June 2, 2009
By Eric M. Scharf
Disclaimer: This review contains a historical build-up, including commentary on all preceding television series and films, leading into the film review itself. After all, you need to know from whence you came before you can “boldly go where no one has gone before . . . again.” Otherwise, those uninterested in “Star Trek” lore are encouraged to skip ahead to “The Latest Attempt.”
The History
Science fiction, beginning with the Industrial Revolution, has been a part of human culture for at least 200 years. It has been delivered to society in all forms of media, with some derived from fact and many others from imagination.
The best of the best, however, either compels you to believe it will be real or leaves you dreaming of the day when the unimaginable becomes reality.
While there have been millions of amazing treks into the science fiction abyss, with great respect to the original three-film Star Wars saga, it is the enduring voyage of the Federation starship USS Enterprise that has captured the imagination of so many for so long.
"Space: the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Its five-year mission: to explore strange new worlds; to seek out new life and new civilizations; to boldly go where no man has gone before."
“Star Trek” has gone on much longer than its original five-year mission, exposing fans to one possible highly-civilized utopian future, where all of humanity is collaborative, respectful, and supportive of one another; where uniqueness is more celebrated than shunned, and where healthy debate over issues, rather than heated arguments resulting in death, is the norm.
“Star Trek” has been the best artificial example of what our society could possibly and realistically achieve in the distant future, having always provided a careful balance between interstellar action and an in-depth study of the human condition.
Gene Roddenberry’s near-immortal creation has become a science fiction story-telling franchise of immense proportions, thus far enjoying more than 45 years of history, with five television series and eleven feature films. Such an incredible timeline, as well as any reader of this review who is no more than a casual “Star Trek” fan, requires some introspection before getting to the star attraction.
The Television Series
I loved the original “Star Trek” series. After all, it was the original cast and crew. James T. Kirk was the extremely resourceful and swashbuckling risk-taker. Mr. Spock was the otherworldly by-the-book perfectionist except for when the human condition interfered. Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy was the worry wart who simultaneously went along with his colleagues and chewed them out when, inevitably, their plans were too risky or too stringent for his taste. Hikaru Sulu was the savvy helmsman who could pilot anything in a pinch. Uhura was the attractive linguist whose dynamic hails bailed Enterprise out of more than one intergalactic jam. Pavel Chekov was the happy-go-lucky ensign with a tactical and starship weapons bent. Montgomery "Scotty" Scott was the chief engineer who could always find a way to squeeze more Dilithium blood out of a warp speed turnip than anyone else.
Fans, and those who became fans once the cult following really began to pick up steam, were introduced to so many different and unique characters, races, and worlds, as well as the strange and fantastic scenarios that intertwined them all. And the personal growth of each character over the course of 45 years has been astounding, in television, films, and novels. There are dozens upon dozens of unique science fiction television shows that have tried and failed to match the magic, the cast camaraderie, and the following generated by “Star Trek.” Some series that have succeeded to a degree are “Babylon 5,” “Far Space,” and “Stargate SG-1,” which lasted an amazing 10 years before giving way to the less successful “Stargate Atlantis.”
I very much enjoyed and appreciated what was attempted with “Star Trek: The Next Generation” series. Fans were introduced to even more unique worlds, intriguing space facilities, and fascinating races, including the greedy and untrustworthy Ferengi and “Q,” one of many curious and unbelievably meddlesome beings by the same name with incredible god-like powers. A Klingon, Lieutenant Warf, played impenetrably by Michael Dorn, was another refreshing addition as chief security officer. His social and tactical familiarity with the Klingon Empire made him invaluable, as well as his ability to channel his Klingon heritage into behaving like a prim and proper Starfleet officer, rather a 24 / 7 warrior. An android, Commander Data, played error-free by Brent Spiner, was added as second officer and chief operations officer who desired to become human. This desire, at one point, resulted in his creation of an android daughter, with superior capabilities and an even more refined ability to be truly emotive. Nonetheless, he was the subliminal replacement for Spock, and in the same vein, someone who struggled just as much to find his place within humanity, even with his emotion microchip activated. His raw speed of analysis and action, in physical and technical tasks, was both overwhelming and cherished, especially with his constant pursuit of improvement. Both Warf and Data proved to be so much more, in character and value, over time.
I even have an incredibly embarrassing story about meeting Patrick “Jean Luc Picard” Stewart (one of my favorite actors) during his son’s graduation from California Institute of the Arts, my alma mater. Stewart is a brilliant silver screen and stage actor to this day, and he accomplished more in the role of Picard than what other equally-established colleagues would have achieved. His approach left you believing he was, in fact, a combination of three characters from the original series. He had Kirk's experience, resourcefulness, and combat skills. He had Spock's appreciation for knowledge, accuracy, and "studying an unknown," whenever reasonable, before acting in favor of it or against it. He had Sulu's piloting skills and a commanding voice made for broadcasting! "Make it so!" - "Number One - Engage!" Picard's crews, whether aboard Stargazer or Enterprise, knew he was someone who earned his captain's seat, rather than simply being the next Starfleet officer in line to fill a vacancy.
Commander William Riker, played valiantly by Jonathan Frakes, was the perfect balance for Picard. Riker was always ready for battle, always ready to remind Picard of the risk of joining an "away team" on a dangerous mission, and even as a legitimate captain in waiting, he always ready to slow down and listen to the wisdom of his commanding officer. Counselor Deanna Troi had much to offer as an empath, capable of reading the thoughts and even taking over the minds of some of the most formidable enemies. Lieutenant Commander Geordi La Forge, played crisp-and-clean by LeVar Burton, was chief engineer with the determination, grit, and knowledge of Scotty and the laser focus of Spock. You always knew that, no matter how painful the process or solution was to achieve, La Forge was up to the task of making the impossible reasonable.
Dr. Beverly Crusher was capable as chief medical officer but always seemed hesitant at some of the most critical moments, when focus beyond bedside manner was necessary. Even though she and Picard were intimate, she never used their relationship to gain favor under any circumstances, unlike some of Picard's other love interests. Her son, Ensign Wesley Crusher, however, was simply annoying through no real fault of his own, as he was part of a starship crew where everyone was significantly older. While his Starfleet procedural skills were excellent, and he displayed the technical knowledge of a chief engineer, he seemed to bounce back and forth between being spoiled and being socially awkward. If you are the equivalent of a high school student who is brilliant enough to test out of everything and transfer directly aboard a starship for further Starfleet-but-not-social training, like young Wesley, his deficiencies, in my opinion, are understandable . . . but I will not miss him.
There were a number of other characters, such as the original Chief of Engineering, Miles O'Brien (played by Colm Meaney), the original Chief of Security, Lieutenant Tasha Yar (played by Denise Crosby), the manager of the popular "10 Forward" lounge, Guinan (played by Whoopi Goldberg), and edgy Ensign Ro Laren (played by Michelle Forbes) to name a few, who also left their collective mark on the series.
