Review of Star Trek (2009) by Thomas D — 19 Jul 2016

Plenty Star Trek super fans stand by the notion that the rebooted/re-imagination that J.J. Abrams brought us in 2009 should not be considered canon or even a part of the franchise. I tend to believe Abrams did right by the franchise's history and pathed the correct way to take the series.

That's not to say the film doesn't ask its audience to take some leaps of faith, they certainly do. Beginning with an entirely new cast of actors playing iconic characters. Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban, John Cho, Simon Pegg, and the late Anton Yelchin surrounded the film with impressive young talent. Luckily, they all fit right in with the actors who previously played the crew of the Starship Enterprise, while also bringing a fresh new face to the front of the franchise.

Much like 2015's The Force Awakens, J.J. Abrams took a relatively simple and safe approach to revamping the series with Star Trek. Take the villain for example, Nero, he's a vengeful leader of a race who demands payback against those who wronged him. In this case those people are one, in Spock. Though Eric Bana is unrecognizable and quite good as Nero, he's sort of an antagonist doing antagonistic things just so that Kirk and Spock can have something to overcome.

As it is a reimagining of sorts for the crew, we get to see Spock, Kirk, and even Uhura in places we've never seen them, both physically and emotionally. I particularly enjoyed the much more involved Uhura, though I'm not sure she needed to have a romantic relationship with Spock. But it does also provide us with a more unplugged version of Spock, though obviously still emotionally guarded. In all, the characters still feel like the same old Enterprise characters from the old films and series, just with a fresh spin. And that's okay Trek fans.

Of course, there are quite a few gaps in the storytelling. After a highly emotional beginning with a great expanded cameo from Chris Hemsworth (up and comer at the time), I don't think the film ever reaches those gut punching heights, so from that angle, the film doesn't necessarily succeed. At other times, events happen that aren't explained well enough and warrant perhaps too much suspension of disbelief. With that said, once Leonard Nimoy steps into the film, everything begins to make a bit more sense and the entire film takes a leap forward in quality as well. It just takes a little bit to get to that point. This Star Trek reboot is far from perfect, but it's certainly nowhere near the 'dismal' quality some 'Trekkies' deem it.

+The Kirk and Spock relationship is the krux of the story.

+Uhura's role amped up.

+J.J. reinvigorated the series.

-Some conveniences.

-Never hits the emotional heights of the first segment.

8.0/10.