You've got to admire J J Abrams' balls, and possibly not the for the reason the girls think. If someone said to me, "We'd like you to make the eleventh movie in a flailing franchise, of which, tradition dictates the odd numbered films tend to be shit, AND we'd like you to reboot said franchise which has tens of thousands of fans, of which thousands of those are raving obsessives, AND, just in case you haven't shat your pants yet, we'd like you to recast the original characters which are much loved by generations and played so iconically by a very well respected group of actors," the follow up to that request would be "Ryan? Ryan? Are you still there...I think he hung up on me." Because seriously...that is one tall order.
What has impressed me about this film, though, is that Abrams hasn't just given a general two-finger salute to the fans. In point of fact, he's rather held out an olive branch to them, unlike one Zack Snyder to Watchmen films. No, Abrams has given a little way out for the fans - yes, this is a reboot, but *actually* there's this whole time travel aspect to the thing which has changed the future so this is an alternate reality. Oh yes it is...Uhuru actually says it at one point. But, just to make the fans a little happier, says J J, listen out for some choice catchphrases (did I hear "I'm a doctor not a physician" and "I'm giving her all she's got, Captain"? I believe I did), some classic costume design (though those mini skirts look a little longer than they used to) and, of course, Leonard Nimoy.
Because, the geeks have inherited the Earth. That, or Hollywood has finally got the idea of how to make a geek film and make it good - and by good I mean one that appeals both to the fans and the mainstream audience, because these geek things were actually hugely popular in "the day", and there was a good reason for it. It's not that hard to make a film that the fans will love and the mass audience will be entralled with, because they are, at the end of the day, looking for the same thing.
It's been so long since we've had a great sci-fi movie with a kick arse action rogue (since Serenity, in fact), that the audience have secretly been screaming for it. Oh yes, we want massive space battles; we want to hear a captain say "Abandon ship!" (although I actually wanted this to be preceded by "All hands!", but sadly it didn't happen), and yes we want a space captain to shoot first and ask questions later. And that's the most important thing about this movie.
The script for the film is entertaining, but nothing particularly mind blowing (although it's worth noting that one of the things that marks this as a very modern movie is the tongue-in-cheek feel to the film, but more on that later), the special effects are amazing, but in this day and age, if the special effects were crap it would be a very ordinary movie, and the direction is tense; the editing quick. But none of those things make this movie stand out. What makes this movie really entertaining, and really head and shoulders above a lot of other movies, is the astonishingly brilliant cast.
I don't know if these actors sat down and watched the original programme, or if they were fans of Star Trek, but these actors have truly recreated the characters without fault. Yes, Captain Kirk has lost his somewhat unique form of delivery, and the voices are all a little different, but these *are* the characters that were in the original series, without question.
The crew members are all there - John Cho as Sulu, Anton Yelchin as Chekov and Simon Pegg as Scotty are the three smaller parts of the seven, but they are all excellently realised, even though Chekov and Scotty are the comic relief. Sulu is the serious helmsman, Chekov can't pronounce his "v"'s, and Scotty has his scottish accent, but all three are on their first missions and all three are learning their trade, becoming the characters that we will see them become in later stories. From there we get Zoe Saldana as Uhuru, the rather beautiful comms officer who, rather controversially, is having a relationship with her lecturer...but that's not the reason for the controversy.
Rather nicely some other characters from the Star Trek franchise make appearances, giving us a reminder of the original continuity from which they come, and of particular note is Bruce Greenwood as Captain Christopher Pike, captain of the Enterprise, and Ben Cross as Sarek, Spock's father, and the Vulcan ambassador to Earth. I thought that these touches more than anything showed that the production crew cared about the franchise they were now representing, and the fans who also care about the same thing.
But it is the three principals that are truly, truly outstanding. Karl Urban is Leonard "Bones" McCoy, and his portrayal, more than any other in the cast, is spookily like the original. Urban brings his character to life, effortlessly helping out his friend when he's needed and moodily sulking about the Enterprise's first officer when things don't go his way. Urban has caught on to the fact that McCoy is a Southern gentleman who is a moaner at heart, but always does the right thing.
Zachary Quinto plays Spock, and from the moment you see him arch an eyebrow, it is clear that this part is a labour of love from Quinto. He rather nicely shows a Vulcan at odds with his human heritage and his emotions (which is important for this film and the story behind it, though could be rather fey if it carried on), but attempting to balance it as best he can to please everyone except himself. What is also amazing is how much like a young Leonard Nimoy Quinto looks.
And then there is Chris Pine, the man who has the hardest job in the world - bringing to life the original rebel captain who has little respect for authority and a gung-ho attitude that has him fighting every step he takes. And he succeeds in a way that you wouldn't even believe. We see Kirk as a cocky young boy, who becomes an equally cocky twenty-something, and who is more than happy to cheat as long as it means he wins. As he says in the film "I don't believe in a no-win situation" and that is Kirk - arrogant, cocksure, and, rather annoyingly, right. What Pine does is channel William Shatner's complete arrogance in the role of Kirk, and bringing with it the same charisma that makes you refrain from wanting to punch him in the face. You can't help but cheer when Kirk solves the insoluble Kobayashi Maru situation at the academy even though he cheated in order to do it. But every so often we need to see a hero who will break the rules and be happy to blow his enemy away. Robert Orci and Alex Kurtzman wrote a script that faithfully recreated the original character, but it is Pine's outstanding performance which sells it.
Have I forgotten anyone? Oh yes...of course...When it was announced that Leonard Nimoy would be appearing in the movie, I did wonder if it wasn't just an excuse to shoehorn an original actor in, and did wonder why they didn't bother doing the same with Shatner. However, after watching the movie, it becomes pretty clear exactly why this couldn't be done. Because, if this is an alternate reality, Leonard Nimoy is definitely the original version - Spock Prime as the credits name him. And it brings a joy to the heart and a slight tear to the eye when Nimoy intones the "Space...the final frontier" before the closing credits.
I really have nothing more to say about this movie, because it really is all about the performances. Never mind Eric Bana, never mind Winona Ryder...the main cast is all you need. And by god do they sell it well.
As Scotty says "I like this ship! It's exciting!" It is indeed.
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