbolift and gives him that first hug, and implores him to let her know if there’s anything she can do. (To say anything more would be a major spoiler….) There was something about the stoic character of Spock that seemed to resonate with the female viewers during the series run in the 1960’s. Leonard Nimoy’s mail bags were overflowing with fan mail from women all over the world, who were just certain that, if they got the chance, *they* could get to Spock’s emotional side. Well, the scene in the turbolift smacked just a bit of trying to tap into that resonance on film, and make all the female audience members jealous of Zoe Saldana at the same time. And maybe they succeeded. But it did make the moment stand out for me…..
Speaking of pegging…Simon Pegg was a terrific Montgomery Scott. Introduced somewhat late in the film (or at least half way through) he nevertheless made his mark, as Scotty would have to. He was fun to watch, and gave a wonderful homage to the late James Doohan. He did exactly what we would expect Scotty to do, and maybe even a little extra. In fact, the irony of his receiving a certain formula from the future Spock played out wonderfully against his providing a different formula to a scientist in 1990’s San Francisco in “Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home” making for wonderful counterpoint with the overall Trek story arc. Of course, that could all be changed now…..
Karl Urban was joyously tremendous as Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy. My wife said several times before the movie was over how much she liked him, both the character, and the actor playing the character. This was another homage, this time to the late DeForest Kelly, so well done that we have to believe the earlier actor is looking down from the heavens to a projection screen somewhere, giving a nod, and saying, “Well done, young man!”
John Cho as Sulu and Anton Yelchin as Chekov both scored points; Cho’s Sulu was as glib as George Takei was ever allowed to be, and Yelchin was youthful, bright, energetic, most of the things we expected for Chekov…except that he became something of a Wesley Crusher genius at a certain point, and that didn’t seem to carry over for me from Walter Koenig’s interpretation. Sorry, Walter. Sorry, Anton. (I don’t know who to apologize to.)
Of the Enterprise, I have a couple of different comments. Where work went into new sets and set concepts, I was pleased, and thrilled; but the Enterprise engineering section was shot in some generic industrial complex. I’m sorry, it just didn’t look like what we want or expect in the engine room for the USS Enterprise, no matter what the time line or alternate reality. It looked more like … like a generic industrial complex. For the budget they must have had for this movie, I thought this should have been done a bit better.
But really, that’s my one complaint. My singular criticism. My solo critique. Everything else was minor.
Well, there was also the promotion of Kirk from Cadet to Captain, skipping over the ranks of Ensign, Lieutenant j.g., Lieutenant, Lieutenant Commander, and Commander. That’s quite a leap for someone just out of the academy. I do have a little difficulty believing that a military organization founded on the traditions and concepts centuries old in our present-day Navy would abandon them so readily and so thoroughly, but I’m sure the writers thought they were just getting Kirk caught up to where he should have been if a temporal paradox hadn’t been so unkind to him. I suppose it could have been a lot worse.
So that’s it, Paramount. Over all, well done! Give J. J Abrams the reins for the sequel, and let’s get going on it already! Fix the engine room and let’s move on it! If the early returns on “Star Trek (2009)” haven’t clued you in yet, there definitely will be a sequel…hopefully, several sequels! Hopefully this is the birth of a new world, a new universe, a new franchise. And it is poised to offer the same optimism that was embodied in Gene Roddenberry’s original concept.
I do have a couple of nagging questions that linger. Did this story take place before or after Captain Pike and the Enterprise visited Talos IV? (“The Cage”/”The Menagerie”). What will happen to the Klingons? And will there ever be Tribbles?
I’m sure time will answer all my questions…unless tomorrow morning at 7:29 a.m. there is an accidental temporal shift from an artificially created black hole that takes me, and only me, back to my fifth birthday and I get to tell my younger self all about my life, including my love for Star Trek and all about the re-boot, and which movies I liked and didn’t like. In that event, I might never know what the future will bring…..
Reviewed by: Dale Jay Dennis
Comment
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Comment by Dale Jay Dennis on May 18, 2009 at 11:13am -
Thanks for the comments, Sean! I appreciate your enthusiasm for Trek and your compliments to me for the review.
What can I say? It was a fast-paced film overall, although I thought the early scenes with the adolescent Spock slowed down just a bit. The end of the scene reminded me, though, of Ralphy in "A Christmas Story" as he's beating up the bully in that film...although Spock left out the colorful linguistic components, unless he was muttering something in Vulcan that we humans couldn't understand. (I wonder if the Vulcan language has swear words......)
I agree with your take on the future of the franchise, and I think it should be a major departure. In fact, I was wondering in comments on a family website to one of my sisters if this whole thing with the destruction of Vulcan and the emotions being expressed by both Spock and Sarek if this might signal a Vulcan re-awakening as to emotion. What a difference that would make in the future timeline! But I really think they should use old characters sparingly...and I really shiver at the thought of Khan being re-introduced to us. I mean, what don't we know about that episode that we need to re-hash? Besides, as I observed on the family site, Nero was wandering around Earth's near-environs for 25 years waiting for Ambassador Spock to arrive, so he could have stumbled upon the SS Bontany Bay himself and decided to have a little target practice.....
If the timeline is going to diverge, let it diverge and stick with that. Don't try to bring it back to some semblence of the original, especially not after changing it this drastically! I agree more psychological, but keep it strong in the action department, and let's not go hunting for V'Ger again.....
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Comment by Sean Novak on May 18, 2009 at 10:24am -
Excellent review Dale! I didn't want to comment until I finally saw the damn thing so now here I am! IT WAS F#&KING AWESOME! The most fun and economically told live-action sci-fi film since I can remember. Apparently it's 2 hours and 20 somethin minutes but I would never have known it, I could barely catch a breath. I saw this as the last half of a double feature with Angels & Demons and the 1st ten minutes of Trek was more exciting and emotional than Angels in its entirety. I loved Urban as Bones, thought he had the most charisma of the bunch and would love to see him lead a film. Second favorite was Simon Pegg. This is the actor you'd like to see become the biggest star in the world but secretly you don't because you know that would ruin everything. He is so damn natural on screen and just naturally funny. Perfect timing. His Scotty was a joy and a proper homage to the original.
I think this is Orci and Kurtzman's best screenplay to date. This is how Transformers should have felt. Can we talk about how these two are the luckiest bastards in Hollywood right now? They can basically do ANYTHING they want to from now on.
The only major thing I wasn't crazy about was just how fast paced it actually was. There was absolutely no time to breathe. And I'm such a film classicist (word?) that I love me my long shots and resting time. It felt like Trek on fast forward. I think it's incredible how well they introduced us to the 8 "new" crew members while telling a complete plot arc, but when it ends it really feels like it's just beginning. I was ready to start when the credits rolled. And in a weird way that doesn't feel like a complete story. The whole thing almost feels like they had to get all this setup stuff out of the way because, let's be honest, the Nero/time parallel plot is really a justification for changing the series from here on out.
I know that a great film should leave you wanting more so count me first in line for the sequel. Let's let these characters and stories breathe a bit in our next adventure. Let's get more psychological, I know the motto in Hollywood sequels is "bigger is better" but let's tone it down for the next Trek - just as Empire did to A New Hope. Let's have a truly kickass villian like Khan. Let's get more into the discovery of new systems or planets like the original series. And god dammit Jim let's see some more green chicks in lingerie!
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