It was with some hesitation that I walked into Star Trek last Friday night. Hoping for the best but expecting the worst. What happened exceeded my wildest expectations. Rather than simply provide the audience with your standard issue Star Wars space battles director J.J. Abrams tapped into the very nature of good science fiction: the imagination. Every scene the new Trek film is at once an homage and a reimagining of the Star Trek universe.
It is impossible not to the think of the pulp sci-fi novels by Isaac Asimov and Ray Bradbury. Space is at once highly adventurous and extremely lonely at the same time. What better way to capture that feeling than focusing on the rivalry and eventual bond of the great Kirk and Spock. Star Trek has always been more about characters than fighting (though there is a sufficient amount of both in the new film) and the two could not be on farther ends of the spectrum.
Kirk, played masterfully by the relative unknown Chris Pine, shoots from the hip and relies on instinct to be a leader. Spock is all about logic and governs his life without emotion. Put the two together in a room and they are sure to clash. When we first meet Kirk he is putting the moves on Starfleet cadet Uhura who immediately disregards him for a drunken frat boy. But Kirk has potential and family history with Starfleet (no spoilers I promise). After some tough love and a challenge to his ego Kirk eventually makes his way into the ranks of Starfleet, challenging every rule that comes his way.
Spock on the other hand has always been considered an outcast. Born of a Vulcan father and a human mother Spock has always been torn between cultures. By the time we meet Nimoy’s Spock he has learned to control his emotions completely, the new Spock (played by Heroes villain Zachary Quinto) is not nearly so lucky.
Unlike previous Trek films this one is made for everyone, not just uber-nerds like me. This makes for an interesting mix of people in the attendance. At Friday’s screening it the theater was swarmed with hardcore fanboys dressed in full Klingon uniform sitting side-by-side a group that was sure to hit a club after the film. One cannot help feeling bad for the fanboys, they are suddenly oddities in a land that they once ruled over.
To give away too much would be illogical. Needless to say the film has set new standards for both filmmaking and science fiction. Man has always dreamed of the stars and with the help of this new film we can dream once more. Space truly is the final frontier so if you are bold enough, take the plunge, and go where no man has gone before.
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