STAR TREK (2009) review by Gary Dean Murray

As a kid, I loved the original Star Trek series. The five year mission (that lasted three seasons) to explore strange new worlds was just the kind of spark that fueled my budding mind. When the movies came out, I was a bit older and found them to be a curious mix. It seemed that only the even numbered adventures were any good, and the best of the lot being the second film, The Wrath of Khan. Of all the movies, it was the one that drew most of the elements from the best of the series. As the years drew on, I found myself on the outs with Star Trek to the point that I didn't even watch Voyager and Enterprise, and didn't even catch the last few of the films.

J.J. Abrams, the successful TV and movie mogul (Lost and Alias), has taken on the the biggest franchise in history, re-booting the format and giving us another new adventure in Star Trek.



WARNING: The two paragraphs below do give out some plot points.

The film starts with an epic battle where we see the destruction of a Star Fleet ship and the birth of James Kirk. We then flash-forward a few years to the young Spock taunted by his classmates, trying to get him to show emotion. At the same time, a young Kirk steals a cool Corvette, taking it on a joy ride. These two scenes establish the basic character traits that we have come to know and love. Then we flash forward a few more years and Kirk (Chris Pine) is an Iowa farm kid who watches the Enterprise being built in his back yard. The death of his father hangs hard over his head. Spock (Zachary Quinto) has decided not to go to the Vulcan Science Academy but instead become a member of Starfleet.



Commander Pike (Bruce Greenwood ) notices the brash Kirk after a bar fight and pushes him to become a member of the Starfleet Academy. He begins the interaction between what will be his comrades for the epic series. We meet Uhuru, Sulu and Dr. McCoy, finding out how he got the nickname 'Bones'. On the other side of the plot, the forces that started the epic battle have come back, looking for a certain Vulcan. A Romulan commander (Eric Bana) is wanting revenge. He has seen the destruction of his world and wants to destroy all who caused it. It is up to a young crew to stop the mayhem. For those familiar with the original series, they basically throw away much of the baggage from those days and star anew. But with a single line of dialogue, they justify everything that is done.



This is the second best Star Trek film, coming close to besting The Wrath of Khan. It has everything one wants to see from a movie of this ilk. There are giant action pieces and tender moments. We get both comedy and drama while never slowing down the pace. Star Trek is one of the best constructed flicks of the last few years. Writers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman have taken all the elements and remixed them, making a new yet familiar line to the series. They give all the secondary characters a moment or two to shine. When Simon Pegg (as Scotty) utters a famous line, it got cheers from the audience.

Chris Pine becomes Kirk without ever being an impersonation of William Shatner. He finds some different elements to explore in the complex id that is the captain of the Enterprise. We believe that he is going to grow up to be the man we have grown to love. The same can be said for Zachary Quinto playing Spock. His is the most consistent character in the Star Trek universe and he does this monumental task with equal parts logic and emotion.

The only bad thing about Star Trek is when the credits roll. You just don't want it to end. This is a perfect summer flick that shouldn't be missed under any circumstance. And I, for one, cannot wait for the next installment.

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