Having attended the London premiere on Monday night, I've been asked to write a review for a local paper. I've never done this before so be kind. Here it is -
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Modern moviegoers have become used to prequels and reboots. 10 years ago The Phantom Menace began the new Star Wars prequel trilogy while the last couple of years have brought us Batman Begins and Casino Royale, both hugely successful reboots of established and much loved characters, bringing something new and fresh to the worlds of The Dark Knight and 007.
For all their success however, movie history is littered with, well, let’s just call them misjudgements (hands up who remembers the movie versions of The Avengers, Thunderbirds and Lost in Space). Rebooting is a dangerous business. Not only do you run the risk of messing up whatever made the classic a classic but you also risk suffering the wrath of the original's loyal fans. And in the world of TV & movies, no fans are more loyal or passionate than Trekkies.
When Star Trek premiered on US TV in 1966, it invited us “to boldly go where no man has gone before” and for over 40 years we’ve followed the exploits of Captain Kirk, Mr Spock and all those who have journeyed into the ‘Final Frontier’. Like most of us though, who are in or around the 40 year old mark, Trek has been showing its age of late. The last movie ‘Nemesis’ was a disappointment, critically and commercially while the most recent TV incarnation, ‘Enterprise’ suffered the indignation of being cancelled after 4 seasons. In the words of Dr. 'Bones' McCoy, the state of Star Trek seemed obvious – “It’s dead, Jim”.
Now though, in the hands of JJ Abrams, one of Hollywood’s new Golden Boys, on the back of LOST, Alias & Mission Impossible 3, Trek is back with a bang.
Premiering this past week in London where I was lucky enough to see it in the company of the director and cast, and opening nationwide on May 7th, Star Trek lays early claim to the Best Summer Movie award and is, quite simply, the most fun I’ve had at the movies in years.
Abrams has done something remarkable. He has captured the pioneering spirit and youthful passion of the 60’s sci-fi classic and blended it with modern wizardry and cutting edge moviemaking. This isn’t a reboot, this is a rebirth. This isn’t packaging up something old, only to try and sell it as something new. This is Star Trek as we have never seen it and yet, it’s still so warmly familiar.
They’re all here; Kirk, Spock and the crew of the USS Enterprise, new faces but old friends. Just as Daniel Craig slipped into Sean Connery’s Aston Martin and tuxedo so Chris Pine takes his place in William Shatner’s Captain Chair, not imitating the original James T. Kirk, but convincing us all the same, even in this first outing, that the centre seat on the Enterprise’s bridge is his. Zachary Quinto, best known as the main baddie on TV’s ‘Heroes’, takes on the iconic role of Mr Spock, with the original pointy eared favourite, Leonard Nimoy on hand to pass the torch as only sci-fi allows. All the others are present and accounted for. The casting in this movie has to be noted as it is spot on and not just for the classic characters. Our villain Nero, while perhaps a bit thinly written, is played with great relish by Eric Bana, giving us a great movie baddie and not the all too real and disturbing psychopath that most action movies give us these days.
Abrams’ long time collaborators Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci provide a script that is both epic and intimate, inventive yet reverential. Having scored Pixar’s The Incredibles and Ratatouille as well as Abrams’ MI:3 and LOST, Michael Giacchino’s music gives the movie a pulsating heartbeat while paying respect to Alexander Courage’s legendary theme.
The oft-mocked special effects and sets from the original series are replaced by George Lucas’ Industrial Light and Magic, bringing their digital know-how to the battleground of space and the alien lands of Romulus and Vulcan.
All the little pieces of the puzzle, crafted with love and care, create a summer blockbuster that can easily stand toe to toe with the boy wizards, battling robots and caped crusaders recent summers have brought us. As Batman brings us darkness, James Bond brings us grittiness and Transformers brings us mayhem, Star Trek brings us the adventure, excitement and hope that was Gene Roddenberry’s original vision in 1966, which, thanks to Abrams and his new crew continues to Live Long and Prosper.
