By David Wang

Rating: 9/10

When I first heard that J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek was going to be a ‘reboot’ of the Star Trek franchise by Gene Roddenberry, my geeky auto-responders replied with, “Huh?”

Isn’t a reboot something you do when your PC crashes, or that horrible cartoon series that had a short run on TV?

Luckily, Wikipedia, the bible for self-confessed nerds, provided some illumination:

Reboot, in serial fiction, means a discarding of much or even all previous continuity in the series, to start anew. Effectively, all previously-known fictive history is declared by the writer(s) to be null and void, or at least irrelevant to the current storyline, and the series starts over.

Oh, right. Now to see if this reboot works.

It’s the 23rd century and all the chicks are hot. Or green. Fashion of the day are short skirts and knee high boots for girls, and futuristic jumpsuits for the guys. Ultra chic yet retro at the same time. Earth doesn’t look too different, and Nokia and Budweiser even manage to squeeze in some media time.

Earth is about to launch its most advanced starship—the USS Enterprise. The crew of this starship include a bunch of newly graduated cadets from Starfleet, including an up-and-coming but brash James Tiberius Kirk (Chris Pine). His antagonist is Spock (Zachary Quinto), the Vulcan Starfleet instructor. On its maiden voyage, Enterprise is thrust into conflict with bald aliens, from the future no less!

Right from the get go, the story is fast-paced and doesn’t let up. J.J. Abrams, who directed Lost and Mission Impossible III, brings his unique style to Star Trek and throws in fireballs, shattering explosions and exciting fights that make the movie accessible to non-fans. And by playing up Kirk and Spock’s relationship as one of the main story arcs, the movie stays true to the original series.

Indeed, Kirk and Spock are so ingrained in Star Trek that people divide the franchise into “the part with Kirk and Spock” and “the part without Kirk and Spock”. Resuming a role that’s been predefined by William Shatner (the original Kirk) isn’t easy, but Chris Pine makes Kirk believable while refraining from a direct impersonation. Meanwhile, Quinto is very Vulcan but allows his human side to turn into Scary Sylar—his character from Heroes—on occasion. Both do a good job of drawing the audience into their characters and revealing their emotional side. Yes—even Spock.

The rest of the cast hold up their own. There’s the hyperactive Chekov (Anton Yelchin) with his exaggerated Russian accent, sexy Uhura (Zoe Saldana) updated for modern times, a sword-wielding Sulu (John Cho) and even a comedic performance from Simon Pegg as Scotty, all of whom will endear you to the Enterprise crew. As the team members discover themselves along the course of the journey, we’re treated to glimpses of their lives as Abrams raises his hat to long-time fans with some inside jokes.

A great balance of action sequences, believable characters and fantastic storytelling make Star Trek one of the must-watch movies of 2009. Abrams’ capable hands left me with a desire to watch the original series, and they may just do the trick to revive the entire Star Trek franchise again, boldly going where no Sci-Fi series has gone before.

STAR TREK

Release Date
8 May 2009
Genre
Action
Director
J.J. Abrams
Cast
Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Eric Bana, Winona Ryder, Zoe Saldana, John Cho, Simon Pegg, Anton Yelchin
Running Time
2 hours 06 minutes
Language
English
Classification
PG13