Growing up in the Eighties, I became a sci-fi fan pretty quickly. In the early Eighties, it seemed like boys were either Star Wars fans or Star Trek fans. While I became a die-hard Star Wars fan, I also grew to like the original Star Trek series too - I used to watch the old episodes on reruns, and I remember having class parties in grade school where we watched the first two films and seeing the third and fourth films with my cousin Nathan at the old Har Mar Mall movie theater in St. Paul. When I heard that J.J. Abrams (one of the creators of the TV hit show "Lost" and director of the movie Cloverfield) was directing the new Star Trek film, I decided to check it out, and see how true the film was to the beloved memories I had of the classic TV show.
The film begins with a battle between a massive Romulan ship and the U.S.S. Kelvin, a Federation starship that is soon captained by James T. Kirk's father. Kirk's dad sacrifices his life to save hundreds of crewmembers, including those of his wife and as-of-yet unborn son, with a suicide journey into the belly of the awe-inspiring CGI-created Romulan vessel.
Flash-forward a few years later to an unidentified stretch of open road in Iowa, where we find the young James T. Kirk cruising down the highway in his uncle's "borrowed" red Corvette, blasting Beastie Boys music on his thrill ride. This sequence shows one of the first (but definitely not the last) of Kirk's quests for adventure.
We also get to see a young Spock growing up on his home planet of Vulcan (played by Zachary Quinto, best known as the villain Sylar on TV's "Heroes"). Quinto does a nice job of balancing his logical, rational Vulcan side while also showing us his more vulnerable, emotional human side during the film.
Moving ahead a few years, the reckless, impulsive Kirk gets into a confrontation, after which authority figure Christopher Pike (played by film veteran Bruce Greenwood) sits the wild child down and advises him to follow in his father's footsteps and join Starfleet. This was a touching sequence, and I appreciated how it struck up the relationship between Pike and Kirk.
As the film goes on, we see how Spock and Kirk advance in rank in the Federation, and their first meeting, and several encounters thereafter, are anything but friendly. It was interesting to see how these personalities clashed, but Abrams did bring out enough of their similarities and motives for the audience to see the groundwork for the friendship that would later bond these characters.
I won't go into the plot and spoil the movie for those of you who haven't seen it yet, but I will say that actors Karl Urban (Eomer in the Lord of the Rings movie trilogy), Simon Pegg (best known for his comedic roles in Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz), Anton Yelchin (Hearts in Atlantis) and John Cho (American Pie, and the Harold and Kumar flicks) are impressive in filling the roles of Dr. McCoy, Scotty, Chekov and Sulu, respectively. Pegg brings his trademark wit and humor to the Scottish engineer's role, Urban channels the late DeForest Kelley's cowboy swagger in his portrayal of "Bones" McCoy, and it was fun hearing Yelchin say "wessels" for the first time - brought back memories of Star Trek IV. I also have to say that Eric Bana (Munich, Ang Lee's Hulk movie) as the Romulan commander Nero and Leonard Nimoy also are welcome surprises to the film.
While certain things like the Enterprise's transporter room, the massive Romulan warship and the spacesuits have been updated for today, Abrams and co. still managed to keep classic details from the TV show intact, like the Starfleet badges, hand phasers, Uhura's distinct comlink, and even the green-skinned lady. Throw in the classic TV show theme music at the end, and you have a great summer flick that's worth re-watching. That's all for now - until later, live long and prosper!
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