Star Trek
J.J. Abrams' 2009 feature film was billed as "not your her's
Star Trek," but your her will probably love it anyway. And
what's not to love? It has enough action, emotional impact,
humor, and sheer fun for any moviegoer, and Trekkers will enjoy
plenty of insider references and a cast that seems ideally suited
to portray the characters we know they'll become later. Both a
prequel and a reboot, Star Trek introduces us to James T. Kirk
(Chris Pine of The Princess Diaries 2), a sharp but less young
man who's prodded by a Starfleet captain, Christopher Pike (Bruce
Greenwood), to enlist and make a difference. At the Academy, Kirk
runs afoul of a Vulcan commander named Spock (Zachary Quinto of
Heroes), but their conflict has to take a back seat when
Starfleet, including its new ship, the Enterprise, has to answer
an emergency call from Vulcan. What follows is a stirring tale of
genocide and revenge launched by a Romulan (Eric Bana) with a
particular interest in Spock, and we get to see the familiar crew
come together, including McCoy (Karl Urban), Uhura (Zoe Saldana),
Sulu (John Cho), Chekhov (Anton Yelchin), and Scottie (Simon
Pegg).
The action and visuals make for a spectacular big-screen movie,
though the plot by Abrams and his writers, Roberto Orci and Alex
Kurtzman (who worked together on Transformers and with Abrams on
Alias and Mission Impossible III), and his producers (fellow
Losties Damon Lindeloff and Bryan Burk) can be a bit of a
mind-bender (no surprise there for Lost fans). Hardcore fans with
a to pick may find faults, but resistance is futile when you
can watch Kirk take on the Kobayashi Maru scenario or hear McCoy
bark, "Damnit, man, I'm a doctor, not a physicist!" An appearance
by Leonard Nimoy and hearing the late Majel Barrett Roddenberry
as the voice of the computer simply sweeten the pot. Now comes
the hard part: waiting for some sequels to this terrific prequel.
--David Horiuchi
Star Trek Into Darkness
A good portion of Trekkies (or Trekkers, depending on one's level
of Star Trek obsession) have special affection for episodes of
the original TV series that related to Earth and other-Earth
cultures visited by the crew of the Enterprise, version 1.0. Some
of the shows unfolded in distorted forms of the past, some in the
present day of Star Trek's future reality. Director J.J. Abrams
recognised the importance of this relationship in his
origin-story reboot of the franchise in 2009, and in Star Trek
Into Darkness he has made it an even greater touchstone to the
roots of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry's defining philosophy
from nearly 50 years ago. The human home world is key to the plot
of this spectacularly bold leap into Star Trek lore, which
cleverly continues along the alternate path that was established
as separate from the "original" Star Trek universe in Abrams's
first whiz-bang crack at advancing the mythology. But it's not
just Earth that is cool and imperiled in this rendering of
adventure in the 23rd century; Into Darkness also plays with the
original conceit that Earthlings were member to a multi-species
United Federation of Planets ruled by a "Prime Directive" of
noninterference with other civilisations. The conflict comes when
rogue elements in the Earth-based Starfleet Command hunger to
shift focus from peaceful exploration to militarisation, a
concept that is anathema to the crew of the Enterprise and her
ongoing mission.
The new cast is again inventively reunited, each of them further
investing their characters with traits that reveal novel acting
choices while staying true to the caricatures that are ingrained
in our popular culture. The interplay between Chris Pine as Kirk
and Zachary Quinto as Spock is deeper, and Zoe Saldana as Uhura
is a solid third in their relationship. John Cho (Sulu), Simon
Pegg (Scotty), Anton Yelchin (Chekov), and Karl Urban (McCoy) all
have standout roles in the overall ensemble mystique as well as
the plot-heavy machinations of this incarnation's narrative.
Fortunately, the burdens of the story are well served by some
important additions to the cast. Benedict Cumberbatch's
Shakespearean aura, ferociously imperious gaze, and graceful
athleticism make him a formidable villain as the mysterious
Starfleet operative John Harrison. Harrison has initiated a
campaign of terror on Earth before leading the Enterprise to even
greater dangers in the enemy territory of Klingon-controlled
space. That his background may make dedicated Trekkies/Trekkers
p is just one acknowledgment of the substantial and ingrained
legacy Star Trek has borne. There are many references, nods and
winks to those with deep reverence for the folklore (some of them
perhaps a little too close to being inside-baseball), though the
fantastical and continually exciting story stands as an expertly
crafted tale for complete neophytes. Another new face is Peter
Weller--iconically famous in sci-fi-dom as RoboCop--here playing
a steely, authoritative Starfleet bigwig who may also be
following a hidden agenda. Not only is he running a covert
operation, he's also at the helm of a fearsome secret starship
that looms over the Enterprise like a shark poised to devour its
prey.
Which brings us to the awesome CGI effects driving the dazzling
visual style of Into Darkness and the endlessly fascinating
cosmos it makes real. The wow factor extends from the opening set
piece on an alien world of primitive humanoids, garish
vegetation, and a roiling volcano to the finale of destruction in
a future San Francisco that is elegantly outfitted with
gleaming-spired skyscrapers and all manner of flying vehicles.
(London also gets a breathtaking 23rd-century makeover). With a
coolness that glistens in every immaculately composed , the
movie never forgets that humanism and creativity make the myriad
design details and hyper-technology pop out as much more than eye
candy. The biggest achievement of Star Trek Into Darkness is that
it hews to the highest standard of a highly celebrated tradition.
Though Kirk and co. may bend it a little, the Prime Directive
remains unbroken. --Ted Fry