Star Trek in general, while wrapped in an intricately conceived space world, has always had a great cast of characters. The original show and eventually the movies were about how these characters, from many different backgrounds and cultures, come together to protect, well, the universe. The new Star Trek has all the shiny wrapping that the shows had, with an added dosage of adrenaline that the shows lacked, but that doesn't really matter without the characters we all know and love. All classic franchises have to have great characters to keep us wanting more. From Stars Wars to Indiana Jones this always proves to be true. I'm happy to report that this new film brings the Enterprise crew to life, more than any Star Trek film ever has.
The casting is pitch perfect throughout, but it is the angry tensions and eventual bonding of Kirk and Spock that are the driving force. These updated versions are portrayed with enough internal conflict to make any Twilight fan go into convulsions. The bottom line is go see this film. I don't care what your reservation is, because I can't honestly think of how anyone could come away from it disappointed.
For fun here's an interview with JJ Abrams, Chris Pine & Zachary Quinto about the movie:
Hey Nate,
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your thoughts.
I also liked the movie quite a bit, and it's my favorite Star Trek film as well, although I haven't seen them all. From a story point of view, it was neat to see how the story was driven primarily by the relationship between Spock and Kirk. Both of them have to learn from each other: Kirk has to learn to use reason to keep his emotional impulses in check, and Spock has to learn to tap into his emotions even when they are hard to face. As you mentioned, the character interactions, not the sci-fi stuff is the most interesting aspect of the series, and they really put that front and center this time around.
Let's aim to do another movie night soon.