As the year comes to an end, I encounter a late but potent entry in the category of “what has been seen cannot be unseen”: hardcore Star Trek cosplay.
There’s not enough Romulan ale in the universe.
No, I will not link to it.
JJ Abrams presents a movie called Star Trek. It’s a bold move, to be sure, and career suicide unless you get it right. Trekkies and Trekkers are downright rabid when you piss in their Wheaties.
So, which is it? Did Abrams get it right, or is it piss flakes for breakfast?
The film is a prequel – it tells the story of how the bridge crew we all know came to be. Rather than be trapped by such mundane details as established canon, Abrams slaps the universe with a big old pile of time-paradoxing angry Romulans to give himself some running room to let established characters have freedom to do new things.
But it’s just not Trek unless they do a lot of the old things, too. Kirk bangs a green chick. Bones quips that he’s just a doctor. Shaun of the Dead is gavin’ ‘er all shays gaht. Spock neck pinches and/or mind melds, depending on which Spock you mean.
Yup, not just new Spock, Nimoy is back. It says something that he was willing to sign on for pointy ears one more time, considering how willing he normally is to turn down projects.
The attempt is to make Trek cool for people who aren’t into Trek, without alienating the loyal fans. So I’ll comment as both.
If this didn’t have the Trek name on it at all, it is a very solid space action flick. The acting is solid, the action is decent, the story coherent, and the visual effects stunning. It hits all the marks one would expect, and hits them well enough not to disappoint.
But it does have the Trek name on it, and on that front – the actors all do fantastic jobs of capturing their characters without making about mimicking the mannerisms of the original actors. Kirk without Shatner… but its still Kirk. Dittos for all of the bridge crew.
The story, while not steeped in the social and human commentary that really makes Trek, it also doesn’t fly in the face of it. It’s not Roddenberry, but it ain’t a bad homage.
I’d like to think Gene would like it, but probably not love it… and it’s good enough I snagged the BluRay. Give it a watch, it’s worth a couple hours of your day.
