Star Trek: JJ Abrams Reboots the Future

Somehow, JJ Abrams pulled it off.

Star Trek, the series that had beaten itself to death with countless spin offs, tie ins, and sequels has been rejuvenated by Abrams’ ultra-stylized take on the 40 year old franchise in a way that seems fairly simple: Bring back the original crew. By going this route, and in a way that makes the film both a sequel and a reboot, Abrams and his screenwriters have gone the populist route by bringing Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock to the forefront, reintroducing them to a younger film audience that may never have given the older series the time of the day because of the stigma Star Trek has carried for the past several years. What comes of it is an entertaining film, that not only restarts the Star Trek universe but emboldens it in a way that makes audiences not accustomed to the Trek universe, salivate for more.

The film begins in the 23rd century, when the Federation starship Kelvin is attacked by an unknown Romulan vessel that appears out of nowhere. It’s an excellent 12 minute prologue to the main film announcing the film’s intention as to changing the guidelines of how a Star Trek film works. Gone are the clunky ships and the even clunkier battle scenes, the camera moving with every torpedo fired. By fulfilling this guideline in the midst of killing off the father of James T. Kirk, the filmmakers have changed not only what the audience has come to expect from a Star Trek film (B-level special effects, destruction without consequence), but has changed the Trek “timeline”, all but ensuring that this new series of films will have a different outcome than before.

Within this opening scene, amidst the new aesthetics is a key point that bridges the gap between the original group of films and this new series: Ambassador Spock. By bringing back Leonard Nimoy, in a clear transition from his brief role in The Next Generation television series, it allows for the current film to perform its role as sequel/prequel, while also allowing for the rest of the crew to return to their spots from the original series. In some ways, it’s a deux ex machina, but it surprisingly works well and for the few brief moments that Nimoy is on screen, his part is quite touching.

After the opening prologue, Abrams sets the movie at a frantic, but not overwhelming pace. We’re quickly introduced to both Kirk (Chris Pine)and Spock (Zachary Quinto) as angry young men, fighting to prove themselves in a world that may have given them a bad hand: Kirk because of the death of his father, Spock because of his mixed ancestry. It was a nice touch to show that Vulcans have the racism in them instead of humans, for it could have been all too easy to share that portrayal. Instead, by showing Spock being teased because of his half human heritage by his Vulcan peers it allows the character his moment of uncertainty and anger. A lot has been made about the emotions the character has throughout the film, but it works giving the situations that are presented here. Zachary Quinto probably had the hardest job considering his predecessor shares screen time with him, but he allows himself to give a nod to Nimoy’s performance while making the character his own.

As the film continues, it becomes a series of meetings, with Kirk being the catalyst. First, it’s Uhura (Zoe Saldana), then Captain Pike (Bruce Greenwood), followed by Dr. McCoy (Karl Urban) and so on and so forth. Which is fine, considering that this is the foundation for a probable series of Star Trek films. But, once everyone has met and have realigned with their roles as they were within the original series, the tension suddenly decreases. Part of this is the fault of the villain in the movie. Nero, as played by Eric Bana, could be a great villain, on par with Khan and General Chang. But, for whatever reason, his back story is relegated to a quick flashback, with the bulk of it released in April as a comic called Star Trek: Countdown. Here, his relationship with Spock as well as members of the Next Generation crew is fleshed out giving a background that makes his ambitions in the film worthwhile. Unfortunately, none of that made it into the film, leaving him something of a cardboard cutout menace.

Regardless of these minor quibbles, the film itself is quite entertaining. Abrams knows how to make the story move, his experience of television propelling the quickness of the tale at hand, though it would be nice to see him branch out from remaking 1960’s television staples. But, for now he’s taken Star Trek into new territory that hopefully he can build upon. The Trek universe is a huge playground, with obvious villains such as Khan or the Klingons, but not so obvious ones as Harry Mudd and the Mirror Universe. With the reboot Abrams could even delve into some villains introduced in the Next Generation series. Both, Q and the Borg are out there and could make for an intriguing matchup with this crew.

But, for now, Star Trek has been reborn in exciting fashion. If Paramount can keep this going by putting funding into these films with top talent, both behind and in front of the camera they have the potential to reinvigorate the franchise. But, they and Abrams need to avoid falling into the stale consistency that the series had fallen into before. Judging by the track record of Abrams though, the series does seem to be in good hands.