This series also ushered in the era of fully-functional starships, ultra-sterile industrial design, holodecks, and full-sized phaser pistols that strayed too far. Fully-functional, in this case, refers to how a sizeable piece of a Federation starship could be destroyed, yet, power could quickly be re-routed to establish force fields in the exposed regions of the ship, thus, preventing the escape of atmosphere and the failure of life support systems. These same force fields could be used to easily isolate a very specific section of a starship as well, confining an intruder within what would essentially be a mobile jail cell. It was really impressive to see such large ships be able to endure partial system failures or major damage and still be able to function in a limited or better-than-limited capacity, potentially saving a few thousand lives at least, on a ship like the re-designed "Next Generation" Enterprise. Imagine the modern day space shuttle losing one of its three on-board rocket engines while attempting to rendezvous with the International Space Station. It would be great to be able to re-route the fuel and other related systems from the failed engine to the other two functional engines. "Recyclable" is the big catch phrase in this day and age, but the next evolution of that should, in fact, be "fully-functional."
Ultra-sterile industrial design, in this case, refers to the incredible fit and finish, seamlessness, and glossy-surfaced consoles and display arrays found throughout Federation starships in "Next Generation." Ultra-sterile, ultra-crisp, and ultra-nice, too . . . unless you are a filthy slob or a non-Starfleet Klingon.
The holodeck provided a great controlled environment within which Enterprise's crew could either entertain themselves or investigate other beings, objects, environments, and theories in relation to solving real world problems. A fine example that comes to mind involves when Geordi La Forge replicated an engineering lab, as well the original designer of Enterprise's propulsion system, in order to devise a way to allow the ship's computer to self-navigate an energy-siphoning mine field. While it certainly served its purpose, I always wondered why the holodeck was so small, versus allowing it to occupy much of the deck in which it was nestled, other than providing more reasonable camera angles. After all, if you use the holodeck to conjure up a pasture with some horses for you and a friend to ride (which has been the case), then, you are dealing with some subtle, local, real-time anti-gravity adjustments. If I did not want it to be so believable, I would simply shrug my shoulders and accept the holodeck's best as a budgetary shortcoming.
Regarding the phaser pistols, they were simply television remote controls, or shapely submarine sandwiches, dressed up as big, bulky phasers with "Racer X" front ends. Even if the larger size carried a longer and more powerful charge, they were not imaginative. And while the laser rifles were elegant looking, they were still unnecessarily bulky.
So much of what "Next Generation" created from scratch, altered, or enhanced from the original series, provided an important foundation for so much of what occurred within the following series, as well as some of the films. While it was only meant to compliment the original series, "Next Generation" carved a legitimate space for itself as a memorable voyage with a bit more exploration of strange worlds and new civilizations than its predecessor.
“Star Trek: Deep Space 9” was not going to last very long as “Star Trek’s” version of “Mos Eisley in Space” or “The Restaurant at the End of the Universe.” The popular space travel, familiar from the other television series, was crippled to a great degree. The high-traffic, every-episode location really forced the writers to attempt to create stronger main characters as well as more multi-faceted villains. When the characters were no more compelling than normal, along with competition from the lower budget but better storied “Babylon 5,” it spelled certain doom for “Star Trek: Deep Space 9.” You can play "hide and go seek" in the same location only so many times before losing interest in the game and the location. Traveling to various planets for the main characters on a semi-regular basis, using the Defiant, would have helped keep the series fresher, but it would not have been the savior. “Space 1999,” decades before, however, still managed to include nearly equal time on both Moon Base Alpha and on the Eagle spacecraft. And while Avery Brooks performed admirably as Captain Sisko, he will always be “Hawk” to me, alongside Robert Urich as part of the crime fighting duo from the well-received television series “Spencer for Hire.”
“Star Trek: Voyager” brought the decades-old television series back to full-time space exploration, once more introducing us to strange new worlds and new civilizations. The premise for the show was built upon starship USS Voyager entering an unfriendly space nebula called the Badlands, in pursuit of ex-Starfleet rebels called the Maquis. Voyager, along with its target, is transported by a powerful space probe to another quadrant, approximately 75,000 light years from whence they came. After seeing the Maquis ship destroyed in a battle the creator of the space probe, the Starfleet crew and the Maquis band together aboard Voyager, on a new mission to return to Federation space. I was intrigued at the first African-American Vulcan in Tuvok, as well as Chakotay, the first Native American Starfleet officer, who brought a number of back stories to the series. I respect Kate Mulgrew as an actress, but the sheer sound of Captain Janeway saying “This is Captain Janeway,” or “Chakotay, do you read me,” continues to give me nightmares. Though the series only lasted 6 years, I am sure Paramount felt better knowing they had another 74,994 light years worth of episodes in its back pocket.
“Star Trek: Enterprise” was an engaging series with a core set of quality television actors (who were made for television and smart enough to admit it). Hollywood veteran Scott Bakula played Captain Jonathan Archer, a nice blend of Kirk and Picard, taking a cerebral approach to each new encounter, willing to perform a little research, and then being ready for action if warranted. Jolene Blalock played the much too attractive Vulcan, Sub-Commander T’Pol (pronounced tip-Paul). Dominic Keating played the occasionally over-anxious chief security officer, Lieutenant Malcolm Reed. John Billingsley played the procedurally stiff but medicinally flexible alien chief medical officer, Dr. Phlox. Connor Trinneer, who played the chief engineer, Commander Charles “Trip” Tucker, really established that character as an “Old West” equivalent of Montgomery Scott. He always seemed to be at or near the epicenter of action with a wide range of challenges, and he never disappointed. “Star Trek: Enterprise,” unfortunately, suffered from some bad timing and a bit of a story disconnect from the original “Star Trek” series, which the writers only began to truly address in the final season.
The Films
I enjoyed the psychological thriller that was “Star Trek: The Motion Picture,” and I was more forgiving for some of what it lacked, because it was the silver screen coming out party for the Enterprise and its crew. Kirk has his midlife crisis, Spock has recently failed Kohlinahr (the formal purging of all emotion), and McCoy is pissed off that his retirement has been cancelled. They have been called back into duty to intercept an unidentified cosmic cloud heading towards Earth, after the cloud has easily destroyed three Klingon cruisers that attempted to halt its progress. Enterprise goes to warp speed to intercept the cosmic cloud before it can get any closer to Earth. The cosmic cloud scans Enterprise, but Kirk orders neither return scans nor activation of shields or weapons, as it might be seen as a sign of aggression. The cloud is actually able to communicate with Spock while he is in a brief trance state. Spock explains to Kirk that the cloud is attempting to communicate with Enterprise as if it were a living entity, but the communication is so fast it lasts less than a second.
Before Spock can make the proper speed adjustments to the communications system, the cloud sends an energy beam through Enterprise, making its systems begin to overload. Chekov is hurt in the process, and, then, the beam subsides. Spock makes the changes and sends out a message to the cloud before another energy beam can further harm Enterprise. They decide to venture forth into the cloud, ultimately ending up on a tractor beam leading them to the center of the cloud and source control. Another probing beam hits Enterprise, this time scanning Lieutenant Ilia, an empath, and she suddenly disappears. She is returned to the ship soon after as an equally dangerous humanoid probe of the cloud which, through Ilia, calls itself “VYGER” (pronounced VEE-JER), otherwise known as the centuries-old NASA space probe Voyager 6. And the cloud turns out to be a massive, multi-faceted metal construct. There were certainly moments while Enterprise was within that construct when it felt like I was watching “2001: A Space Odyssey.” Considering who was in charge of the special effects, it made sense.
