"Star Trek"

By Matt Duncan
Coastal View News

In the late 1960s, “Star Trek” went boldly where no TV series had gone before. In the ensuing decades, “The Next Generation,” “Voyager,” “Deep Space Nine,” and several other Star Trek series, spin-offs and movies came onto the scene, some more boldly than others, all hoping to capture some of the magic and wonder so uniquely introduced by the likes of Captain Kirk and Professor Spock. Now, over 40 years later, director J. J. Abrams has brought both Trekkies and the sci-fi laity back to the beginning—actually, back before the beginning.

When the movie begins—before it all began—George Kirk (Chris Hemsworth) is realizing his potential at just the wrong moment. Under attack from an unknown vessel, Kirk takes over command of his own starship while the previous captain attempts to negotiate with a hostile force. Things take a turn for the worse just minutes after Kirk’s promotion, and the valiant Kirk goes down with the ship in order to protect his crew and newborn son.

George is therefore physically absent from his son’s (James Tiberius Kirk) childhood, though James does seem to channel the reckless bravado that made his father a legend. With some mild cajoling, James (Chris Pine) decides to enlist in the Starfleet Academy to follow in his father’s footsteps. James is cocky, bold, perhaps even foolhardy, but he is also brilliant. He knows how to lead better than anyone, but he also refuses to abide by rules or conventions. The future Captain James T. Kirk of Star Trek lore flies by the seat of his pants, relying on his gut to call the shots. This portrait contrasts with that of Spock (Zachary Quinto), a human/Vulcan mix who has embraced the Vulcan allegiance to impeccable logic. Spock is cool and in control, and at least appears to analyze life-threatening situations as if they were engendered in a petri dish.

Spock and James are quickly thrust into the thick of a mysterious and nefarious interaction with the same unidentified vessel that ended the life of James’ father. Just as before, the captain of the Starship—now the newly launched USS Starship Enterprise—boards the enemy vessel to negotiate a ceasefire with an enemy named Nero (Eric Bana). In actuality, Nero is implacable, as he only desires revenge for a past (or future, depending upon how you look at it) misunderstanding. After capturing the captain of the Enterprise, Nero destroys one planet and sets course to destroy Earth.

James and Spock are left at the helm of the Enterprise, but disagreements over the correct course of action complicate the cohesiveness of Nero’s opposition, thus threatening the fate of earth. In order to save earth and restore peace to the universe, James and Spock must learn to work together; they must balance each other’s contrasting dispositions. As the story unfolds, the familiar pieces of the Star Trek puzzle are put into place, yielding an inchoate yet formidable generation of science fiction heroes.

There is never a dull moment in the latest “Star Trek.” From beginning to end, this film flies at maximum warp, and yet somehow stays on track—that is, it does not get lost somewhere in outer space. The movie is fantastical and even cheesy at times, but as four decades of “Star Trek” has shown, these things often go hand-in-hand, with exhilarating results. However, while this movie is fantastical, it is not that fantastical. In other words, “Star Trek” is true to its galactic setting, but avoids most of the truly bizarre, otherworldly scenarios long associated with the series. This movie purchases action at the price of geeky science fiction. Of course, this could be seen as a good thing or a bad thing, depending upon whom you talk to. This year’s “Star Trek” is sure to have broader, non-Trekkie, appeal, but lacks some of the thought-provoking counterfactual scenarios that were once the hallmark of the original and subsequent series.

“Star Trek” is entertaining and worth watching. However, it strikes me that the original and ultimate appeal of the series is in its ability to provoke thought about the way things could have been, or the way things are in a far distant galaxy. Perhaps unlike any other science fiction endeavor, “Star Trek” has inspired wonder over scientific endeavor, human nature, and the boundaries of the universe. The most recent “Star Trek” is light on wonder, but hefty when it comes to action and adventure.