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Star Trek
New Trek is a good movie. Good enough to pave over a handful of rather enormous plot holes, and keep me from caring about the slight bumpiness in the road. It's slick, ballsy and exactly what the franchise needed. I went with a group of die-hard and not-so-die-hard Trek fans (none of us consider ourselves Trekkies, exactly), and the reaction was almost wholly positive. There was one fanboy holdout, over continuity gaffes and divergences. Most of us agreed that it didn't quite feel like Star Trek. But I'm going to out on a limb here, and say for the record that that's ok. Hell, it's not just ok, it is, once again, exactly what Star Trek needed. Star Trek has been dead on the big screen since First Contact. The shambling exercises in Next Gen nostalgia that came after it, did little to expand the franchise: they didn't bring us fresh new ideas; they couldn't bring in new fans. This movie does both.
It manages to simultaneously bring the franchise back to its roots, and create a new frontier for it to explore. Star Trek needs that mix of comfortable nostalgia and adventurous, exploratory newness. In terms of of the big picture, Star Trek has never, and will never "boldly go, where no man has gone before." But it should valorize that spirit, while being safe for the viewers: it should impart the sense of boldly going, without actually boldy going. The franchise has had its minor victories (first interracial kiss on American tv!), but it is what it's made from. Wagon Train to the Stars, and all that Jazz. What this new film does so well, is re-imagine Star Trek (the people, places, things and themes), in a way that remains Star Trek, but is fresh. That would be why I said it's ballsy - purists stay home!
The casting was, for the most part, excellent and most of the actors rose to the occasion. Star Trek doesn't require the emotional depth of your average Atom Egoyan film, but what it does require of its players is: comic timing, credible badassery, and the ability to convey the brilliance of your character, without all the usual Genius character tics. The crew of the USS Enterprise is made up of the best of the best; every one of them is brilliant in their own right, but they are, by and large, well adjusted, mundane geniuses. That's always been the case, but I like that this new film made it explicit: these people are all incredibly good at their jobs, due to a combination of innate talent, and hard work. And that's significant. Star Fleet, in this film, is the home of the absolute best of the best, where super-smart and super-competent is the new normal. Loves it.
I also loved the reinterpretation of Kirk and Spock. There's going to be some complaining from fans but these were both imho totally valid characterizations, built on old canon. Young Kirk was always kind of a jerk. Young Spock was always a little arrogant and rules-bound. Love, love, love that they established them as frienemies, rather than soul mates from the get go. While Star Trek is, and always has been, gay for K/S, the relationship was not given as t'hy'la from the start: their friendship developed over the course of the show, and the later movie series. In fact it's in Wrath of Khan and Search For Spock where it all comes together. So I'm happy with the filmmakers choice to hold back on it. That kind of epic friendship has to be earned, and holy bejesus did we get a good start here, or what? I haven't had cause to talk about Star Trek much here, in the last few years, but am, as should be obvious by now, a huge ToS fangirl, and K/S is one of my longest held ships (either friendship or romantic - I'm easy that way). So it was important for me that they get the relationship right. They totally did. The balance of rivalry and hard-earned respect. Things like, "So you do feel." And "Logical. I thought you'd like that, Spock." "No, not this time."
And can I just say? Karl Urban blew me away as Bones. I was not expecting much from him, but he fully made the role his own. His over-the-top space paranoia, aggressive medical tactics, his deep affection for Kirk - perfect. "Green blooded hobgoblin" FTW. And of course we've got the essential OT3 of ToS already coming together in this film, with Kirk, Spock and McCoy allying in various combinations, Spock and McCoy already snarking at each other. "I could roam the decks weeping if you thought it would be better for crew morale." (or something to that effect).
Simon Pegg didn't nail Scotty like Urban did Bones, but he was decent enough. Charming and scene-stealingly funny. The same goes for Chekov and Sulu - not quite OMG AWESOME, but definitely good enough. A good start.
Which brings us to Uhura. I'm so immensely grateful that they did something with the character. They gave her importance in the Fleet and on the crew. Rather than just relay messages, she does stuff; her position on the bridge is actually has substance. YES. She's as beautiful and self-assured as original model Uhura, and has the same sense of emotional maturity and wisdom that Nichelle Nichols brought to the role. Again, YES. And it doesn't hurt that Zoe Saldana is freaking hawt:
Spock/Uhura? YES YES YES. Hot and sweet, and holy good god does she have him whipped, or what?