Nonetheless, Enterprise reaches the center of the construct and VYGER itself. The two newest characters of the film, in Commander Decker and his empathic alien ex-girlfriend, Ilia (now VYGER’S probe), accompany the senior officers to investigate VYGER, up close. After learning that VYGER wants to lure “the Creator” in close in order to personally complete its programming, Decker volunteers to manually input the final code. He also sacrifices himself for a union with the Ilia probe, thus, providing it with the answers it seeks from “the Creator.” They embrace and a blinding light takes hold, expanding outward until the entire structure suddenly disappears, leaving Enterprise and crew unharmed in orbit around Earth. Decker and Ilia would also prove to be the basis, in my opinion, for Commander William T. Riker and Counselor Deanna Troi of the “Star Trek: The Next Generation” series. This film also included some long sought after “exploration” of the physical space on the Enterprise. It is, after all, a huge ship, capable of holding a couple thousand crew members and, eventually, fans like me were going to want to see what else lurked beneath that thick metal hide.
“Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan” begins with an increasingly bored Admiral Kirk overseeing starship operations and providing instruction to cadets from behind a Starfleet Academy desk. Enterprise has become a Starfleet Academy training ship. Kirk and a handful of friendly faces accompany a cadet crew on a simple two-week mission involving no more than simple training maneuvers. Meanwhile, Commander Chekov and Captain Terrell of USS Reliant have been studying the Ceti Alpha system and have beamed down to what they mistakenly believe is planet Ceti Alpha 6. They discover cargo containers, from the ship Botany Bay, and Chekov cannot recall his shocking memories soon enough, as they are captured by one of Kirk’s most capable enemies, Khan Noonian Singh, played brilliantly by Ricardo Montalban. Upon finding out that Kirk is not only alive but successful, a vengeful Khan and his loyal followers beam aboard Reliant with their two captives, where they murder the rest of Reliant’s crew and set off after Enterprise. Reliant, as a bonus to Kahn, has been assigned to assist Space Station Regula 1 with the testing of a top secret hyper-terraforming device called Project Genesis.
Khan seeks out Enterprise, claiming communication interference from a warp core overload as the two ships move closer to firing range. Kirk learns the truth too late, and Khan, after attacking and severely damaging Enterprise, finally reveals himself to Kirk, asking him to hand over all data related Genesis. Kirk uses Reliant’s access codes to lower its shields, damage Reliant, and buy time to limp away for patchwork repairs. Khan beams aboard Regula 1 and murders everyone except for the two who beam down to the planet below with the device. Kahn ultimately retrieves the device. After being on the losing end of another round with Enterprise in the scanner-dampening Mutara Nebula, Khan activates Genesis as the only way to get ultimate revenge on his enemy. Kirk and crew miraculously escape but at the cost of a devastating end. “Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan” provided an excellent blend of action and drama. Khan was the perfect antagonist, providing painful and tantalizing back-and-forth with Kirk. This film also included more prized exploration of Enterprise, as well as other planetary locations. This film remains my personal favorite of all the “Star Trek” films, including the latest effort. Ricardo Montalban – may you rest in peace.
“Star Trek 3: The Search for Spock” begins where the previous film ends, with the Enterprise returning to the nearest Starfleet starbase for what the crew expects to be a near-complete overhaul. They arrive at starbase only to be emotionally beaten down further when they discover Enterprise is set be decommissioned. When McCoy begins behaving strangely, Kirk receives a visit from Spock’s father, Sarek, revealing that McCoy’s mind is carrying Spock’s Kattra or his living spirit. Kirk is denied permission to take Enterprise after pleading with Starfleet command. Kirk successfully enlists his warn down senior staff to effectively steal Enterprise away from the scrap heap for one more trip through the cosmos to save a good friend and, possibly, another thought to be lost forever. They head off towards Genesis, now a quarantined planet. Before reaching Genesis, the science scout ship USS Grissom is already orbiting Genesis, allowing Kirk’s son, David, and Lieutenant Saavik to study the planet and report their findings. The report no one expected was that Genesis was created using unstable proto-matter, which was used as a shortcut to please impatient Starfleet. A Klingon Bird of Prey, led by the maniacal Commander Kruge (played wonderfully by the usually comedic Christopher Lloyd), has intercepted communications to Grissom.
Kruge destroys Grissom and plans on stealing all Genesis data from the science team, despite the damning report from David and unbeknownst to Kirk. The sputtering Enterprise attempts and fails to fight off the Klingon ship, leaving Kirk and crew as sitting ducks in space. David and Saavik discover a young Spock and rescue him. The Klingons beam down to the planet to intercept the science team and end up killing David. Kirk wins an exhausting hand-to-hand fight with Kruge, quite literally kicking Kruge to a lava covered curb. Kirk rids himself of the remaining Klingons by fooling them into beaming over to a surrendered Enterprise which is set to auto-destruct. He, then, does his best Klingon language impersonation, telling the Klingon Bird of Prey to beam two aboard, and Kirk conveniently manages to get Spock off of Genesis right as he essentially achieves the same age as he had in “Star Trek 2.” Kirk and company speed away from Genesis just before it explodes. They head to Vulcan at best speed for a “reunion” ceremony for Spock's body and his Kattra, as well as the liberation of McCoy’s sanity. This film had the best of intentions, and there were moments when I actually enjoyed it, but there were major execution problems with the rest of the film. While Leonard Nimoy certainly had “help” limping to the finish line, alas, he was not nearly as logical behind the camera as he, as Spock, has been in front of it. Nimoy is no dummy, and you have to wonder if-and-when Paramount decided to interfere with this film.
“Star Trek 4: The Voyage Home” is the final component of a three piece puzzle that began with “Star Trek 2.” Kirk and crew vote to leave Vulcan and return to Earth to face their punishment for their actions in “Star Trek 3.” They leave for Earth using the Klingon Bird of Prey they captured from Kruge at Genesis. Dr. McCoy, grateful to be back to his old self and well aware of tribunal that awaits them back on Earth, has appropriately painted the name "H.M.S. Bounty" on the ships hull. Meanwhile, a probe, resembling a giant lacquered Lincoln log, is also on course for Earth, radiating a slow-acting electro-magnetic pulse or signal that damages all manner of spacecraft and facilities in its path. The same result and worse begins to take hold once the probe arrives at Earth. The Bounty finally arrives in the solar system, receiving broken transmissions from Starfleet, warning Kirk and crew to stay away. Spock analyzes the signals of the probe and discovers they are high-speed equivalents of whale song, in an attempt by the probe to communicate with the long-extinct humpback whales.
