Been meaning to blog a review of the Abrams reboot, but this mini-rant I posted at XtremePlace sums up my general feelings on the film. There are things that I do like about it (as well as specific things I don't) which I've twittered about or might still blog about, but this'll do for now...
Finally saw the film on Saturday.
I need to explain my background - I've been a Trek fan since I was 12, i.e. 25 years. I can still explain how a warp drive works, and I can pretty much tell you the story of every TOS and TNG episode, although I never bothered to learn Klingon (not good with languages). I used to own a Star Trek captain's uniform (TOS version). I was one of the founders of the only registered Star Trek fan club ever in Singapore, as in we actually got ourselves registered with Registrar of Societies.
The film I saw on Saturday was a fun summer movie. It had some nice references to the old Trek that made me smile, and there were some really good performances (Quinto as Spock, Urban as McCoy) that really echoed the original actors without being impersonations. It was great to see Nimoy again. Ultimately I appreciate the effort that Abrams & co. made to be respectful to the original, while updating and revamping the look and feel of Trek.
But at the end of the day, what I saw on Saturday was not Star Trek.
It was an exciting summer blockbuster that used the characters, background and icons of Trek, but it wasn't Star Trek.
Star Trek has been, and always should be, about more than just action. It should say something about the human spirit and the ability of that spirit to overcome adversity and to grow - to be better than what we seem to be, or what we fear we may be. This film had none of that.
In the end, this Spock does grow, to accept his human side more - in fact, too much for my liking, because I just can't accept the unnecessary Spock-Uhura pairing. But what bothers me is that Kirk doesn't grow at all - he's just a lucky/bold/arrogant fellow who is in the right place at the right time. Despite all the jokes and criticisms of William Shatner over the years, that was not what Kirk was about in TOS. If anything, the character that is most like the 'real' Kirk is George Kirk, at the beginning of the film - decisive, but not foolhardy, reckless or overly full of himself.
I accept that this is the young Kirk, and that he could grow into the Kirk I'm talking about. But then this film should have shown how he grew, not (as it did for me) leave you wondering how Starfleet could entrust the Enterprise immediately into the hands of this brash young punk.
In fact, I wonder why everyone on the Enterprise just seems to follow this Kirk, despite the fact that he's basically a jerk - he sneaks back on the ship, provokes the then-Captain Spock into a violent response, and then suddenly everyone starts following his orders? Huh, this is Starfleet discipline? In the first place, how could Spock get away with just marooning his First Officer (as appointed by Capt Pike) because he disagreed with him?
Ultimately, would I recommend this film? Yes, even to fellow diehard Trekkers. And definitely to people who previously thought that Trek was silly and boring. Because anyone who sees this film will have a good time.
But it's not Star Trek. Not enough, anyway. It's like there was a transporter accident, and they only transported up the body of the person, but not the soul.
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