Star Trek

Thanks to his work with ABC's Lost, director/producer extraordinaire J,J. Abrams has basically got free reign if you ask me. Anybody who produces a show as good as Lost gets the benefit of the doubt, even if MI:3 was a bit of a disappointment. He seems to have a golden touch with whatever he goes after so when a teaser trailer was released for an updated version of Star Trek, more than a few eyebrows were raised. With a franchise as hugely popular and successful as Star Trek, anyone taking that on has got some guts.

Now other than some pop culture references (for one, George Costanza screaming 'Khan!'), I have no background in the Star Trek universe. Sure, I've heard of Captain Kirk and Spock and the Enterprise and all that good stuff, but I've never seen even a minute of any of the different shows or movies that so many fans swear by. In that way, I'd like to think I'm in the target audience for Abrams' movie, noobs almost completely oblivious to the series and franchise. With a sequel already announced after the huge success Star Trek had this summer -- over $250 million-- the opener in what could be a long series is an entertaining flick that sets the groundwork for fans new and old to the series.

In the year 2233, a Starfleet ship, the U.S.S. Kelvin is destroyed by a monstrous Romulan warship deep in space with first officer George Kirk (Chris Hemsworth) ordering an evacuation before sacrificing himself and the ship. One of the people escaping is George's pregnant wife who gives birth to a son, James. Flash forward some 20 years later and James T. Kirk (Chris Pine) is all grown up. Meeting a high-ranking Starfleet officer, Capt. Pike (Bruce Greenwood), Kirk is convinced into joining Starfleet where he enters officer training. After three years of study --taken care of quickly with a 'Three Years Later" title card-- Kirk does not get the orders he wanted, a position on the fleet's flagship, the U.S.S. Enterprise.

But with some help from friend and medical officer Bones McCoy (Karl Urban), Kirk gets on board as the flagship takes off leading the fleet on a dangerous mission. Reaching their destination, they find the same Romulan warship that destroyed the Kelvin almost 25 years earlier waiting for them with maniacal leader Nero (Eric Bana) in command. Having heard how his father died, Kirk suspects the fleet is flying into a trap and must do his damnedest to save the fleet, including taking over the Enterprise. There's elements of time travel and changing the future too so brace yourself for a handful of scenes that make your head hurt with some fast-paced conversations.

It's refreshing to see a big budget action movie with lots of style and glitz that is, well, good. Star Trek isn't just good in one aspect, it's a solid movie across the board. There's great action sequences blending CGI and actual stunts on a more personal level to go with believable and interesting interactions among a long list of characters. As the special features documentary mentions, Abrams has the ability to blend both the large and little scales, hitting you with an over the top space fight and then intimate moments after the battle. At just over 2 hours long, you won't even notice as the time flies by.

From what little I know of the franchise, this reboot sticks close to all the versions that came before it. Pine is a strong choice to play Kirk, and thankfully he doesn't do his best Shatner impression. He makes James T. Kirk a cocky but likable character that is easy to root for and get behind. The other key character is of course, Spock Prime, played to perfection by Zachary Quinto. Spock is half-man, half-Vulcan so he blends the characteristics of both species, the logic of a Vulcan and the fire and emotion of a human. The natural rivalry and subsequent bonding between Kirk and Spock is a key one that will almost assuredly be carried into later movies.

As for the rest of the cast, Abrams assembled a strong group of young, up and coming actors who will provide a strong springboard into the series. Urban plays McCoy, the medical officer, Zoe Saldana is Uhura, the linguistics expert, scene-stealing Simon Pegg is Scotty, the engineer, John Cho as Sulu, the Enterprise's pilot, and Anton Yelchin as Checkov, the navigator. Other than Pegg, no one really shines here but most of the group's screentime is setting up who they are and what they do. It will be interesting to see how they develop. Bana is a good villain if a bit underused, but it's the original Spock, Leonard Nimoy, that makes a great extended cameo. An all-around solid cast that helps bring the movie up a notch.

A pleasant surprise for another franchise rebooting, which I've got to say is not necessarily a bad thing with Daniel Craig reinvigorating the Bond series, Christian Bale doing the same for Batman, and now Abrams, Pine and Quinto stepping up to the plate with one of the most popular science fiction franchises ever. If you're concerned about not knowing anything about the series, don't be. The movie is a polished, exciting, well-told story. Don't miss it.

Star Trek <----trailer (2009): ***/****