- Location: The Lagoon Cinema
- Everyone remembers the mission statement of the original Star Trek: To explore strange new worlds; To seek out new life and new civilizations; To boldly go where no man has gone before. Whatever else the original and next-generation versions of Trek may have been, they were always nominally about new discoveries and adventures. That's why it seems so strange that the new Star Trek focuses almost exclusively on revisiting the familiar. Nearly all of the worlds, civilizations, and characters are recognizably those of the old TV series, even if the special effects are considerably flashier the second time around. In fact, the only novel adjustments to the Trek canon arrive courtesy of the villainous Romulan Nero (Eric Bana), whose time traveling exploits threaten to destroy the Federation.
- In the first of a series of unacceptably improbable occurrences, Nero's arrival in the past coincides precisely with the absurdly auspicious birth of one James Tiberius Kirk. It's not obvious, however, that young James is destined to become the Captain Kirk that we all know and love. Presumably because Nero's attack killed his father, Kirk (eventually played by Chris Pine) seems more reckless and irresponsible than the old captain ever was, only entering Starfleet at a dare from the sympathetic Captain Pike (Bruce Greenwood). Once there, the young renegade predictably splits his time between hitting on Orion slave girls and cheating on tests. If you and your fan-fiction reading friends have been longing to see precisely how Kirk dealt with the Kobayashi-Maru scenario, this film provides such a scene. That particular incident eventually lands Kirk in front of a court-martial, where he encounters Commander Spock (Zachary Quinto), whose own troubled childhood has affected him in a very different way. Thankfully, the fairly predictable proceedings are interrupted by the news that the planet Vulcan is under attack, and the cadets leap into action.
- The rest of the film is basically an excuse to assemble and to rapidly promote the full crew of the Enterprise, hopefully stopping Nero in the process. Some of the crew members, like McCoy (Karl Urban) and Chekhov (Anton Yelchin) are remarkably entertaining and faithful interpretations of the originals. Others, like Scotty (Simon Pegg), Uhura (Zoe Saldana), and Sulu (John Cho), are simply adequate, although the film is to be congratulated on not botching any of these admittedly iconic characters. The final confrontation with Nero is action-packed, if not particularly fascinating, and it should suffice to note that the resolution involves some astrophysically suspect "red matter" and the help of an old friend from an alternate future, Mr. Spock (Leonard Nimoy). By the film's end, things are pretty much on track to leave off where the TV series picked up, unless you're a Vulcan. If you're a Vulcan, you're probably dead.
- So how to feel about this new version of Trek? The acting is fine, the visual effects are impressive, and J. J. Abrams' direction is capable, if unremarkable. In these respects, it is probably an improvement over the original TV series, which was always more compelling in concept than in realization. Personally, I also felt that the old series was more fun, although the film is obviously striving not to take itself too seriously. It is the choice of stories, however, that troubles me. The usual problem with prequels is that any necessary tales already should have been told. In the case of Star Trek, this problem is further compounded by the fact that the film is a prequel for events that, in this newly adjusted timeline, may never happen. If this had been a reboot with completely different characters, maybe I would have enjoyed it more. As it was, the film seems like a rough compromise between two worlds that never should have collided.
- A nerdy Trek fan pointed out that nobody should have been able to recognize a Romulan back then.
- Coincidences: Nero shows up on Kirk's birthday, Kirk gets dropped off where Spock/Scotty are stranded, and Pike gets his legs broken in two Universes. This is why I gave up on Lost, J. J.
- Everybody probably noticed that the ice moon looked a lot like Hoth.
- Spock's mother, Amanda, was played by Winona Ryder.
