ShareThisCall it a reboot, call it a "re-imagining," but you might as well call it "Star Trek 2.0."
Director J.J. Abrams' "Star Trek," a new take on the classic science-fiction franchise, offers an enjoyable, action-packed space romp with some changes made to the storied mythology. The most die-hard "Trek" fans may be upset, but anyone who didn't grow up with the original series -- moviegoing teens and twentysomethings, Paramount Pictures' target audience for the film -- won't notice the differences.
As so many of the past "Trek" films did, this one begins aboard an unfamiliar Starfleet vessel as it encounters a destructive ship from the future captained by the renegade Romulan Nero (Eric Bana). A visceral melee ensues -- far more damaging than in the old "Trek," as the hull of the USS Kelvin is compromised and members of its crew get sucked into space -- that quickly crescendos to an emotional, familial climax.
The events, set in motion by those time-traveling Romulans, also create a different time line from that of previous "Star Trek" TV and movie series. It's a similar conceit to the way TV's "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles" used time travel to forge an alternate time line from the "Terminator" film series. This plot gives Abrams license to hit a reset button and not be beholden to the hundreds of hours of "Star Trek" previously created.
Eight years after the Kelvin incident, a young James T. Kirk hotrods on an Iowa dirt road while a young logical Spock allows his emotions to get the better of him on the planet Vulcan.
"I presume you have prepared new insults today," a bullied Spock says to his tormentors, exhibiting again the humor that has always been present in classic "Trek."
Once grown, Kirk (Chris Pine) stumbles into Starfleet after he meets Capt. Pike (Bruce Greenwood) in a bar. Instinctive Kirk befriends recently divorced Leonard "Bones" McCoy (Karl Urban) and butts heads with Spock (Zachary Quinto) over the infamous Starfleet Academy Kobayashi Maru test, one of several nods to the "Trek" saga.
Danger threatens the United Federation of Planets, and the cadets -- including Uhura (Zoe Saldana), Sulu (John Cho) and Chekov (Anton Yelchin) -- embark on a rescue mission. Nero has returned.
Several action set pieces ensue, including skydiving through a planet's atmosphere and Kirk's trip to Hoth, where he meets Scotty (Simon Pegg). (It's not really the ice planet from "Star Wars," but it is a frozen wasteland populated by computer-generated creatures.)
Director Abrams ("Mission: Impossible III," TV's "Alias" and "Lost"), working from a script by frequent collaborators Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman ("Transformers," "MI:III," TV's "Fringe"), reveals a universe that's updated visually but retains the vibe of the original "Trek," and he does a better job of creating a true ensemble of characters. Only Scotty, introduced too late in the film, gets short shrift.
"Trek" veteran Leonard Nimoy shows up around the same time as an older Spock from the future, but he gets saddled with the film's most egregious exposition, an unfortunate litany of telling rather than showing that gives the plot a convoluted haze, contradicting the movie's sharp, streamlined look.
"Star Trek" also suffers from a few gaping plot holes -- Why would Kirk, a newborn at the time of the Kelvin incident, remember details better than Starfleet veterans? When a black hole is forming, wouldn't it make sense to immediately punch the warp drive rather than staring at it until its gravitational pull puts the ship in danger? -- and longtime fans are likely to howl with disapproval over the romantic relationship that develops between two characters.
There was never any question that Quinto has the look for Spock, but Abrams also makes the Vulcan more haunted, befitting Quinto's ability to go to darker places, as seen on TV's "Heroes." Pine's Kirk is a more brash, hotheaded take on the character, and his performance is appreciably less staccato than the young Shatner's.
In the details, Abrams' "Star Trek" differs from the original, but the tone is consistent. Abrams captures the optimistic spirit of the original 1960s TV show, setting the USS Enterprise on a worthy course for a new series of big-screen adventures.
3 stars (out of 4)
Rating: PG-13 for sci-fi action and violence, and brief sexual content.
(Contact TV editor Rob Owen at rowen(at)post-gazette.com.)
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)
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