Star Trek XI, a Pre-Preview
Amidst all the super-hero hype these days, a trip back to the classics is almost welcome, even if it means another sequel, or rather, prequel. Bond has seen a good upswing so why not one of the greatest sci-fi franchises of all time?
No no, not Terminator, though number 4 is on its way. Not Friday the 13th either (sigh… February, look out). We’re talking Star Trek. Kirk, Spock, Scotty, Bones, Uhura and an army of ill-fated ensigns in the reddest of upper body apparel. Last night, Paramount Pictures played host to a handful of media and other guests for a special night of Trek. Director J.J. Abrams took the stage in the large theatre on the Paramount lot to introduce 4 clips from the upcoming movie 6 months in advance. In all, it was about 30 minutes of footage and in between explanations from Abrams. Joining us for the evening were stars Chris Pine (Kirk), Zachary Quinto (Spock) and John Chow (Sulu). It is my solemn promise to not spoil the movie for those out there who think a 10 minute run-down of the action on the screen is enough to ruin watching a full 2 hours.
Aaaaaanyway. Being the self-proclaimed geek that I am, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that I’m a Star Trek fan. I’m no Trekkie, Trekker or otherwise, but I’ve watched all the varied TV series, all the movies and a smattering of animated shows as well. For the most part, I enjoyed all the previous movies, but I never considered any of them action movies by any standard. Probably because the casts were, shall we say, less than spry. This new Trek on the other hand is very young, dare I say sexy, and action fits them well. 30 minutes was enough to get me hooked. Slivers of what was shown last night can be seen in the latest trailer (see below). The audience was even treated to the first (chronologically speaking) red-shirt to eat it and in fantastic style. For the most part, I was impressed. The new troupe of actors hit their marks dead on as the characters the fan base already worships. Zachary Quinto’s Spock not only is a dead ringer for a young Leonard Nimoy, but the first officer’s mannerisms are immediately recognizable. Simon Pegg plays Scotty with a brilliantly funny accent, though a colleague pointed out that Pegg could play a rock in a 4th grade production of Hamlet and people would assume brilliance before the show even started.
I only have two little stigmas. I’m not completely sold on the choice for Kirk. Chris Pine is a relative Hollywood newbie and lacks a certain look that isn’t Shatner-esque. That isn’t a bad thing per se, but it’s the way he plays Kirk that has me doubting. Pine portrays the budding captain as a devil-may-care, immature troublemaker. Like a spacefaring teen with daddy issues who just got his license and his first car. Not exactly the Captain Kirk I remember.
Then there’s the plot. Okay, so this might be a spoiler, but it isn’t any big secret. I absolutely HATE time travel plots. Movies and television programs have continually gotten things wrong, year after year, in the name of time travel. Sure, it’s not an easily tackled subject, but if ever there was an offender of poorly executed time travel plots, it’s been Star Trek, and the new movie jumps headlong into it with the help of Leonard Nimoy himself playing Spock… from the future. After showing a scene that has the young Kirk arguing with the near decrepit Spock, I couldn’t help but groan and roll my eyes.
Even still, the combination of humor, action and some incredible special effects make for a very compelling reason to hold out judgement until May.
