The Secret Stand Up of Alex Mac

I am by no means a large fan of Star Trek. That responsibility fell to my Uncle Larry, whose house was filled with shelves which were absolutely covered in Trek memorabilia from action figures and models to a various assortment of phasers and other doodads which captivated my interest when I would visit him as a child. For sure, Larry was a Trekkie through and through. I remember going to see some of the older Trek movies with him and my Dad when I was young. I didn’t really understand the finer complexities but I always enjoyed those experiences.  When I heard there was going to be a new Star Trek movie, I really didn’t care one way or the other. At least until I saw the previews. The movie looked fresh, exciting, and just really…cool.

Star Trek? Cool? Was I going insane? Apparently not. Star Trek is an adrenaline rush that kicks you right in the dick the moment it starts. From start to finish, this is a finely crafted and well present adventure that will keep you on the edge of your seats. Director J.J. Abrams (of Lost fame) takes one of the most beloved franchises in pop culture history and manages to make it sleek, sexy, and just downright awesome.

The story itself shows us the rise of Captain James Kirk (played by Christopher Pine) from a troubled and impulsive young adult into the charismatic leader that fans know and love. Along the way, we see the shaky power struggle between Kirk and the half Vulcan, half human Spock (portayed by Heroes’ Zachary Quinto). The Enterprise faces off against the time traveling, planet destroying Nero (Eric Bana) as he roams the galaxy, exacting revenge for the future destruction of his home planet. What follows is a story filled with excitement, twists, romance, and some genuine comedy. I would go into detail but that would ruin everything. Needless to say, even if my meager plot synopsis makes the story seem like nerd-gasm material that is because, well, it is. But the casual fan (like myself) need not worry because the story does not require any real previous knowledge of the Star Trek universe. This is a reboot of the franchise.  Well, sort of. This is the beginning of it all…just not quite in the way you would imagine. Trust me. That statement makes sense after you watch the movie.

The story itself is nothing amazingly complex but it does retain enough sci-fi trappings that it works. Some diehard fans might decry the change of tone and character changes but the script does enough to justify the differences. At this point, Trekkies can only rant about stupid things. “How are there Romulans in this movie if Kirk hasn’t even encountered them yet in the timeline?”, “The Enterprise was establish on Star Date blah blah blah!” You know what? Deal with it! I don’t give a shit about how correct they were regarding black holes. The script works. In fact, the only weak part is the motivation of the villain, who has traveled back in time before the destruction of his planet and does not think to save it but just to go around blowing up other planets in a fit of unbridled rage.

But none of this matter since the actors present the story with such skill that we are more focused on their struggle than any stupid geek crap. Pine is Kirk, a swaggering and cocky man of action. Pine, as the main character, had a lot on his shoulders and really delivers. It of course helps when his supporting cast is so spot on as well. Karl Urban gives a wonderful performance as Dr. McCoy. Indeed, some of his scenes are some of the most entertaining in the movie and are only upstaged by Simon Peggs Scotty, the enthusiastic engineer and warp expert. Both of these two give wonderful character performances. Eric Bana is an intense villain, who even though lacking proper justification for his crimes, seems suitably threatening. However, the real star is Quinto’s Spock, whose complex emotional arc adds the most weight to the movie. Quinto plays Spock as torn between logic and emotion and shows the required subtlety to pull it off. His first venture into film is a home run.

But the best part of the movie is without a doubt the visuals. The movie looks amazing and every single action sequence is designed to leave you breathless. Of particular note is an amazing fight on an orbital drill between Kirk and Sulu (John Cho) and some henchmen. This sequence is one of the best 5 minutes of film I’ve seen, rivaling the exciting bank heist of Heat for one of my favorite action pieces ever.

Overall, this movie is just really fun. No need to worry about not understanding it. The movie is an all around good movie and the first major hit of the summer.

Bottom Line: Star Trek is an exciting and visually astounding adventure. The fairly Hollywood-ish script is redeemed by well cast actors who give strong performances. Die hard Trekkies will find lots of trivial things to bitch about but will be unable to level many criticisms towards the film itself. The bottom line is that J.J. Abrams'  has produced a film that both diehard fans and casual fans will enjoy.