A Character Study in the Far Future
It is fitting that the first Star Trek film I have ever scene is this latest installment of a franchise that spans decades because the new star trek is an origins story, which in Hollywood nowadays seems to be the vogue way to make a sequel. I have no idea whether the latest movie is ‘true’ to the original series or previous movies but I can say I witnessed a top-notch science fiction movie that was inordinately focused on its characters. Usually science fiction is an excuse for a movie to have several special effects driven action scenes interrupted by sparse character development. But here the action, though very good (especially a daredevil fight on top of a mining platform suspended thousands of feet up in the air) interrupts the creators (Director J.J. Abrams) noble attempt to give each character in a rather large ensemble their own moment to shine. In that way the script does a good job of juggling all of the characters, not only giving huge storylines to Kirk and Spock, but also making sure that Uhura, Chevkov, Sulu, and McCoy have their own shining moments. My favorite character is Simon Pegg’s Scotty who provides much of the comic relief in the movie. Having seen 'Shaun of the Dead' and 'Hot Fuzz' I bet Pegg probably is a trekkie himself and went estatic when he heard he got the part. He looks like he's enjoying every second he's on the screen.
The main draw to this movie though is the story of Spock, played very logically by Zachary Quinto. The plot centers on the destruction of his home planet following (or preceding) his older self’s failure to stop a supernova from destroying the Romulan planet. You see he was late in creating a black hole and accidentally was sucked into it along with a Romulan Mine ship. The ship is headed by an Eric Bana with Mike Tyson tattos, a large forehead, and a deep grudge against Vulcans. He thinks it was Spock’s fault that his planet was destroyed and so now is intent on destroying his planet. Some would say he’s overreacting but then the Romulans don’t seem like an overtly logical people which is evident by the lack of safety rails on the narrow catwalks of their ridiculously designed and incredibly dangerous ship. Contrast this with the Vulcan race, which prides itself on logic. Watching this movie I started to understand why ‘Star Trek’ appeals to the bookish type. Spock is one badass nerd. He’s completely devoid of any normal social skills (like his nerd followers) but he can also best Kirk in a fist fight, knock him out some sort of neck grab, and actually read other people’s minds with something called a Mind-Meld. He even gets the girl in the end, (although he seems to be illogically devoid of passion while making out with Ahura.) There really isn’t any other character in movie history quite like him. He almost makes being a complete dork cool. I am going to insert a paragraph here from Roger Ebert’s review of Fanboys because I can’t resist.
Extreme fandom may serve as a security blanket for the socially inept, who use its extreme structure as a substitute for social skills. If you are Luke Skywalker and she is Princess Leia, you already know what to say to each other, which is so much safer than having to ad-lib it. Your fannish obsession is your beard. If you know absolutely all the trivia about your cubbyhole of pop culture, it saves you from having to know anything about anything else. That's why it's excruciatingly boring to talk to such people: They're always asking you questions they know the answer to.
A very good observation, and when you’ve spent too much time studying calculus instead of drinking, surely its comforting to emulate Spock.
One more thing I noticed is how optimistic and overtly sentimental this movie is compared to other Science Fiction movies, which usually take place in dingy futuristic dystopias. The color palette here is bright and comforting. The aliens are bipedal and human-like not giant frenzied bugs devoid of rational discussion. Leonard Nimoy even comes in and plays a substantial role. He counsels the young Kirk and Spock and inserts glowing noble phrases into the dialogue every other sentence. I got the chill when he said “Live Long and Prosper.” That was cool.
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