The Red Right Hand
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STAR TREK
The Wait Is Over

Director
J.J. Abrams

Starring
Chris Pine
Zachary Quinto
Karl Urban
Eric Bana

Most of my reviews commence with some sort of story or tale from my past, to justify, clarify or explain my point of view. In this case, I would like to open with a confession. I like Trek. I'm not particularly happy or proud about it but I do. Not to a scary degree that I'm obsessed but I watched The Original Series, The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine as a kid. That and I think the movies are by-and-large very well done. There we go, admittance over. So by that you should understand that I was a.) expecting a lot from this film and judged it as a fan of the series and b.) desperately tried not to let that point affect my opinions as a critic - as always I try to offer an unbiased opinion.

First of all, the plot is the weakest element of this film, so you'll have to forgive me if I race through it. Without wanting to give too much away, this film is a complete reboot. Trek nerds will know this from the very opening scene which depicts Kirk's birth in the middle of a heated space battle. Essentially, to promote the concept of a complete reboot, we are introduced to the Enterprise crew as they enter their final year at Starfleet Academy. There are certain familiar references but a great deal is altered by the presence of a vessel from the future. So why have I stated this simple origin story is a weak cop-out? Because it uses time travel properly. In every 'time travelling' episode of Trek nothing is really ever altered and we only catch a glimpse of what might have been in the 'mirror universe.' In this film, however, we experience the full power of meddling with the time line (albeit accidentally). And the reason this is a detriment is because it feels like a bit of a cop-out, one of those, "Oh, it's alright, it was just a terrible dream. Now let's press on with something else."

The story, however, is somewhat irrelevant. Like an episode of the show, it's just a case of introducing random scenarios for this well-known group of individuals to work through. And that's the best point of the film and the reason it was so difficult for me to whittle this film down to an eight from a nine. When the proposed cast was announced, I looked through the selection and scoffed, "What!? How's that going to work?" But I have to confess, I was so wonderfully impressed with every single actor and how they took hold of their character, not by merely impersonating their predecessors but by embodying and furthering the mannerisms and nuances of the crew. From the props, to the sets, to the lines uttered, things seem less like pointless fan-service and actual extensions of the characters.

Visually, this film is stunning and the best looking Trek piece ever produced but having said that there was one glaring flaw that desperately needs to be addressed. Lens flares. If you don't know what I'm referring to, it's the sharp beam of light that reflects off the camera when facing a high-powered light. For decades it's been a camera-man's job to avoid lens flares or shaky-cam or distorted, out of focus shots which directors now strive for to achieve a sense of immersive realism. Personally, I understand and approve of this concept but not to the degree it was employed here; sometimes to the extent where you could no longer tell which actor you were supposed to be looking at on screen.

With the timeline altered, the cast and crew are open to achieve whatever they want without stepping on the toes of canon or lore, so preciously coveted by the fans. For the uninitiated, this film is a worthy science fiction release with a great deal going for it, glorious effects, praiseworthy direction, enjoyable characters, interesting scenarios and for fans, there's a whole future of newly undiscovered possibilities for Abrams to explore. All I can say is that it was a damn fine piece of science-fiction cinema and a very entertaining two hours.

Release Date:
8th May 2009

The Scene To Look Out For:
Scene? That's difficult. Part of me wants to highlight a large effects shot, jumping out of warp to circumnavigate a field of debris; part of me wants to highlight the tiniest of elements, Sulu sword fighting, Chekov unable to pronounce his W's, Kirk's swagger and womanising, Spock's raised eyebrow, anything involving McCoy, Uhura's ridiculous ear piece or Scotty shouting, "I'm giving her all she's got, Captain!" Instead, I shall go with neither. Instead, I will highlight the score. Michael Giacchino's one piece for Cloverfield was so spot-on for the genre that I rambled on about it more than was necessary in my review. For this feature he has produced a fittingly epic score with very discreet and subtle hints and tributes to The Original Series theme tune before submitting over the final credits. Lavish.

Notable Characters:
Fans of The Original Series will tell you that the way to get a Star Trek movie right is to get Kirk, Spock and McCoy in place. Once they gel everything else works, or is at the very least, tolerable. As stated, each and every character is well portrayed and pays beautiful homage to the original cast but the three key elements to success have been so brilliantly acted out by Pine, Quinto and Urban that I was genuinely left a little speechless. It would have been so easy for lesser actors to over-ham the role and simply offer exaggerated caricatures but I was so wonderfully impressed. To me, the main reason this film works so well is thanks to the actors behind the key roles.

Highlighted Quote:
"Out of the chair"

In A Few Words:
"Helmed by a stellar cast, this thoroughly enjoyable reboot houses great potential for future releases"

Total Score:
8/10


Matthew Stogdon