This is not the Star Trek you know. At all.
Star Trek is an insanely fast and fun re-imagining of the Star Trek franchise, and it generally works. Those who pine for a deep, thought-provoking film in the vein of
The Wrath of Khan or
First Contact may be disappointed, as this film makes momentum its primary concern. If the
Star Trek: The Motion Picture was focused on slow plot development with minimal action, then
Star Trek is its polar opposite. While there is plenty of character definition and development, this film does it in a very quickly-cut style, giving us hundreds of great character "snippets" rather than a few dozen longer sequences. Sadly, the film is perhaps too focused on the momentum, often interweaving too many subplots into the narrative in order to keep the pace going strong. It's a trade-off, and while I'm not sure it was for the best, it certainly keeps the film interesting, which is, at the very least, fun.
"Fun" may be the key word in this new film, which seemingly ditches the science fiction "thinker" feel of the old Star Trek for a much more exciting narrative. Humor similar to that seen in
Star Trek IV abounds in this film, which may annoy some and thrill others.
The new Trek crew is much more evenly-balanced than the old. While the Original Series shoved characters like Uhura, Chekov, Sulu, and Scotty to the background, this film gives each crewmember their own spotlight, usually seamlessly.
[Spoilers below]
Chris Pine's portrayal of James T. Kirk is remarkable in that the viewer is not constantly reminded of William Shatner, as there aren't too many comparisons to be drawn. While Shatner's Kirk was a slightly foolish risk-taker, Pine's Kirk is a younger, brasher, and much more thrill-seeking character. He doesn't show the maturity of Shatner's Kirk in this film, but the ending certainly seems to suggest that we will see that in the sequels.
Zachary Quinto's Spock is one of the most significantly different portrayals, as he does not have the complete emotional control that Leonard Nimoy's version of the character possessed. This Spock is shown to be a somewhat conflicted character, constantly confused by his half-Human-half-Vulcan heritage. It's enjoyable to watch, though I do wonder how future storylines will deal with the fact that Spock is now a much more emotional character. Will he still retain his reliance on logic? It seems essential to the character, so I hope so. In any case, Quinto plays the character extremely well, to the point where one actually forgets Nimoy's famously powerful voice, even despite Nimoy's appearance as Spock in the film.
One significant point must be addressed: whereas Nimoy's Spock was nearly oblivious to Uhura's advances in the Original Series, in this film they actually become romantically involved.
...
Every time I hear myself or anyone else bring up that plot point, I have to stop and take a moment to gather my scrambled thoughts up off the ground. While the film certainly explains why Spock and Uhura's coupling should occur, it is still very off-putting. However, the humorously shocked reactions of the other characters to this relationship both acknowledge and alleviate viewers' concerns.
Leonard "Bones" McCoy may be my favorite re-imagining of any of the characters. Karl Urban, known for his Rohirrim-mustering in The Lord of the Rings, plays the slightly manic and constantly paranoid McCoy in such a sensical-yet-constantly-humorous way that the viewer cannot help but be entranced at his every appearance. He can switch from being hilarious to completely serious and dramatic at a split-second's notice, and with absolutely no sign of inconsistency. This McCoy is simultaneously accurate to the original character and completely different, all while being wholly entertaining.
Uhura is a somewhat different character, having much more strength (or stubbornness, depending on one's viewpoint) than the original. She's somewhat likable, and plays her role very well. Her attraction to Spock and repulsion to Kirk makes total sense with her new career-minded character.
Scotty is perhaps the most different of all the characters. He bears very little resemblance to the original character, being an extremely funny science geek-type. While I am slightly saddened at the loss of one of Trek's most memorable crew members, I think I actually enjoy this new Scotty a bit more.
Sulu is fun and cool. Though he doesn't have much to do plot-wise, he's just as much fun to have on-screen as anyone else, and he has a sword. (Swords are awesome, by the way)
Chekov's character is actually a cool re-imagining of the character, with him being a seventeen-year-old technological super-genius. His voice, on the other hand, is TERRIBLE. It's a perfect impersonation of Walter Koenig's original Russian accent, but it sounds very very odd coming from Anton Yelchin's mouth. Hopefully his character will have learned to speak with less of an accent by the time of the next film, and we can endure less headache-inducing dialogue.
The villain of the film, Nero, is a little bit underdeveloped.
Star Trek: Countdown, a comic book prequel to the film, developed Nero's character in an amazing way. However, his portrayal in this film is hampered by the fact that certain highly important scenes for Nero were cut out of the theatrical release, leaving us to wonder exactly how and why this seemingly silly character is in command of the massive Romulan mining ship-turned-warship, the
Narada. I would have loved to have seen more of the tragic and powerful backstory of Nero in the film, as it really developed him into a character that was sympathetic, truly vengeful, and enthralling.
Some of the plot choices in
Star Trek are confusing. Why exactly did the writers feel the need for a Willy Wonka-style "Scotty's stuck in a water pipe" scene? It added NOTHING. Also, the reveal of the backstory for the film's plot was badly done, leaving many--including myself--scrating their heads as to why the choice was made to reveal the central driving force of the external conflict in such a schitzophrenic and vague manner.
Another seeming plot hole is the fact that Kirk and most of the main characters are mere cadets, yet are instantly promoted to being the senior staff of the flagship of the Federation by the end of the film. From what I've heard, there was a bit of dialogue that was cut from the film which explained that, due to the time-altering events of the film's prologue, the timeline is attempting to "mend itself" by pushing the same people into their same roles, despite the altered state of the universe. That would have gone a long way to explain things, and I'm not exactly pleased that that incredibly important line was cut.
There are several events in this film that are so mind-shatteringly epic that they forever alter the Star Trek universe. This new series of films is not the same Trek we've known for 40 years; this is something entirely different. Some may not initially welcome the change; it took me about twelve hours to accept it. Now that I've had a good morning's sleep, I've realized that I love this new movie. It's character-based, fast, and fun.
