Star Trek (2009)

Directed by: JJ Abrams | 126 minutes | action, adventure, science fiction | Actors: Chris Pine, Jennifer Morrison, Zoe Saldana, Zachary Quinto, Simon Pegg, Eric Bana, Winona Ryder, Karl Urban, Rachel Nichols, John Cho, Diora Baird, Leonard Nimoy, Anton Yelchin, Clifton Collins Jr., Tyler Perry, Majel Barrett, Bruce Greenwood, Christopher Doohan, Ben Cross, Brad William Henke, Deep Roy, Jimmy Bennett, Scottie Thompson, Chris Hemsworth, Lucia Rijker, TJ Storm, Faran Tahir, Paul McGillion, Darlena Tejeiro, Jacob Kogan, Jessica Lauren Richmond, Greg Ellis, William Morgan Sheppard, Lorenzo James Henrie, Margot Farley, Spencer Daniels, Tania Gunadi, Tansy Alexander, Kelvin Yu, Marlene Forte, Elizabeth Ingalls, Sufe Bradshaw, Colby Paul, Makiko Konishi, Pavel Lychnikoff, David Jean Thomas, Randy Pausch

Anyone who, after ‘Mission Impossible III’, still doubted the talents of JJ Abrams and his ability to make exciting action films (with an eye for characters), will be a real believer after seeing ‘Star Trek’. After first achieving great success on the small screen with series such as “Felicity” and “Alias”, he managed to give the ‘Mission Impossible’ film series an attractive new impulse, with strong characters and actors and practically non-stop action. Now it’s time for ‘Star Trek’ to get an Abrams makeover, staying very faithful to traditional elements – veteran Leonard Nimoy is even part of the cast – and pouring his own kinetic sauce on the other. With this origin film, which introduces the viewer to a young James T. Kirk and Spock before joining the crew of the spaceship SS Enterprise, Abrams seems to have truly created a film that will please everyone. Fans of the series will watch with interest as their beloved characters meet and slowly bond, and smile as legendary sayings such as “Live long and prosper” (combined with the signature Vulcan salute), and Star Trek laymen, who never liked those boring guys in space with those cheesy outfits, wacky pointy ears, and nerdy conversations, will simply be able to enjoy a huge kick-ass SF action movie, and also find to their surprise that Kirk and Spock still are actually really cool guys. It could very well be that this film will be responsible for legions of new “Trekkies”, aka Star Trek fans. In any case, there can be no doubt that ‘Star Trek’ will be the summer blockbuster of 2009.

It cannot be missed that Abrams is heading for a great future as a film director. First ‘Mission Impossible III’, and now ‘Star Trek’. With the former film, some critics still criticized that the film was in fact a hodgepodge or recycling of “Alias” episodes and thus required little creativity on the part of Abrams. But his ‘Star Trek’ should now really show that he does have his own flair and vision. There is simply very little to say about ‘Star Trek’. The only criticisms could be that the plot points follow each other a bit quickly and there is a lot of coincidence – which can get in the way of natural, realistic character development – but chances are that most viewers are too busy immersing yourself in all the exciting events, the detailed and impressive sets, the fun interactions between characters, and the interesting character moments that the film is rich in, to dwell on this for a long time.

‘Star Trek’ is a true rollercoaster ride. A spectacular action extravaganza that is literally breathtaking. Only when the film is over can you relax in the chair and breathe again. Just like in ‘Mission Impossible III’, Abrams starts with a catchy beginning that immediately grabs the viewer by the guts. The viewer witnesses a grand confrontation in space, with a menacing, imposing spaceship full of spines that attacks the ship of the heroes. The captain of the hero ship turns out to be the father of the later Star Trek icon James T. Kirk, who is now briefly in his mother’s womb and is born during a big and tragic action moment. Everything is curled up in the opening. Drama, emotion, suspense, action, and a harbinger of things to come. Abrams also keeps it fairly conventional for the laymen. After this impressive opening sequence, the viewer sees how things are going, some ten years later, with James Kirk, who we meet during a wild ride in his father’s convertible. He calls him to tell him to be careful, after which Kirk accelerates, opens the roof, puts the radio on 10 and lets “Sabotage” from the Beastie Boys pop through the speakers. It’s clear: Kirk is a rebel, a tomboy who doesn’t follow orders from anyone. Yet he is deceptively easily persuaded by an old buddy of his father’s to give Starfleet Academy a chance. This one encounters him while he gets involved in a bar fight, which apparently makes him notice certain character traits – such as perseverance – that could make him suitable for the academy. Kirk doesn’t want to know about it at first, but then takes a look at his father’s spaceship key ring and is convinced. The next day, he gets into the shuttle to the academy and his adventure can begin. Perhaps it would have been nicer if there had been a little more development in this final decision by Kirk. That he initially says “no”, but is increasingly drawn to it. It doesn’t have to be three three-hour films, as in the case of Aragorn’s Road to the Throne in ‘The Lord of the Rings’, but some contemplation would have been welcome. In addition, it could have provided a welcome resting point. It’s all a bit too fast and too coincidental now, just like the fact that the first fight he faces turns out to be the confrontation with his (father’s) nemesis, but it doesn’t matter. The film has so much momentum and the actors are cast so perfectly that you as a viewer can really only enjoy it.

It’s certainly not just the opening scene that offers excitement and spectacle. On the contrary. The movie is full of it. One of the most interesting, and most nail-biting moments has to be the battle and free fall to an oil rig Nero uses to penetrate the core of the planet Vulcan in order to destroy it and create a black hole in its place. to leave behind. In this scene, Kirk, along with pilot Sulu (John Cho) and a third astronaut, free fall past a giant drill to land on a platform to defuse it. But timing is extremely important. Not only do they have limited time to destroy the thing because Vulcan is about to explode, they also have to make sure they don’t overshoot the platform and get pulled under the thing and get scorched by the burning flame below. . In addition, Nero’s henchmen quickly appear on the platform itself to stop our friends. “Scottie” (Simon Pegg), the inventor of “beaming” up and down bodies in motion, is here to show how well he can perform under pressure. It’s nerve-wracking, delightful “swim-of-the-seat cinema”. Not to mention the final space battle, Kirk’s confrontation with villain Nero, and Kirk’s encounter with a hideous beast on an ice planet. It should be clear: ‘Star Trek’ is a film where you never have to get bored and constantly fall from one surprise to the next.

Still, ‘Star Trek’ isn’t all about action. The relationships between the characters are also very engaging and get plenty of attention from Abrams; a point that the director in ‘Mission: Impossible III’ also had a good eye for. Dramatically interesting is the character of Spock, who has a Vulcan father – a race that acts purely according to logic and knows (or allows) no emotions – and a human mother. He mainly tries to live by the rules of logic – although he also turns his back on the academy on Vulcan because the council sees his human mother as a handicap for him – but this becomes very difficult in the film when he loses people close to him. In addition, his stiffness and focus on probability and logic are just a very nice contrast to Kirk’s intuitive personality, which acts more from his emotions. It makes for some very amusing moments, with Kirk tricking or trying to get on Spock. Using a handy time-travel scenario – which, of course, is full of time-travel paradoxes – Abrams can bring in the original Spock (Leonard Nimoy) and quite literally hand over the baton to his younger incarnation (Zachary Quinto). In this way he can also refer nicely to what will come, and at the same time reach out to the fans and build a bridge to the series. Abrams has achieved an elegant, ultimate fusion between old and new. His ‘Star Trek’ is a fantastic new impulse for the series and a feast for every movie buff.