And before I break down into bullet points - the first ten or so minutes of the movie are fucking incredible. Full stop. In this short sequence they did so much to define what it means to be a Star Fleet officer, and too, what makes Kirk(s) so special.
Awesome Bits
- The troll engineer. Come on, you know you loved it.
- Kirk's giant hands AND his snitty admonishments to Bones.
- New Vulcan - gorgeous and plausibly futuristic and alien. Love the little educational pits.
- The new uniforms. Classic trek without being kitschy.
- The engineering deck and cargo bays looked like engineering and cargo bays really should.
- Dr. Cameron IS the mother of Kirk. Nice.
- South Asian Captain ftw.
- Sulu's sword. Yeah whatever guys - AWESOME.
- The fight hungry, thrill-seeking red shirt getting immolated. Thematically and plottily essential, while also being a great moment. He was not Star Fleet. He had to go.
- All the references to old canon, subtle and obvious.
- Everyone getting their opportunity to kick ass.
- The wide age range of cadets and officers. It gives it a different flavour, where the academy is less of an adolescent's finishing school, than a proving ground for already accomplished adventurers, scientists and warriors.
- The Star Wars references. :D
- "SPOOOOOOOCK! SPOOOOOOCK!"
Plot Holes (and stuff that bugged me)
- A mining ship becomes a freaking Star Destroyer: lol wut? Simply by virtue of being Future Tech. Yeah, no.
- Federation planets have NO DEFENSES.
- Spock chooses to maroon Jim on Delta Vega, rather than just put him in the brig?
- Jim is supposedly miles away from the SF outpost on DV, and then once he's stumbled into old!Spock's cave, it's right freaking there?
- Scotty and old!Spock were not only able to beam onto a ship traveling in warp, they managed to beam onto a ship traveling at warp that surely must have been incredibly far from them at that point, without knowing exactly where it was. Put it this way, even if the ship has become the fixed point, and space that which moves, how the hell did they know exactly how the Enterprise crew would decide how to move space?
- Jim and later Spock buy into old!Spock's story with no reservations.
- There is no entrance exam for Star Fleet. If you're smart enough, they'll let you in no questions asked. In fact, Star Fleet is so flexible that they'll promote you from cadet to captain of the fleet's new flagship, if you're awesome enough.
- There is no chain of command. Second and third officers? Why would we want those? Now granted, the distress call had the Fleet mobilizing everything and the kitchen sink at Vulcan, which is how all those cadets got on board in the first place. But come on. There was no one more qualified than Kirk?
- old!Spock: "You alone must take command of your ship." Er, what now?
- Why bring back the minis? Seriously. Sigh sigh.
- Nokia and JD are still around in the post-capitalist future?
It manages to simultaneously bring the franchise back to its roots, and create a new frontier for it to explore. Star Trek needs that mix of comfortable nostalgia and adventurous, exploratory newness. In terms of of the big picture, Star Trek has never, and will never "boldly go, where no man has gone before." But it should valorize that spirit, while being safe for the viewers: it should impart the sense of boldly going, without actually boldy going. The franchise has had its minor victories (first interracial kiss on American tv!), but it is what it's made from. Wagon Train to the Stars, and all that Jazz. What this new film does so well, is re-imagine Star Trek (the people, places, things and themes), in a way that remains Star Trek, but is fresh. That would be why I said it's ballsy - purists stay home!
The casting was, for the most part, excellent and most of the actors rose to the occasion. Star Trek doesn't require the emotional depth of your average Atom Egoyan film, but what it does require of its players is: comic timing, credible badassery, and the ability to convey the brilliance of your character, without all the usual Genius character tics. The crew of the USS Enterprise is made up of the best of the best; every one of them is brilliant in their own right, but they are, by and large, well adjusted, mundane geniuses. That's always been the case, but I like that this new film made it explicit: these people are all incredibly good at their jobs, due to a combination of innate talent, and hard work. And that's significant. Star Fleet, in this film, is the home of the absolute best of the best, where super-smart and super-competent is the new normal. Loves it.
