Star Trek Resets the "Final Frontier"
Andrew Scagnelli
Issue date: 9/4/09 Section: Opinion
For the first weekend of the year, the Stevens Movie Committee is showing "Star Trek" in Burchard 118. "Star Trek" is a restart of a franchise that dates back to the 1960s and made stars out of William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy. It also put series creator Gene Roddenbery on the map.
The story largely follows the exploits of James T. Kirk (Chris Pine, "Smokin' Aces") as he grows up, enters Starfleet Academy, and finally takes his position as captain of the Enterprise. In an alternate time line to the original series, the planet Romulus has been destroyed and Nero (Eric Bana, "Black Hawk Down," "Hulk") the captain of the Narada, targets the planets Vulcan and Earth. Paralleling the main conflict is the character conflict between Kirk and Spock (Zachary Quinto, "Heroes"). Throughout the film, the two are constantly at odds with each other until they eventually begin to understand who they are and how they must work together to act as a whole unit. Nero captures Captain Pike (Bruce Greenwood), and Kirk and Spock must work together to free him and save the Earth.
Throughout the film, all the classic characters are introduced with their own spin. Notably, Simon Pegg ("Spaced," "Shaun of the Dead," "Hot Fuzz") turns in a great performance as Montgomery "Scotty" Scott, as well as John Cho ("Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle") as Hikaru Sulu, Karl Urban ("The Lord of the Rings," "The Bourne Supremacy") as Dr. Leonard McCoy and Zoe Saldaña ("The Terminal," "Vantage Point") as Nyota Uhura. The ensemble cast is one of the elements that really makes the film click. Each of the players, a largely unknown group, step into their roles and in many places are better than their predecessors.
J. J. Abrams, as with his previous movie "Cloverfield", focuses on the relationships between the major characters and how that conflict impacts the larger plot. Pine and Quinto turn in great performances in managing to keep the constant bickering between Kirk and Spock not only interesting but even engaging. The action sequences sometimes make an otherwise excellent movie waver, as the large fleet battles are too brief and too infrequent to make that much of an effect.
"Star Trek" will be playing on campus from 9/6/09-9/8/09. Rated PG-13 for sci-fi action and violence, and brief sexual content. Running time: 127 minutes. Directed by J. J. Abrams. Starring Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Eric Bana, Karl Urban, Zoe Saldaña, Simon Pegg, John Cho and Anton Yelchin.
The story largely follows the exploits of James T. Kirk (Chris Pine, "Smokin' Aces") as he grows up, enters Starfleet Academy, and finally takes his position as captain of the Enterprise. In an alternate time line to the original series, the planet Romulus has been destroyed and Nero (Eric Bana, "Black Hawk Down," "Hulk") the captain of the Narada, targets the planets Vulcan and Earth. Paralleling the main conflict is the character conflict between Kirk and Spock (Zachary Quinto, "Heroes"). Throughout the film, the two are constantly at odds with each other until they eventually begin to understand who they are and how they must work together to act as a whole unit. Nero captures Captain Pike (Bruce Greenwood), and Kirk and Spock must work together to free him and save the Earth.
Throughout the film, all the classic characters are introduced with their own spin. Notably, Simon Pegg ("Spaced," "Shaun of the Dead," "Hot Fuzz") turns in a great performance as Montgomery "Scotty" Scott, as well as John Cho ("Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle") as Hikaru Sulu, Karl Urban ("The Lord of the Rings," "The Bourne Supremacy") as Dr. Leonard McCoy and Zoe Saldaña ("The Terminal," "Vantage Point") as Nyota Uhura. The ensemble cast is one of the elements that really makes the film click. Each of the players, a largely unknown group, step into their roles and in many places are better than their predecessors.
J. J. Abrams, as with his previous movie "Cloverfield", focuses on the relationships between the major characters and how that conflict impacts the larger plot. Pine and Quinto turn in great performances in managing to keep the constant bickering between Kirk and Spock not only interesting but even engaging. The action sequences sometimes make an otherwise excellent movie waver, as the large fleet battles are too brief and too infrequent to make that much of an effect.
"Star Trek" will be playing on campus from 9/6/09-9/8/09. Rated PG-13 for sci-fi action and violence, and brief sexual content. Running time: 127 minutes. Directed by J. J. Abrams. Starring Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Eric Bana, Karl Urban, Zoe Saldaña, Simon Pegg, John Cho and Anton Yelchin.