The crew decides to travel back in time to acquire humpback whales, using maneuver that will slingshot them around the sun, causing a rip in time, and reaching the 20th century Earth, circa 1986. They detect two whales within the vicinity of San Francisco. The wear and tear of time travel has damaged the Bounty’s Dilithium crystals, nearly beyond repair. Their mission from this point forward involves finding two whales (one male, one female), retrofitting the Bounty with a custom-built tank capable of holding several tons of water and the whales, finding a large enough source of high-yield photons with which the Dilithium crystals can be regenerated, and returning to the future just in time to save the Earth, again. Kirk and crew succeed, but not before waves of serious action, high drama, and zany entertainment ensue. Every crew member gets an opportunity to shine in this film, and they even pick up a new member who is a valuable expert on their precious cargo. For all of their effort, Kirk gets demoted from desk-strapped Admiral to starship-sailing Captain of Enterprise. This film was also a personal favorite.
“Star Trek 5: The Final Frontier” began simply enough with Kirk and crew putting the latest version of Enterprise through inspection, which it fails miserably. While the ship is being worked over, Kirk et al enjoy some rare outdoor shore leave in Yosemite along with some “Mission Impossible” mountain scaling. Their therapeutic vacation is interrupted by an emergency mission, using the same flawed Enterprise to rescue several ambassadors who have been taken hostage and are being kept on Nimbus III, the “Planet of Intergalactic Peace.” The culprit is Sybok, the previously unknown and mentally-unstable brother of Spock. Starfleet takes the bait. Kirk and crew, however, are not prepared for the army of low-rent villains Sybok has waiting for them, and they fail in their bid to rescue the captives, who turn out to be willing partners in Sybok’s bigger picture. Sybok’s obsessive plan involves taking Enterprise and its captive crew on his wild goose chase for the legendary planet Shaka-Ri, where life began . . . and where God may be waiting.
Upon reaching the planet, Sybok soon realizes what was calling to him for so long was, in fact, a powerful entity in need of a ship so that it can escape the planet. Sybok’s final moments provide the most clarity he has enjoyed on quite some time, as he goes through psychological battle with the entity, holding it off until Kirk and crew can escape. The story had promise and the film had a legitimate budget, but outside of Uhura distracting the bad guys and dazzling fans with her naked sand dune dance, the film did not work out, and I am being kind. William Shatner is one of my favorite actors, his work on “Boston Legal” was great, and his Tek War and Star Trek novels have quite a following as well. Another of my favorite actors, Clint Eastwood, has been known, as Dirty Harry, to say “a man’s got to know his limitations.” I would say, “You do the math,” but anyone who is a Shatner fan knows he is a perfectionist, and he had to have been under the influence (of meddling studio executives) to deliver such an all-around flat performance and potential franchise killer.
A token bit of proof for my conspiracy theory resides within the existence of the redesigned phaser pistol with which Shatner was involved. He wanted it to feel, weigh, and function more like a real gun, with a removable ammunition / energy clip and all the trimmings.
While it is possible to do such a brilliant job of updating the "Star Trek" phaser pistol, and completely blowing it on nearly everything else about "Star Trek 5," it is highly unlikely, again, that such a thing could occur without "help" from Paramount. I am not a Shatner apologist, just a curious and thorough "Star Trek" fan.
“Star Trek 6: The Undiscovered Country” was, for lack of a better phrase, a very nice recovery from the previous film. The Federation and the Klingon Empire have been enemies the greater part of a century. After the explosion of their moon, Praxis, seriously jeopardizes the short-term survival of their home world, the Klingons are forced to do something considered uncommonly weak within the ranks of their overly masculine society. They ask for a peace treaty and aid from their sworn enemy . . . the Federation. Kirk is, of course, dead set against a peace treaty with a race he considers “animals.” He has never forgiven them for the murder of his son, David, on Genesis. As if Kirk has not already had enough adventure in his life, Starfleet “asks” him to escort Klingon Chancellor Gorkon and his ship, Kronos One, to Earth for peace talks. Gorkon’s ship, while en route, however, is attacked and Gorkon is assassinated. Available evidence indicts the Enterprise as the source of the attack and Kirk and McCoy as the assassins. They are arrested, tried, and sentenced, by the always compassionate and thorough Klingon High Council, to life on the frozen asteroid penal colony, Rura Penthe. The icy prison also contains one of the most important sources of precious Dilithium ore in the Klingon Empire.
Spock is determined that his friends and Enterprise have been framed. He enlists senior staff, as well as Sulu, who is now captain of the Excelsior, and they urgently set out to reveal the truth. Spock discovers an abnormally dangerous Klingon Bird of Prey, commanded by Klingon General Chang, is capable of firing when cloaked. Chang is responsible for firing on the Chancellor, but the 2 assassins still, impossibly, came from Enterprise. Kirk and McCoy are successfully rescued, and an unbelievable conspiracy is exposed among Starfleet, Klingon, and Romulan officials who want to incite all-out war among their race. Enterprise and Excelsior defeat Chang, and Kirk and crew stop another assassination attempt during the peace summit, all combining to prevent a disastrous war and create a glimmer of hope for peace. The only element of this film for which I truly did not care was the 3D close-up of the Klingon blood floating in zero gravity. Klingons may be pre-historic in comparison to human beings, but is their blood really the consistency of Raisinettes or Jell-O?
“Star Trek: Generations” was . . . different, as I believe it struggled between behaving like an episode and fulfilling its duties as a feature film. I enjoyed the idea of the energy ribbon, its capabilities, and how it involves Kirk, but other elements of the story are either half-baked or too over the top. As a fan who always wants the best for the captain and crew of the Enterprise, I was not at all pleased with the inglorious end to Kirk’s life, even though he saved Picard. Kirk deserved better, even though he would say, “C'est la vie.”
“Star Trek: First Contact” was more like it, breaking the bonds of ultra sterility that occasionally plagued the Next Generation crew. I have always enjoyed Patrick Stewart’s effort as Jean Luc Picard, but the character’s stoic, brooding manner seemed a bit wasted until this film. He and his entire crew are faced with their own mortality in a do-or-die scenario. The prime directive is no longer in play, and they are going to have to fight dirty against a Borg collective determined to complete their mission at all costs. This film also included more of the interior and exterior Starship exploration. I particularly enjoyed the scene where Picard, Warf, and Lieutenant Hawk used magnetized space suits to traverse the underside of the Enterprise’s saucer section in order to stop the Borg from converting the communications array for their own evil purposes.
“Star Trek: Insurrection,” from start to finish was another film struggling to elevate from episode status to that of a feature film, even with the record (for Star Trek films) $58 million dollar budget. I have nothing against Jonathan Frakes, the actor or the director, especially after he delivered a solid effort with “Star Trek: First Contact.” And, yet, there was no excuse for the unimaginative visual effects, accentuated by the episode-quality robot probes. The story had promise but quickly eroded into a one-pager that could have fit nicely into an episode. A banished and deteriorating part of a peaceful alien society wants to return to the fold by stealing their homeworld and turning it into an intergalactic fountain of youth. The medicinal cosmic radiation emitted by the planet would prevent the outcasts from requiring any further dermabrasions.