I also loved the reinterpretation of Kirk and Spock. There's going to be some complaining from fans but these were both imho totally valid characterizations, built on old canon. Young Kirk was always kind of a jerk. Young Spock was always a little arrogant and rules-bound. Love, love, love that they established them as frienemies, rather than soul mates from the get go. While Star Trek is, and always has been, gay for K/S, the relationship was not given as t'hy'la from the start: their friendship developed over the course of the show, and the later movie series. In fact it's in Wrath of Khan and Search For Spock where it all comes together. So I'm happy with the filmmakers choice to hold back on it. That kind of epic friendship has to be earned, and holy bejesus did we get a good start here, or what? I haven't had cause to talk about Star Trek much here, in the last few years, but am, as should be obvious by now, a huge ToS fangirl, and K/S is one of my longest held ships (either friendship or romantic - I'm easy that way). So it was important for me that they get the relationship right. They totally did. The balance of rivalry and hard-earned respect. Things like, "So you do feel." And "Logical. I thought you'd like that, Spock." "No, not this time."
And can I just say? Karl Urban blew me away as Bones. I was not expecting much from him, but he fully made the role his own. His over-the-top space paranoia, aggressive medical tactics, his deep affection for Kirk - perfect. "Green blooded hobgoblin" FTW. And of course we've got the essential OT3 of ToS already coming together in this film, with Kirk, Spock and McCoy allying in various combinations, Spock and McCoy already snarking at each other. "I could roam the decks weeping if you thought it would be better for crew morale." (or something to that effect).
Simon Pegg didn't nail Scotty like Urban did Bones, but he was decent enough. Charming and scene-stealingly funny. The same goes for Chekov and Sulu - not quite OMG AWESOME, but definitely good enough. A good start.
Which brings us to Uhura. I'm so immensely grateful that they did something with the character. They gave her importance in the Fleet and on the crew. Rather than just relay messages, she does stuff; her position on the bridge is actually has substance. YES. She's as beautiful and self-assured as original model Uhura, and has the same sense of emotional maturity and wisdom that Nichelle Nichols brought to the role. Again, YES. And it doesn't hurt that Zoe Saldana is freaking hawt:
Spock/Uhura? YES YES YES. Hot and sweet, and holy good god does she have him whipped, or what?
And before I break down into bullet points - the first ten or so minutes of the movie are fucking incredible. Full stop. In this short sequence they did so much to define what it means to be a Star Fleet officer, and too, what makes Kirk(s) so special.
Awesome Bits
- The troll engineer. Come on, you know you loved it.
- Kirk's giant hands AND his snitty admonishments to Bones.
- New Vulcan - gorgeous and plausibly futuristic and alien. Love the little educational pits.
- The new uniforms. Classic trek without being kitschy.
- The engineering deck and cargo bays looked like engineering and cargo bays really should.
- Dr. Cameron IS the mother of Kirk. Nice.
- South Asian Captain ftw.
- Sulu's sword. Yeah whatever guys - AWESOME.
- The fight hungry, thrill-seeking red shirt getting immolated. Thematically and plottily essential, while also being a great moment. He was not Star Fleet. He had to go.
- All the references to old canon, subtle and obvious.
- Everyone getting their opportunity to kick ass.
- The wide age range of cadets and officers. It gives it a different flavour, where the academy is less of an adolescent's finishing school, than a proving ground for already accomplished adventurers, scientists and warriors.
- The Star Wars references. :D
- "SPOOOOOOOCK! SPOOOOOOCK!"
Plot Holes (and stuff that bugged me)
- A mining ship becomes a freaking Star Destroyer: lol wut? Simply by virtue of being Future Tech. Yeah, no.
- Federation planets have NO DEFENSES.
- Spock chooses to maroon Jim on Delta Vega, rather than just put him in the brig?
- Jim is supposedly miles away from the SF outpost on DV, and then once he's stumbled into old!Spock's cave, it's right freaking there?
- Scotty and old!Spock were not only able to beam onto a ship traveling in warp, they managed to beam onto a ship traveling at warp that surely must have been incredibly far from them at that point, without knowing exactly where it was. Put it this way, even if the ship has become the fixed point, and space that which moves, how the hell did they know exactly how the Enterprise crew would decide how to move space?
- Jim and later Spock buy into old!Spock's story with no reservations.
- There is no entrance exam for Star Fleet. If you're smart enough, they'll let you in no questions asked. In fact, Star Fleet is so flexible that they'll promote you from cadet to captain of the fleet's new flagship, if you're awesome enough.
- There is no chain of command. Second and third officers? Why would we want those? Now granted, the distress call had the Fleet mobilizing everything and the kitchen sink at Vulcan, which is how all those cadets got on board in the first place. But come on. There was no one more qualified than Kirk?
- old!Spock: "You alone must take command of your ship." Er, what now?
- Why bring back the minis? Seriously. Sigh sigh.
- Nokia and JD are still around in the post-capitalist future?