Unless you live under a rock, on an island with no power, or don’t care, you are aware that there’s an 11th feature film out today based on Gene Roddenberry’s venerable creation Star Trek. In this reboot version, director J.J. Abrams, writers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman and the rest of the team have managed to take a relatively tired franchise and inject it not only with new life, but with a new found sense of purpose as well. This purpose? To entertain, have fun and maybe even teach us a little something along the way. On all counts this film succeeds admirably.
One of the advertising tag lines for this new Star Trek reads “This is not your father’s Star Trek.” That pretty much sums up how this particular film fits into the established Star Trek universe. As in, it doesn’t. But that’s okay because this movie delivers and makes you almost forget the past and embrace this new, shiny reality for all its worth — lens flares and all. In short, this new, improved Star Trek works — and works well.
Not only is Star Trek entertaining, which it most certainly is, its great fun and satisfying on many levels and in ways few movies are these days. For long time fans of the Star Trek franchise such as myself (I started with the original series), we get to see our favorite, and very familiar, characters as they develop the friendships and relationships that will sustain them and help propel them into the future. The characters are introduced and evolve in familiar, yet new and unique, ways throughout the film as we are taken on a journey and spun off in new directions that offer endless story possibilities.
I was a bit concerned how they were going to get away with some of the obvious changes made to the established history of Star Trek. Fortunately, the method chosen works, even though it rests fundamentally on a somewhat tired time travel conceit. Still, even with that, which is explained just enough and in a very “Trek” way, you forgive the film its little flaws because in the end, its fast paced, action-oriented, humorous, exciting style engulf you and help you forget, and forgive, the film’s problems.
Is Star Trek a perfect film? No, of course not. With stories that turn on a plot contrivance with so many possible problems like time travel, this movie has a few holes large enough to fly a starship through. Does that matter? Not at all. The movie is going along with such pacing, energy and exuberance that you barely notice and just enjoy the ride.
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