New Star Trek sets its phasers to stunning

Captain’s log: I boldly went where millions have gone before– to the theaters to watch the highly anticipated new Star Trek.

The latest film follows the crew from the original series, but with a twist. It takes place long before Captain Kirk confidently commandeered the USS Enterprise, and hardly within the same universe.

Instead of making a continuation or an expansion of the plot from the multiple series and motion pictures, director J.J Abrams, along with self-proclaimed trekkies Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci, chose to follow a different path. For this film, they wrote an alternate universe for the characters, allowing wiggle room for the writers to include elements from Star Trek novels, as well as modifying costumes and set design.

Commander Spock (Zachary Quinto) and the young crew of James T. Kirk (Chris Pine), Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy (Karl Urban), Nyota Uhura (Zoe Saldana) and Hikaru Sulu (John Cho) are fresh Starfleet Academy cadets with their first real mission on the Enterprise. Unknowingly, they are headed for a trap devised by the inhabitants of the planet Romulus, headed by Nero (Eric Bana). The Starfleet must battle with the malicious Romulans in order to save the earth.

Though I am hardly a fan of the convention-inspiring series, films or the world it has created for fan boys galore, this motion picture still heightened my curiosity, and it surpassed all expectations. So for viewers who are ignorant of the Star Trek canon, the movie is amazing.

A plethora of Star Trek knowledge is not required in order understand this film, nor does it discount the fans who expect a high dosage of fact-based realm. It is well-written in addition to being well-acted, and provides a consistent flow of entertainment. The film is evenly paced, leaving no moment to lose your attention.

As noted, the alternate universe created in the film gives the writers a way to work with the iconic characters without producing carbon copies. The actors were permitted to interpret their role as they pleased. Thankfully, Pine’s speech pattern was not imitated from the original characterization of Kirk. Had it been copied, half the audience would have left within the first five minutes (even likelier would be that no one would see the movie at all). He successfully portrays the arrogant captain without sounding like a fool. Quinto also gives a fabulous performance as the adored Spock, carefully conveying the inner turmoil of being half-human and half-Vulcan.

Simon Pegg, playing Montgomery “Scotty” Scott, Anton Yelchin as Paval Chekov, and John Cho provide hilarious moments in their otherwise minor roles, proving that the casting for this film was done excellently. Each primary character from the original series also gets his or her own shining moment in the film, a nod to the actors who first portrayed them.

Star Trek resists overly saturated, cheesy references to the original series, keeping the split-fingered Vulcan salute to a minimum. Orci and Kurtzman also overcame the fan boys’ wet dream to include William Shatner (who despised the idea of a cameo) because his inclusion would need an entire movie of its own, seeing as how Captain Kirk died in Star Trek Generations. I’m sure George Takei, the original Sulu, has a stash of insults waiting to be hurled at that snub. Still, upon hearing Leonard Nimoy say “I am Spock,” you can’t help but think “Yes, you are.”

Nostalgia sets in even for those who have not been closely tied to the show. It is the final frontier for our generation’s incessant slew of nerd-beloved material turned blockbuster, and I wouldn’t be surprised if this film produces a new onslaught of neo-Trekkies.

The only real flaw is the one-dimensional villian. Bana does a tremendous job with the whole ‘furrow your brows and yell,’ so he is useful in a way. Then again, the movie’s focus is on the good characters, not a complex antagonist. A smaller mistake is their mesh tops as uniforms, bordering on a cross-hybrid of pajamas and football jerseys. Minor detail, but definitely noticeable.

While the movie industry may fail to produce original movies or remake classics of value, Star Trek proves Hollywood a little worthier. As long as they don’t touch Star Wars…