“Star Trek: Nemesis” actually felt like a feature film, but it provided the worst box office performance of any Star Trek film to date. Yes, it had some stiff competition from Harry Potter and James Bond during its debut weekend. There are some promising story components, involving a literal Picard clone as the new peaceful Shinzon of the Romulan Empire and their little known slave subculture, the Remans. There are also a few good action sequences as well, especially with the heavily-armored Reman Warbird Scimitar. It all comes crumbling down, however, with some weak story links and plot holes . . . as well as a brief cameo by none other than Vice Admiral Janeway.
Get out of my head, Janeway! Yes, I am quite alright – just chopping a few extremely strong onions while listening to my children run their fingernails across a chalkboard.
Nonetheless, while it is clear that “Star Trek” has lived long, it has not always prospered, even with an incredibly loyal following. The never-ending challenge of making the next television series or film into a perfect compliment to the original, or even better than the original, however, keeps most defiant directors and hopeful Trekkies coming back for more, again and again.
The Latest Attempt
It is now Stardate 2009, and “Star Trek” fans, as well as a defiant director by the name of J.J. Abrams, have gotten their wish with the introduction of that latest feature film, simply entitled “Star Trek.”
Depending upon your perspective as a curious mainstream filmgoer, a casual science fiction fan, or a hardcore Trekkie, the title could easily have been either (A) “Tradition is for The Birds,” (B) “If at First You Do Not Succeed, Try, Try, Again,” or (C) “Beware to Those Who Wish to Rewrite History.”
All three phrases apply but it appears that finally, at long last, someone in J.J. Abrams has, in baseball terms, stepped up to the plate and hit a home run, a long triple, or a stand-up double. I consider myself a moderate Trekkie who simply has yet to attend or dress the part for any “Star Trek” conventions. Abrams, for my taste, hit an inside-the-park home run with a number of threads missing from the baseball and some nagging splinters sticking out of the bat, all of which I will touch upon through a breakdown of key cast members and the plot.
The Cast
Abrams made some interesting choices, from relative unknowns to popular film and television personalities to long-time silver screen veterans, when filling out the world famous crew of the Enterprise and others memorable characters from the new cast.
James T. Kirk is played by Chris Pine. I am unfamiliar with almost all of his previous acting roles, outside of “Smokin’ Aces,” and his work with Lindsay Lohan in “Just My Luck” cannot have been a high point in his career. While I am also unfamiliar with the ultra-flippant (not overacted) edge he has added to Kirk’s character, Pine does display good range from subtle to humorous to emotional. I do not mind that Pine decided against mimicking Shatner’s speech patterns, because he would have been bashed mercilessly had he done a poor job of it. Kirk, after all, is one of “Star Trek’s” six sacred cows, and there is very little wiggle room with a role that was built on a specific personality just as much as anything else. Pine’s version of Kirk could grow on me as long as he continues to become more like Kirk, in the next film, and a little less like Jason Nesmith of “Galaxy Quest.”
Spock is played by Zachary Quinto, who joins Starfleet fresh off the third season of the critically acclaimed network television series, “Heroes,” in the role of the similarly yet cryptically “controlled” Sylar. Quinto shows promise as everyone’s favorite “green-blooded, inhuman” Vulcan, and in all fairness, he has been asked to portray Spock with a bit more humanity than “normal.” As with Chris Pine and his critical portrayal of Kirk, it will take some time to get used to seeing a new, younger face don the pointy ears and jet black bowl cut. Leonard Nimoy at a similar age possessed a longer face and a slightly more slender build, and Nimoy has a noticeably deeper voice as well. Watching footage of Spock for such a long time makes you cherish details as more than just details. Nonetheless, I am interested in seeing Quinto reprise his new role alongside Pine, developing and hopefully putting a good stamp on a famous friendship known throughout the galaxy.
Spock Prime is played by Leonard Nimoy who, even in his elder status, has not lost a step. ‘Nuff said.
Nero is played by Eric Bana, who does a fine job as the understandably disturbed Romulan seeking the ultimate revenge for the deaths of his family and his race. What should not go unnoticed, however, is the incredible makeup job for Nero. Bana, with respect, has ears similar to Alfred E. Newman (from MAD Magazine for the younger readers in the audience). The makeup artists for “Star Trek” essentially pinned back Bana’s ears with the combination of the fake Romulan ears and the bulky latex covering on his head. I honestly did not recognize him until about 30 minutes into the film, after hearing his voice once or twice. Nonetheless, I enjoyed his roles in the well-received “Black Hawk Down,” the underappreciated “Hulk,” the maligned “Troy,” and the chilling “Munich.” His voice acting in “Finding Nemo” was hilarious as well. This is the first role, unless I am wrong, where Bana plays not only a bad guy, but the bad guy. I do not know if I am sold on Bana as good with comedies, but he has a fan in me for any serious roles he chooses (director, script, co-stars, and budget notwithstanding, of course).
Captain Christopher Pike is played by Bruce Greenwood, one of the most-established Hollywood veterans on the cast. He is as folksy, relaxed, and confident as I remember the original Captain Pike, played by Jeffrey Hunter, from the first “Star Trek” television series. Greenwood accomplishes his mission in fine fashion. He is also one of a dying breed of quality actor who can play a variety of roles, both good and bad for film and television. I enjoyed his parts in “Double Jeopardy,” “Rules of Engagement,” “The Core,” “I, Robot,” and “National Treasure: Book of Secrets.” While he may not be in the acting chameleon class of Robert De Niro, Greenwood just seems to be able to take almost any role and be more than affective. I look forward to Greenwood’s next offering.
Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy is played by Karl Urban, and he does a splendid job as the no-nonsense, often irritated, rarely inaccurate doctor of the Enterprise. While Urban’s likeness to Bones is not perfect, it is completely unnecessary, because Urban has all of the mannerisms down like they were his own. I already liked him from “The Lord of the Rings” films, “The Chronicles of Riddick,” and “The Bourne Supremacy,” but if he returns as Bones for several more “Star Trek” films, Paramount can count on me to buy a ticket every time. What a joy to watch, and if the original was still alive today, I believe he would agree. DeForest Kelley – may you rest in peace.
Nyota Uhura is played by Zoe Saldana. She is extremely attractive, she is in the oddest relationship pairing this “Star Trek” film can offer, and she adequately fills the role of Uhura, with a fresh touch of attitude. I think she is capable of more, but she does not write the script.
Montgomery “Scotty” Scott is played by Simon Pegg, from equally well-known films “Sean of the Dead” and “Hot Fuzz.” I know little about Pegg, outside of those two films, but from what I have seen of him, including his time as chief engineer of the Enterprise, he seems more than capable of honorably filling James Doohan’s shoes with a fresh approach to boot. It will be up to Abrams, or whoever helms the next film, however, to determine if Scotty will remain so squirrely (from being pent up in a Starfleet outpost) or will eventually calm down into the confident chief engineer we all know and love. And I will not be upset if the new Scotty proves unable to hold his liquor, as starships need engineers who are in complete command of their faculties 24-7. James Doohan – may you rest in peace.
