Anotnio Hernandez / Roundup
“To boldly go where no man has gone before.” This simple phrase has traveled through generations. Ever since the original series aired in 1966, a throng of devoted fans were created and a cult following was birthed.
Too bad my generation couldn’t care less.
But that might change now. “Star Trek” may have given much-needed CPR to an otherwise dying franchise. How do I know this? Well, I was never much of a fan of “setting your phasers to stun,” but this film may have made a Trekkie out of me, which is exactly what “Star Trek” sets out to do. And yes — they did it right this time.
Directed by J. J. Abrams, famous for his salvation of the “Mission: Impossible “series, this new Star Trek film is not your typical space opera.
“Star Trek” is full of explosions, special effects, more explosions and even more special effects. But more importantly it is full of character.
James T. Kirk, played by Chris Pine, is no longer a paper-cut hero. Instead, the audience is introduced to an arrogant 20-something boy, someone the targeted demographic can relate to.
Simply put, this is not William Shatner.
Born on a destroyed starship his father desperately tries to save, Kirk embodies the reckless attitude and chaos that created him. The audience follows him as he enlists in Star Fleet at the insistence of Captain Pike (Bruce Greenwood), who seems to represent Kirk’s father figure.
Pine plays off the arrogant factor perfectly, but as Kirk evolves due to his new responsibilities, so does Pine.
But this isn’t a movie about Kirk. This is a film about an entire crew coming together against insurmountable odds.
While this crew is related by name to the original series, the writers (Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman) take some liberties with these prized characters. For one, Spock is not full of lines that are filled with yawn-inspiring logic (he has a lover for heaven’s sake).
Instead, Spock (Zachary Quinto) is much more wrought with emotion. His fight against his human ancestry is evident in Quinto’s portrayal. The tension between Spock and Kirk can almost be seen every minute they are on screen together.
In ways it seemed like Quinto and Pine were meant to star in a movie together.
Other characters got facelifts, such as Uhura (Zoe Salanda), Sulu (John Cho), Dr. McCoy (Karl Urban) and Scotty (Simon Pegg) — not to mention the return of a fan-favorite.
Yet an action movie is not an action movie without its villain. In this case, we get a time-traveling Romulan by the name of Nero (Eric Bana).
Nero, whose home planet was destroyed, is driven by a type of revenge that causes him to violently lash out at anything that breathes.
For the most part, Bana plays the part well and gives the audience a reason to despise the character. But there are some scenes where Bana simply falls flat .
All of this is wrapped in some nicely done computer graphics. Warp speed shoots from the screen and transporting has an angelic glow.
This is basically Star Trek as envisioned by a 21-year-old, which is OK with me, because it defiantly got this 23-year-old on the Trek bandwagon.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to work on my Vulcan death grip.
