Equipped with the original crew of the Enterprise, including Captain James Tiberius Kirk (Chris Pine) and “that pointy eared bastard”, Spock (Zachary Quinto), Star Trek begins with a tremendously filmed space battle sequence in which Kirk is born and his Father dies.
J.J. Abrams’ Super-Kirk.
This seminal, and rather Superman like, moment signals Star Trek’s re-birth. On the surface, JJ Abram’s glossed-up super-Kirk is the kind of character you would find on the OC or Smallville teen televison series. Blond, pretty, yet rough enough to attract the ladies and brave enough to impress the guys.
Like all heroes, he is full of flaws – impetuous, arrogant, stubborn - and this new film documents his thrill seeking, death defeating journey - along with that of the ultra-brainy yet emotionally stunted, Captain Spock - from rough-hewn rebel to top starship trooper.
While it would have been easy for Abrams to have packed the film so full of special effects that at least a fair percentage of the audience would have been happy, he has instead produced the kind of visual and character driven entertainment that makes a fair stab at equalling the original Star Wars in quality and entertainment value and goes well beyond many of the Star Trek sequels at least.
Trekkie effects.
Yes, the special effects are there, in abundance, and are done very well, along with some fantastic action sequences - including a parachute jump onto a metal platform through which fire shoots skyward while an eager group of Romulans prepare to attack - but these are not relied upon to hold it together. Instead, the crew of the enterprise are the centre of the action - along with a story involving an extremely angry Romulan named Nero (Eric Bana) - their idiosyncrasies brought out and paraded before us as if they were old friends we hadn’t seen for a while.
Abrams Starship Enterprise.
Ultimately, however, Star Trek works because it was made with affection. There is a genuine love for the characters here and it is catching, leaving the audience smiling and satisfied. Maybe the story could have been stronger, more complex - Eric Bana’s bad guy isn’t that remarkable, a younger take on Ricardo Montalban’s turn as Khan in the second Trek film - but Abrams has injected enough into it to do the job without compromising on character development: something that this reboot just couldn’t have done without - and neither could we.
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