By Sam Watermeier
<[email protected]>

I walked into the theater at 10 a.m., hoping it would be empty, only to find a large crowd of middle aged men and…their mothers. “Wow, this is a sad image,” I thought, “especially at a showing of ‘Star Trek.’ What are a bunch of grown men doing drooling over science fiction yarn like children and hanging out with their mommies?” As I watched them more closely, though, I realized something magical: this movie gives them the power to feel like kids again. More importantly, “Star Trek” reminds us what it feels like to be part of something bigger than ourselves. For a few hours, everyone in the theater could feel like captains of a starship, barreling deep through outer space. 

In this age of cold, calculating blockbuster entertainment, “Star Trek” recaptures the magic of film. It is a rare specimen among summer movies: a spectacle whose marvels are both visually and viscerally exciting. It never loses sight of the human drama inside the lavish spaceships. Amidst the action and excitement, director J.J. Abrams and his stellar cast create a truly heartfelt film.

Since “Star Trek” is steeped in complex sci-fi mythology, I won’t bore you with the convoluted plot details of black holes, alternate universes, and time travel. All that needs to be addressed is the fact that this film is a reboot of the classic television and film series. It reintroduces the iconic characters/members of the Starship Enterprise like Captain James T. Kirk (Chris Pine) and his rival/friend, the half-human, half-Vulcan Mr. Spock (Zachary Quinto). Pine portrays Kirk as a roughneck whose outer toughness barely hides vulnerability and tenderness. Spock is similar in this respect except he suppresses his emotions with logic and reasoning and does so with much more ease than Kirk. These soulful, charismatic performances contrast nicely to the film’s inorganic world.  Their deeply-felt quality turns what could be cheap thrills into harrowing moments. An early sequence in which the Enterprise is attacked by an alien rebel named Nero (played with smoldering malice and menace by Eric Bana) is particularly chilling and saddening since we grow so attached to the characters. Abrams also adds emotional to the film’s many visual marvels.

Dark, gritty reboots overwhelmingly dominate this decade. While “Casino Royale” and “The Dark Knight” ground the “James Bond” and “Batman” franchises more in harsh reality, “Star Trek” stands out refreshingly with its bright modern vision. It has the warmth of early Spielberg and the wonder of a 1950s creature feature. Instead of presenting outer space as the entity one character describes as “disease and danger wrapped in silence and darkness,” Abrams infuses it with whimsy. He takes on the point of view of an unsuspecting and excited outsider. There is even clumsiness to the camerawork (especially evident in the footage of starships cruising through space) that mirrors the same kind of natural, distracted quality any normal person would have when filming something so foreign and awe-inspiring. Like a child, the camera’s eye is always wide and glistening. There is something endearing about the way Abrams gazes at the wizardry before him. While most filmmakers are solely concerned with rendering visual effects “sellable,” he focuses on making them genuinely inspiring.

Although I may seem like a film snob sometimes, often praising understated movies over large scale entertainment, I must admit that my love for film comes first and foremost from a desire to escape to other worlds more thrilling than our own. “Star Trek” feeds that desire. Therefore, it fittingly marks my last review for HiLite. I will miss sharing my cinematic thoughts with you. Thank you for reading and I will see you at the movies. Until then, in the words of Spock, “Live long and prosper.”

“Star Trek”

Directed By:
J.J. Abrams

Starring:
Chris Pine
Zachary Quinto
Eric Bana
Leonard Nimoy

Runtime:
2 Hrs. 6 Min.

Rated:
PG-13

Overall:
A

‘Star Trek:’ A Generation in the Final Frontier

To date, 11 “Trek” movies have premiered since the original debuted in 1979.  Listed below are the movies with their specific casts in order of debut (beware of the odd numbered movies).

Source: The Internet Movie Database (www.imdb.com)