Star Trek: The Future Begins |
  • USA / Germany • 2009 • 127m •   • Directed by: J.J. Abrams. • Starring: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Leonard Nimoy, Eric Bana, Bruce Greenwood, Karl Urban, Zoe Saldana, Simon Pegg, John Cho, Anton Yelchin, Ben Cross, Winona Ryder, Chris Hemsworth. • Music by: Michael Giacchino.    On the day of James Kirk's birth, his father dies on his ship in a last stand against a mysterious alien time-traveling vessel looking for Ambassador Spock, who, in this time, is also a child on Vulcan disdained by his neighbors for his half-human heritage. Twenty-five years later, Kirk has grown into a young troublemaker. Challenged by Captain Christopher Pike to realize his potential in Starfleet, he comes to annoy instructors like young Commander Spock. Suddenly, there is an emergency at Vulcan and the newly commissioned USS Enterprise is crewed with promising cadets like Nyota Uhura, Hikaru Sulu, Pavel Chekov and even Kirk himself, thanks to Leonard McCoy's medical trickery. Together, this crew will have an adventure in the final frontier where the old legend is altered forever as a new version of it begins.
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Review:
We open in the 23rd century where the Federation starship USS Kelvin is exploring an electric storm when a Romulan ship appears out of the storm and proceeds to assault the Kelvin. Captain Robau goes aboard to negotiate a ceasefire, but while on the other ship, Robau is killed by the ship's commander, Nero who resumes attacking the Kelvin. George Kirk manages to evacuate the ship's crew as well as his pregnant wife from the ship while he heads on a crash course with the Romulan ship and sacrifices his own life. 17 years later on the planet Vulcan, Spock is allowed to enroll in a Vulcan science academy, but enrolls in Starfleet instead. Kirk has become an irresponsible but bright young man; following a bar fight, James meets Captain Christopher Pike who urges him to join Star Fleet which Kirk does. After joining, Kirk is put on trial for cheating on the Kobayashi Meru test, but the trial is interrupted by a distress call from Vulcan. Now, Kirk and Spock must learn to work together and save the universe form the Romulans.
Reinventing any movie franchise is never easy and Star Trek is no exception; however right when the movie starts, it becomes obvious that the old Star Trek timeline has been discontinued, many fans were unhappy with this but I think it gave the writers and Abrams a chance to give the franchise a breath of fresh air and while this isn't the Star Trek your parents grew up with, the film pays respect to the classic show, but it doesn't feel like a big tribute but rather flows with the whole legacy of Star Trek and the viewer doesn't need to have seen any of the other films in order to understand what is going on. The story feels fresh and new and provides a nice backstory for each member of the crew of the Enterprise and how they all come together not to mention each character is well-written and well-developed giving me a reason to care about them as the film progresses.
The relationship between Kirk and Spock is fantastic and embodies the core presence in the movie. The two aren't friends when they first meet unlike in the TV show and frequently clash, but by the end, they do set aside their differences. The interactions between the main characters are far from embarrassing and each actor plays their part perfectly.
Chris Pine is incredible as James T. Kirk, highlighting the arrogance and thoughtless of the character even better that Shatner and while Pine doesn't have the unusual speech display as William, you still see him as Kirk; there are even a few scenes where Chris resembles Shatner. The same can also be said for Zachary Quinto as Spock who is so convincing in the role that one can't help but be awestruck by his intelligence, his chilly and deliberate reason, and yet we do feel sympathy for him once he comes to grips with his human emotions and his scenes with Pine help us understand their loathing for each other. Karl Urban is perfect as Dr. Bones McCoy, conveying many of the same mannerisms DeForrest Kelly did in the original TV show from the way he speaks and his catch phrases to his brashness towards Spock make for an eerie similarity to Kelly's character. Anton Yelchin is delightful as Chekov and seems to be pulled straight out of the 60s show, complete with his inability to say the letter "v" and his mathematical wizardry. Zoe Saldana as Uhura is fabulous and is scripted as a character with a brashness that shatters the norms of well-known Star Trek lore, not to mention she is a total bad-ass when it comes to the fighting. John Cho is a worthy successor to George Takei as Sulu, showing his prowess at the helm of the Enterprise and with a sword when in action. Simon Pegg is wonderful as Scotty, playing the high-spirited engineer with utmost gusto, running around the ship screaming like a crazy person. Eric Bana is truly frightening as Nero and skillfully plays the cruel, cold-hearted Romulan with little effort. Leonard Nemoy returns as Spock Prime which is a nice call-back to the original show and it truly is a joy to see him return to his iconic role when he gives the younger Spock advice on letting go of logic and allowing his emotions to dictate his actions.
The visual and sound effects are truly something to write home about with all the sounds fitting the scenes they're used in while still retaining the classic Star Trek sounds with the beaming effect and the warp speed drive kicking in. The visual effects give a greater scoop and scale to space and the Federation and the design of the Enterprise is fabulous. The action is fast-paced and never lets up once during the entire film with the final shootout on the Romulan ship being the stand-out action scene for me.
With JJ Abrams directing this movie, you can anticipate some edgy camera work along with some tasteful lens flairs which add to the practicality and greatness of the film and the camera-work shows a fine steadiness between being stable and being chaotic, and there are plenty of great camera movements in the movie. The musical score by Michael Giacchino is fantastic too.
I really have no issues with this movie; it's a fun summer blockbuster that still feels like Star Trek and I highly recommend it.
Review by Andrew Miller from the Internet Movie Database.
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