J.J. Abrams wisely stresses people over plot in “Star Trek,” an energized reboot of the sci-fi franchise that zooms along quick enough to make the head of the otherwise logical Mr. Spock spin.
The filmmaker, whose credits include creating the fantasy favorite “Lost” and the action hit “Mission: Impossible III,” satisfies the series’ longtime fans by displaying great affection for the classic characters. In this tale, they are shown at the beginning of their Starfleet tours of duty.
Just as important, Abrams offers a strong introduction to younger viewers who are unaccustomed to the series and might feel left out in the cold. He creates a thrill-packed, $150 million space adventure that provides a fun-filled cinematic ride as it introduces “Star Trek” newcomers to dedicated crew members sometimes fighting among themselves but ultimately looking out for one another and willing to sacrifice themselves if necessary.
Abrams shows lighter aspects of the crew members and even has a scene with notorious flirt James Tiberius Kirk (Chris Pine of “Smokin’ Aces”) hooking up whenever possible. The director also has Kirk getting punched around more than Curly Howard during a Three Stooges short as he waits for his first space assignment.
In many ways, this is old-school “Star Trek,” but in other ways, it’s not.
In any case, one walks away feeling that wherever “Trek” creator Gene Roddenberry is, he must be smiling.
The PG-13 picture follows a revenge-hungry Romulan, Nero (Eric Bana of “Munich”), who seeks those who caused the death of his family and uses a weapon capable of destroying an entire planet to punish those responsible. The logic-driven, half-human/half-Vulcan Spock (Zachary Quinto of TV’s “Heroes”) becomes the young chief of the Enterprise after the senior captains leave on a mission and the brilliant but troubled recruit must take the helm against Nero’s formidable forces.
“Star Trek” twists the space-time continuum like a Philadelphia pretzel as the past, present and future often seem to collide. That plot trick appears to have been invented mostly to allow the very welcome return of Leonard Nimoy as the original Mr. Spock from the vintage TV series. [William Shatner, who has complained about his noninvolvement in the project, doesn’t appear as Capt. Kirk.]
The script provides elements worth pondering. They include some strong themes about the concept of family, the pain of loss and the toll taken — at least on Spock — by being emotionally compromised.
For ardent “Star Trek” fans, the real fun comes as Abrams introduces younger versions of the beloved characters.
They are Chief Engineer Montgomery “Scotty” Scott (British actor Simon Pegg of “Shaun of the Dead”), Communications Officer Uhura (Zoe Saldana of “Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl”), Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy (New Zealand actor Karl Urban of the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy), U.S.S. Enterprise helmsman Sulu (John Cho of the “Harold & Kumar” series), and 17-year-old Russian officer Chekov (Anton Yelchin of “Alpha Dog”).
The supporting cast members do well, except for Yelchin, who slightly overplays his Russian accent. That should be cleared up by the time the inevitable second installment of the re-imagined series arrives on screen.
Other welcome additions include Ben Cross (“First Knight”) and Winona Ryder (“Little Women”) as Spock’s parents and the ever-dependable Bruce Greenwood (“Thirteen Days”) as Capt. Christopher Pike.
For those new to “Star Trek” and others who have been fans for years, the sooner the U.S.S. Enterprise blasts off again with this new cast, the better.
Postscript: The original “Star Trek” television series aired 1966-1969 (NBC). The key characters were played by William Shatner (Capt. Kirk), Leonard Nimoy (Mr. Spock), DeForest Kelley (Dr. McCoy), George Takei (Sulu), Nichelle Nichols (Uhura), James Doohan (Montgomery Scott) and Walter Koenig (Ensign Chekov).
FILM REVIEW
“Star Trek”
Grade: B+
Starring: Zachary Quinto, Chris Pine, John Cho, Simon Pegg, Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban, Anton Yelchin, Ben Cross, Winona Ryder, Bruce Greenwood, Eric Bana and Leonard Nimoy; screenplay by Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, based on the series created by Gene Roddenberry; produced by J.J. Abrams and Damon Lindelof; directed by Abrams.
Running Time: 126 minutes.
Parental Guide: PG-13 rating (sci-fi action and violence, brief sexual content).
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