Hikaru Sulu is played by John Cho, otherwise known as the MILF guy or the White Castle guy. The first reference always makes me laugh, and the second makes me want to vomit. Still, other “Star Trek” fans, particularly Trekkies, wanted to vomit because Cho is a Korean-American rather than a Japanese-American. I am aligned with George Takei, who recalled Rodenberry wanting Sulu to represent all Asians, not just Japanese. Midwestern nutritional requirements and cultural representations notwithstanding, Cho can obviously act, and he performs well in “Star Trek.” Time will tell, however, whether or not he can survive and thrive long-term in serious roles such as Hikaru Sulu.
Pavel Chekov is played by Anton Yelchin, who also played young Kyle Reese in the recently-released “Terminator Salvation.” I believe, in my heart, that Yelchin is an up-and-coming actor with potentially unlimited talent, and while his general portrayal of Chekov was promising, his accent was enough to suffocate the entire audience in which I found myself watching him perform. It was one thing to hear Walter Koenig struggle, in “Star Trek 4: The Voyage Home,” to ask a San Francisco police officer “Where are the nuclear vessels in Alameda?” I cried laughing the entire time. It was entirely another thing for Yelchin to ruin my hearing for the foreseeable future. I felt the urge, more than once, to stand up in the theater and scream: “Spit it out! I am gagging on your every word! The entire Eastern Bloc is begging you for mercy!” Yelchin obviously skipped town immediately after being born in Leningrad in 1989.
Sarek is played by Ben Cross, a world-renown actor who has, literally, played every part imaginable in an ever-widening range of film and television properties, from “Chariots of Fire” to “Dark Shadows” to “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.” Speaking of which, he has even performed for everyone’s favorite television network, the SCIFI Channel. Abrams could have done far, far worse than Ben Cross as the next in line to play Sarek, and I hope to see much more of him in this role.
Amanda Grayson is played by Winona Ryder, whom everyone knows, more for her theft of material goods than for her acting thievery of powerful scenes from formidable co-stars in the various films over the course of her career. In any event, Ryder played her bit part well.
Captain Robau is played by Faran Tahir, who I really enjoyed in Iron Man as the lead terrorist responsible for kidnapping Tony Stark. While Tahir plays a brief part, he is believable as a good guy with the strong, commanding presence required of a starship captain. I hope to see him in more and greater roles for either type of character in the future.
I have always been impressed with actors who can seamlessly play both good guy and bad guy roles. It is one thing to have one lead or supporting actor in a film being so capable, but four?! Bravo to Abrams for landing Bana, Greenwood, Urban, and Tahir . . . with excellent results.
The Plot
The plot involves an accelerated supernova that is endangering the Romulan homeworld of Romulus. The Vulcans agree to help their estranged and emotionally-driven brethren by having Ambassador Spock (herein referred to as Spock Prime) fly towards the supernova with a specially-designed ship, containing Vulcan-engineered "red matter.” Spock Prime would fire several containers of red matter into the supernova, creating an artificial black hole to collapse and consume the erratic star. Before Spock Prime can act, however, the supernova exhales its final breather, destroying Romulus. Captain Nero, of the enormous Romulan mining ship Narada, goes out of his mind at the sight of his homeworld being destroyed, along with his wife and unborn child. He naturally blames everything on the passionless Vulcans, particularly Spock Prime, for the needless destruction of his very civilization. I think everyone on Vulcan knew that if Spock failed to save Romulus, even if it was clearly not his fault to any witnesses on the periphery of the event, every remaining Romulan in the galaxy would spend the rest of their days trying to exact revenge against him and his homeworld. Before Nero can attempt to have vengeance, both of their ships are caught in the resultant black hole, traveling to completely different periods in the past.
The Narada has some minor similarities to the Reman Warbird Scimitar, at full extension, in “Star Trek: Nemesis.” The Narada, on the other hand, was also a complete mess. It looked like a bunch of squid ships, from “Babylon 5," had been sliced up and glued back together in a failed attempt at an angry sea anemone. If memory serves, the Romulans never, in any "Star Trek" series or film, had a ship of any kind in that style. Then, again, the fans have never seen a Romulan mining ship, either. The Narada having missile firing capabilities also makes no sense until you are reminded that Romulans generally trust no one, even their own allies, thus, you should probably expect even the simplest of mining vessels to have some level of armament. At the same time, there was nothing stopping Nero from taking all of that downtime between separate encounters with Kirk and Spock Prime to have his ship fitted for such capabilities.
In any event, the Narada exits the black hole first, more than a century and a half earlier, and attacks the much smaller Federation starship USS Kelvin. Nero ceases fire and “requests” the presence of the Kelvin’s commanding officer, Captain Robau, in order to discuss terms of surrender.
Captain Robau makes George Kirk acting Captain of the Kelvin in his absence. When it appears Robau is withholding the whereabouts of Spock Prime, Nero kills Robau. Nero’s blood lust overshadows the fact that Spock Prime does not yet exist in the current time period. Nonetheless, Kirk takes command upon learning of Robau’s demise and orders an immediate evacuation of all personnel. Kirk mans the bridge, providing cover fire until all personnel have safely left the Kelvin via shuttle craft.
The pop-up rail guns on the Kelvin were completely out of place, belonging more to the recently re-imagined-and-concluded SciFi Channel original series, Battlestar Galactica, to which a good friend refers as “The Travesty.” The single warp engine for the Kelvin was also a bit confusing, as fictional rumor has it that dual engines are required for achieving warp speed.
The Kelvin’s autopilot and self-destruct capabilities have been disabled, and Kirk must remain aboard the Kelvin for what proves to be a futile suicide collision with the Narada. He completes his mission just moments after speaking with his wife, Winona, and hearing the voice of his new born son, James Tiberius Kirk, aboard the last of the shuttle craft.
Spock Prime finally exits the black hole a couple decades later only to be captured on the spot by Nero. He confiscates Spock Prime’s ship and leaves him for dead on the planet Delta Vega so that he can watch helplessly as the very same red matter he brought to save Romulus is used to destroy his own homeworld of Vulcan.
Meanwhile, James T. Kirk has developed from a defiant, thrill-seeking boy, who draws the attention of authority figures, into a bright but cocky young man with a tremendous chip on his shoulder towards authority figures. He crosses paths for the first time with Uhura, before, and Captain Christopher Pike, after, a bar fight which ends poorly for Kirk. Pike shares with Kirk his father's story of heroism, and he dares Kirk to do better by joining Starfleet. Kirk greets Pike’s challenge with cynicism, but he arrives on time at the rendezvous coordinates just like a curious cat that has to investigate further.
His mode of transportation is, for lack of a better phrase, a 2-wheel electro-magnetic motorcycle. It has a chassis and two wheels that have no forks, mags, or gears. They are, in fact, hollowed out and the chassis is presumably held into position by one or more anti-gravity units. Even though it is a poor man’s version of what the policeman was riding when chasing young Kirk, I still would have enjoyed a close up of Kirk’s motorcycle. Abrams easily could have provided that by way of the typical “ground up” scene, when both good and bad guys arrive on the scene in any film, with the camera aimed at the area where the character first steps out of or off of a vehicle . . . going from the ground up to the face of the character being unveiled.
