I mentioned this in a recent post (so forgive the repetition if you read that but) but the last time I saw a JJ Abrams "Star Trek" movie for the first time, I had my dad sitting next to me. So, as the theater dimmed earlier today, I looked to my right to see an empty chair, and remembered dad. Little did I know that many of the images I would see over the next 2 hours would do even more to remind me of my dad and some of the movie memories I shared with him. This movie (especially its second half) is jammed with wonderful homages to the original Star Trek series, but everything is written well enough that it would take nothing away from the enjoyment of the movie if the viewer knows nothing about Star Trek. JJ Abrams and company are doing wonderful things with this franchise, and since they are not bound by the canon of the original series (due to sci-fi reasons :) ), the possibilities of what they can do with this series are endless. To watch this movie was a wonderful flashback to my childhood, but also a totally original experience. I will attempt to be free from spoilers, but I will say, there is a lot to spoil, so read with caution.
The movie begins with events that end up leaving Kirk without the command of the Enterprise. This event coincides with a bombing of a Starfleet archive in London. The man who ends up being behind the bombing is John Harrison (Benedict Cumberbatch). The bombing prompts Admiral Alexander Marcus (Peter Weller) to call a special session with all of the Captains and First Officers of the fleet present. Harrison, assuming this meeting would take place, then attacks that meeting, and kills Kirk's mentor. Kirk is then reinstated as Captain of the Enterprise, and Spock is reinstated as First Officer. Harrison had escaped after his attack to a far off planet, and Kirk is given the task to hunt down and kill Harrison by Admiral Marcus. Things take a surprising turn, however, when Kirk captures Harrison rather than killing him, and the story really takes off from there.
JJ Abrams is this generation's Steven Spielberg. He is making movies that are at once entertaining, engaging, and have mass appeal. Taking a franchise like Star Trek (which has a large appeal, but a more selective one) and giving it a mass appeal is a tough thing to do, but Abrams has done it with his two "Trek" films. Since Abrams is now directing the next "Star Wars" movie, he may not be directing more "Trek" films, but the franchise will be the poorer for it. I can only imagine that the upcoming "Star Wars" sequels have great potential, given the quality of these "Star Trek" films. Here, he is able to rely on the inherent strengths of the "Star Trek" franchise. The characters created by Gene Roddenberry almost 50 years ago have always been the strength of this series. Taking those characters and giving them a good story made for the best of what "Star Trek" has had to offer. Here, the characters are given a great villain, but also a great story, filled with action that never lets up, and homages to the original series which give the movie great texture. One of the strengths that Abrams and company bring this new version is how much substance they give to all of the Trek characters. While Kirk and Spock will always be the central characters of this mythology, Chekhov, Sulu, Scotty, McCoy and Uhura are all given important roles to pay in this epic, and the story is so much stronger because of it. The other thing which made for some of the best Trek movies and episodes was the villains it gave us. Here, the villain known initially as John Harrison evokes some of the best villains Trek has ever had to offer. He is a character of substance, not simply evil incarnate. He has motivation for what is is doing, in spite of the fact that what he is doing is horribly destructive.
The ending moments of the movie were wonderful in their evocative nature. The writers of the movie truly did their homework and knew some things that would satisfy Trek fans without bogging the story down in Star Trek minutiae. They give us familiar images, but in a new context, and the familiarity is what brings us back to these movies. We all love familiar things, and what Abrams and company have done so masterfully here is gives us something both new and familiar. This is great mass market movie making, and it makes me very excited to see what Abrams has in store for all of us with the next "Star Wars" movie.
