Star Trek (2009)

The much anticipated film of 2009 perhaps, at least among sci-fi-natics and Trekkers/Trekkies alike. I count myself as a long standing Trekker and have made it a point to follow the ins and outs of the Star Trek mythology from its original series, the studio noise and thoughts of the eventual shapers of that universe such as Leonard Nimoy and William Shatner. Now, I have followed Shatner through his TJ Hooker days to Boston Legal, and inbetween also paid heed to his love of breeding horses - which I think he once appeared on Oprah about...

But Shatner (and I am the proud owner of a music CD he produced called "Free Enterprise") is even more vocal and prankish than ever. If you follow his video blog The Shatner Project where his daughter is sometimes offscreen as the intrepid interviewer, you get a terrific sense of his wit and humour, which may be too spicy for some yet. But he is brilliant as an actor and what a wise-crack! If you have watched some of his interviews in the Star Trek film DVDs, you realise that he does sometimes act up and say things that leave you wondering if he's teasing or not (he usually is...) And as such, I wonder about the enduring friendship between Shatner and Nimoy - they don't see much of each other these days. But in the mythology, these two men are the epitome of strength in unity, etc.

In the JJ Abrams movie (my reaction to the film which I blogged immediately is linked here), both Zachary Quinto and Chris Pine, as well as the whole cast, under the astute direction of JJ, pulled it off spectacularly. It is quite a phenomenon. The credit must also go to the writers who put a script together that is both intelligent as well as progressive, in terms of how we have witnessed the mythology play out over five decades.

But I liked Chris Pine as the young Kirk. You can't separate Kirk from Shatner, really - just as having another actor play Spock in any way is just absurb if Nimoy is around. But Quinto is both intelligent and particularly bright in his approach, and credible. We will probably get to experience a whole new Spock in this timeline, and for diehard fans, it would be a trip while new Star Trek fans will probably not appreciate the possibilities played out. Back to Kirk, the only thing I had a sense of disappointment was that young Kirk gets a headstart on how the fact that two of them will eventually great friends. In the ice cave Kirk runs into for refuge from a spider-like predator hot in pursuit of him, he encounters the Spock Prime. Here, I only wished JJ had slowed the pace down somewhat. But he seemed in a hurry to try and introduce the ensemble cast and bring them together before the last quarter of the film.

In the famous scene - never seen but somewhat famously referenced within the Star Trek mythos - is cadet Kirk's "cheat" in his exam, which was programmed by Commander Spock, where the only way was "death". Kirk adverted "death" by entering some subroutines into the simulation computer which resulted in a new, favourable result and no "deaths". As a result, he was suspended, and the stage is set for a Spock versus Kirk rivalry. The turnabout of this relationship midway through the film is a test of credibility for good writing; because we know how that relationship became so iconic in cinema and within the mythology. So, in some ways, the audience is already pandering inside for the two to pair up (some how). Logic, it seems, prevails, and more importantly, coincides with what the heart so much desires.

The best thing about this film is its return to the innocence (or naivete) with which the original series exuded much of, although in almost a literary sort of way (as John Cho/Sulu notes in an interview). Here it is accentuated by serious action and very effective special effects, thanks to the way cinematic magic has evolved since tin models in string and a smoking incenser was the standard.

There is a stylistic inference to the 1950s in the speech styles, perhaps as tribute to the original cast as well. In a way I am glad that Shatner did not make a cameo appearance; it allows us to move into the way the ensemble works without his overpowering presence. Even Spock Prime had to be somewhat muted in his role, but cleverly, Vulcans are perhaps more succinct. I am certain Bill Shatner will be back in someway to grace the new timeline, particularly since we never found his body within the Nexus in Star Trek: The Next Generation. But how will Bill appear? Maybe it will be via a young Uhura intercepting a sub-space transmission of Boston Legal?

I still enjoy following Bill Shatner wherever he's got something to say. I have enjoyed Chris Pine and am just glad that he's been rescued (permanently) from the dumpster of romanic comedies (Just My Luck, Blind Dating...) and will definitely have a whole new future ahead. In his interviews with his pal Zachary Quinto, Chris retains very much his own smart, brash, genuine - "I think and say it as it is" aka Bill Shatner approach. But Zach is all Spock: composed, articulate, intelligent. It is life imitating art imitating the life created those characters, and like it or not, it is happening.