After handing over his motorcycle as a gift to one of the security guards, Kirk boards a shuttle craft, meeting Leonard McCoy, in all of his irritated glory, and, thus, begins their flight to Starfleet Academy as well as an entertaining and long-time friendship.
It is worth noting that Kirk’s Starfleet career originally began on the USS Farragut, but as this film seems to be more about Spock and how he and Kirk meet and forge the beginnings of an unbreakable friendship, I begrudgingly understand why it may not have been considered viable material for “Star Trek.” The element of time travel has also been an enabler.
In any event, Kirk, for his unpredictable mix of potential greatness and reckless abandon, has survived through his third year at Starfleet Academy. After shockingly passing the often feared but never conquered Kobayashi Maru test, Kirk is accused of cheating by its designer, Commander Spock. Kirk’s interpretation of the test is that a no-win scenario is not real; therefore, his solution did not involve cheating. Spock insists the no-win scenario upon which the test is based is real, because you have to be able to maintain your leadership skills and self-control, for your crew, even in the face of certain death.
Before a contentious court hearing can conclude, Starfleet responds to a distress call from Vulcan indicating the appearance of a lightning storm in space. All cadets are scrambled and receive their starship assignments save one: the grounded Jim Kirk. McCoy, after much handwringing, decides to break the rules by injecting Kirk with an easily curable alien flu-of-sorts and bring Kirk onboard the new and stellar Enterprise as a patient “under his care.”
Abrams and crew did an excellent job of blending live action of the crew with CG footage of the shuttle craft taking flight and heading towards Enterprise, displaying the cadets looking through their portals at the huge starship and the far more massive starbase.
Once aboard (and after getting his ridiculously swollen hands back down to normal from the alien flu) Kirk claims to recognize the spatial anomaly as similar to the one that ended his father’s life. He pleads with Pike not to follow the fleet into what he believes is a certain trap. By the time Enterprise arrives, the entire collection of Federation starships has been destroyed, and the Narada is using a huge drill to reach Vulcan's core. Either the starships were filled with ill-prepared cadets, or George Kirk was far better in twelve minutes, with one older model starship, than that for which he was given credit.
Nero, as is his ritual, orders Pike to board the Narada via shuttlecraft to discuss terms of surrender. Pike obliges, knowing what has happened to the rest of the starships that attempted to best the Narada, but also having no clue as to what Nero has in store for him. He promotes Spock to captain and Kirk to first officer as he leaves the bridge.
Before arriving at the Narada, Pike instructs Kirk, Sulu, and dead man walking, Chief Engineer Olson, to perform an orbital skydive onto Nero’s drilling platform to destroy it before it reaches Vulcan’s core. The next scene where all three are dropped out of Pike’s shuttle craft reminded me of a similar scene, but not a rip-off, from “Reign of Fire” with the Arch Angels jumping from a military chopper.
Olson approaches the platform too aggressively, and he is killed as a result. Kirk and Sulu endure some pretty intense hand-to-hand combat with some of Nero’s goons, but they are able to stop the drill, which also kills off a communications and transporter jamming signal. The drill reaches the necessary depth, however, for Nero to fire the red matter into Vulcan’s core, collapsing the planet into a black hole.
Acting Captain Spock beams down to Vulcan and rescues most of the planet's elders, including his father, Sarek, but his mother, Amanda Grayson, parishes along with most of Vulcan’s inhabitants.
Nero, without a moment of silence to spare, sets out for Earth. He tortures Pike on the way, a la “Wrath of Khan,” for the command codes necessary to disable Earth’s perimeter defensive systems.
Spock, in the meantime, intends to follow Pike’s instructions by the book and rendezvous with the rest of the fleet. This infuriates the proactive Kirk who insists on getting after Nero directly. A heated argument ensues, and Spock decides to end the debate with the cadet-turned-cheater-turned-first-officer. Spock applies the Vulcan nerve pinch on Kirk and steals a page from Nero’s book of social graces by leaving Kirk on the Hoth-like Delta Vega.
Spock, in his moment of devastating loss, takes little solace in the tender moment Uhura shares with him, exposing their completely unexpected relationship to confused and shocked fans everywhere.
After enduring a long-distance bait chase across the icy surface of Delta Vega, in which Kirk is the bait, he stumbles into the same cave in which Spock Prime has been surviving ever since being marooned by Nero. Spock Prime uses a Vulcan mind meld to share the future's life-altering events with Kirk, and he compels Kirk to become captain of Enterprise in order to stave off certain doom.
After another hike through the snow, Kirk and Spock Prime conveniently reach a Starfleet outpost (more akin to an outhouse under the circumstances), where they meet none other than Montgomery Scott. How Starfleet did not detect Spock Prime on the surface of Delta Vega when first committing to building the outpost, or how Nero did not detect the outpost when depositing Spock Prime there, is at least very strange. Furthermore, Kirk’s chase scene did, of course, appear contrived (and not because of the CG, either). Kirk’s introduction to Spock Prime easily could have occurred from within Scotty’s outpost . . . after Kirk, looking half-dead, managed to reach his location, per se.
Nonetheless, Spock Prime informs Scotty that he eventually invents an algorithm that allows transporter beaming while a ship is at warp speed. A giddy and overwhelmed Scotty is, then, beamed aboard Enterprise with Kirk. They materialize in the engine room where a film-filling water tube ride ensues for Scotty. He manages to hold his breath just long enough for Kirk to reach a release valve that drops Scotty hard onto the engine room deck. We will never know if the water was purified or irradiated from warp engine coolant tanks, but, then, Scotty, historically, has always been a hands-on engineer. I am certain that even Scotty expected more out of Enterprise’s engine room than something more closely associated to the Titanic.
Upon being escorted to the bridge by security, Kirk deliberately confronts Spock, forcing him to admit he is emotionally compromised by the loss of his mother and his homeworld, thus removing himself from command and placing Kirk in charge. Kirk has mere seconds to marvel at how he went from bait to first rate so quickly, and he finds the Captain’s chair quite comfy.
It occurs to me, at this point in the film, that Spock, to a degree, is the true antagonist to Kirk. If it were not for Nero’s hostage and his confiscation of Spock Prime’s ship, carrying the deadly red matter, then, Nero would have been reduced to the jealous girlfriend.
After Spock composes himself, he, Scottie, and Chekov cook up a plan to surprise the Narada by dropping out of warp behind Saturn’s largest moon, Titan. They will be out of sight but close enough, they hope, for a sneak attack on the Narada before it reaches Earth.
They are too late, and the Narada’s drill has already begun to pierce Earth’s skin. This is where I will admit my own confusion or expose a plot hole. I was convinced, at one point, that Nero had defeated the entire fleet of Starfleet ships, save Enterprise. When Narada arrives at Earth, I thought I might be wrong, and I was expecting at least one starship waiting to defend the planet, or a grand satellite defense network to intercept Narada. Earth being completely defenseless makes no sense, no matter how peace-loving future Earthlings may be, especially with Earth being one of the most important members of the United Federation of Planets. So, this was either a strange oversight by Abrams, or Captain Pike did the unthinkable: he succumbed to Nero's interrogation technique and coughed up the defense access codes. If this is the case, then, Starfleet may have just promoted a traitor-under-duress to Admiral. A sequel might support or ignore my conspiracy theory.