_______________________________________________
Modern moviegoers have become used to prequels and reboots. 10 years ago The Phantom Menace began the new Star Wars prequel trilogy while the last couple of years have brought us Batman Begins and Casino Royale, both hugely successful reboots of established and much loved characters, bringing something new and fresh to the worlds of The Dark Knight and 007.
For all their success however, movie history is littered with, well, let’s just call them misjudgements (hands up who remembers the movie versions of The Avengers, Thunderbirds and Lost in Space). Rebooting is a dangerous business. Not only do you run the risk of messing up whatever made the classic a classic but you also risk suffering the wrath of the original's loyal fans. And in the world of TV & movies, no fans are more loyal or passionate than Trekkies.
When Star Trek premiered on US TV in 1966, it invited us “to boldly go where no man has gone before” and for over 40 years we’ve followed the exploits of Captain Kirk, Mr Spock and all those who have journeyed into the ‘Final Frontier’. Like most of us though, who are in or around the 40 year old mark, Trek has been showing its age of late. The last movie ‘Nemesis’ was a disappointment, critically and commercially while the most recent TV incarnation, ‘Enterprise’ suffered the indignation of being cancelled after 4 seasons. In the words of Dr. 'Bones' McCoy, the state of Star Trek seemed obvious – “It’s dead, Jim”.
Now though, in the hands of JJ Abrams, one of Hollywood’s new Golden Boys, on the back of LOST, Alias & Mission Impossible 3, Trek is back with a bang.
Premiering this past week in London where I was lucky enough to see it in the company of the director and cast, and opening nationwide on May 7th, Star Trek lays early claim to the Best Summer Movie award and is, quite simply, the most fun I’ve had at the movies in years.
Abrams has done something remarkable. He has captured the pioneering spirit and youthful passion of the 60’s sci-fi classic and blended it with modern wizardry and cutting edge moviemaking. This isn’t a reboot, this is a rebirth. This isn’t packaging up something old, only to try and sell it as something new. This is Star Trek as we have never seen it and yet, it’s still so warmly familiar.
They’re all here; Kirk, Spock and the crew of the USS Enterprise, new faces but old friends. Just as Daniel Craig slipped into Sean Connery’s Aston Martin and tuxedo so Chris Pine takes his place in William Shatner’s Captain Chair, not imitating the original James T. Kirk, but convincing us all the same, even in this first outing, that the centre seat on the Enterprise’s bridge is his. Zachary Quinto, best known as the main baddie on TV’s ‘Heroes’, takes on the iconic role of Mr Spock, with the original pointy eared favourite, Leonard Nimoy on hand to pass the torch as only sci-fi allows. All the others are present and accounted for. The casting in this movie has to be noted as it is spot on and not just for the classic characters. Our villain Nero, while perhaps a bit thinly written, is played with great relish by Eric Bana, giving us a great movie baddie and not the all too real and disturbing psychopath that most action movies give us these days.
Abrams’ long time collaborators Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci provide a script that is both epic and intimate, inventive yet reverential. Having scored Pixar’s The Incredibles and Ratatouille as well as Abrams’ MI:3 and LOST, Michael Giacchino’s music gives the movie a pulsating heartbeat while paying respect to Alexander Courage’s legendary theme.
The oft-mocked special effects and sets from the original series are replaced by George Lucas’ Industrial Light and Magic, bringing their digital know-how to the battleground of space and the alien lands of Romulus and Vulcan.
All the little pieces of the puzzle, crafted with love and care, create a summer blockbuster that can easily stand toe to toe with the boy wizards, battling robots and caped crusaders recent summers have brought us. As Batman brings us darkness, James Bond brings us grittiness and Transformers brings us mayhem, Star Trek brings us the adventure, excitement and hope that was Gene Roddenberry’s original vision in 1966, which, thanks to Abrams and his new crew continues to Live Long and Prosper.
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