Kirk and Spock, determined to succeed with the original plan, are beamed aboard the Narada. Kirk tussles painfully with more of Nero’s henchmen, eventually besting each of them, and he rescues Pike. Meanwhile, Spock sneaks aboard Spock Prime’s ship, lifts off, and battles his way outside of the mammoth Narada. He destroys the drill and manages to lure Nero away from Earth before setting a collision course with the Narada.
Enterprise arrives just in time to beam Kirk, Pike, and Spock away just as the collision occurs, which releases the rest of the red matter at the center of the Narada. Kirk, in a rare display of playing by the rules, offers to rescue Nero and his crew from what appears to be certain death, but Nero naturally refuses. Before the Narada implodes into the black hole, Kirk gives the order to “throw everything we have at them.” I assume I am not the only filmgoer who noticed how the phasers and photon torpedoes were pesky: from the laser beams to the torpedo projectiles to the lighting effects, there was no reason to fear Enterprise like an enemy might from previous “Star Trek” films.
Nonetheless, Enterprise is about to share the Narada’s fate, with only impulse power available to escape, but Scotty ejects and ignites Enterprise's warp cores, resulting in an explosion that propels them clear of the black hole’s grip.
A ceremony takes place back at Starfleet Academy where Pike, wheelchair bound and still recovering from his encounter with Nero, is promoted to Admiral, and Kirk is promoted to captain of Enterprise. A few scenes before the film draws to a close, Spock is searching for Sarek in a nearby hangar when he stumbles upon Spock Prime, who is departing to help find a new homeworld for any remaining Vulcans. Spock tells Spock Prime of his desire to leave Starfleet and join the rebuilding effort. Spock Prime tells Spock that he and Kirk are a team and will develop a great friendship as a result, but that he should do what he ultimately feels is the right thing to do. Spock heeds this advice and chooses to remain in Starfleet as Kirk’s first officer.
That scene where Spock Prime tells Spock to do what he feels is right could easily have drawn more attention to their half-human half-Vulcan heritage, and it loosely reminded me of the following early scene from “Star Trek 4: The Voyage Home.”
Computer: "How do you feel? How do you feel? How do you feel?"
Spock: "I do not understand the question."
Amanda Grayson: "What's the matter, Spock?"
Spock: "I do not understand the question, mother."
Amanda Grayson: "Well, your half-human. The computer knows that."
Spock: "The question is irrelevant."
Amanda Grayson: "Spock, the retraining of your mind has been in the Vulcan way so you might not understand feelings, but as my son you have them. They will surface."
Spock: "As you wish, if you deem them necessary. However, I cannot wait here to find them. I must go to Earth, to offer testimony."
Amanda Grayson: "You do this...for friendship."
Spock: "I do it...because I was there."
Amanda Grayson: "Spock, does the good of the many outweigh the good of the few?"
Spock: "I would accept that as an axiom."
Amanda Grayson: "Then you stand here due to a mistake, made by your flawed, feeling, friends. They have sacrificed their futures, because the good of the one, you, was more important to them."
Spock: "Humans make irrational decisions."
Amanda Grayson: "They do indeed."
Conclusion
Abrams made no attempt to hide his casual fan admiration and approach to “Star Trek.” His Paramount-backed mission was to deliver a successful rebirth of the franchise, introducing new actors in key roles using enough familiar material to satisfy hardcore Trekkies while limiting the amount of techno-babble to a degree that would encourage casual Trekkies and mainstream filmgoers to show interest as well.
Yes, there were, in fact, communicators, tricorders, and phasers in this film (see below for proof), but the focus, to the dismay of many, was on the story and characters being re-developed within it . . . not their gadgets. Did I just make a veiled reference to “Quantum of Solace?” Read my review to find out.
If you take a cross-section opinion poll from all three target audiences, then, you will agree that Abrams has succeeded with his risky mission of partially re-writing an internationally known and exponentially famous science fiction franchise.
There are certainly a number of hard core fans who also believe that Abrams kicked the franchise’s history and loyal fan base to the curb. "Tickle us, do we not laugh? Prick us, do we not bleed? Wrong us, shall we not revenge?" - Klingon General Chang.
I think that opinion, however, points to the deepest issue any fan can have when their favorite escape from reality appears to have been threatened with a face lift. It is incredibly hard to let go of the original core actors, characters, stories, and overall history of a franchise like “Star Trek.” It is harder, for me, to go on without any well-developed and researched attempts at new material to go along with those familiar faces.
And, yet, it is even harder for me to see those familiar faces grow older by the day (with two deceased and the remaining four in their late 70’s if not older) without any attempt by Paramount to bring in a new, younger cast that can allow Enterprise to continue boldly going where no one has gone before.
I am in no way suggesting that Paramount go ahead and officially relegate the original crew to convention autograph sessions only. I very much want William Shatner, Walter Koenig, George Takei, and Nichelle Nichols to have another shot, possibly a final shot, at the “Star Trek” silver screen. This should be in a similar mode to Leonard Nimoy where they are all necessary components but not show stoppers to forward progress for the ongoing story of "Star Trek" and the equally critical development of the new-old team.
Do you love a thing to death, or, do you love a thing enough to let it evolve? This is the question all long-time “Star Trek” fans need to ask themselves. If you cannot stand change or risk, then, Abrams should never have been allowed to create the latest film. If you want new television series and new films, then, you must find it within yourself to show some flexibility, rather than allow yourself to get caught in an infinite loop.
“Let’s see what’s out there.” – Captain Jean Luc Picard.
“Second star to the right and straight on 'til morning.” – Captain James T. Kirk.
Was Abrams’s effort perfect? No.
Did he take a number of liberties, some of them questionable, in order to engage a much broader audience? Yes.
Did he make the core characters a bit more edgy? Maybe . . . as the original “Star Trek” series was set to an entirely different set of social standards, which change with every year that passes.
Will the new actors ever become as comfortable in their Starfleet uniforms as the original cast? Maybe . . . but how on Earth do you develop the same comfort level as those who had and have been doing it for over four decades? Is that a fair expectation of actors who may only be associated with “Star Trek” on a film by film basis, rather than television series and film?
Does the time travel element give Abrams or another director the ability to properly address any missing historical components in future films? Yes and, ultimately, that is all that counts in my book. I am willing to give the director of the next film or two a shot at putting all of that wonderful “Star Trek” history to work. It could be used as a brief mention, a complement to the core story, or front-and-center as the story itself.
Paramount has an incredible opportunity that it probably never saw coming: the chance to keep most of the hardcore fans and add an entirely new fan base. They will either take full advantage of this situation, delivering on the promise established with this latest film, or they will do what most fans expect from film executives who are always potentially out of touch: fall flat on their pompous, market-driven faces.
"Space: the final frontier. These are the new voyages of the starship Enterprise. Its ongoing mission: to explore even more strange new worlds; to seek out even more life and new civilizations; to boldly and respectfully go, with new actors and without fear of retribution, where no director has gone before."
"Once more into the breech with us, my friends."
