"These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Her ongoing mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life-forms and new civilizations; to boldly go where no one has gone before." -Spock-Prime, Star Trek (2009)
J.J. Abrams & co-producer Damon Lindelof are a very pop-culture savvy pair, and an enormous amount of credit is due to them for their ability to take a dying American franchise and to not only reinvigorate it, but by doing so to permanently install it as timeless American iconography.
Lindelof may have only been a co-producer on the maiden voyage of this new outing, but he's already at work co-writing the sequel with screenwriters Orci & Kurtzman. Nevertheless, Orci & Kurtzman have gone on record to say that this first new Trek film still carries Abrams and Lindelof's fingerprints all over the script development process, and I think it's obvious that the central idea behind the franchise reboot probably owes its genesis to Lindelof's work at Marvel Comics on Ultimate Wolverine vs. Hulk.
Marvel's Ultimate line is essentially a modernization of their characters for a new generation. Marvel and their competition at DC seem to do this every 10-20 years or so, and the Ultimates is the latest retcon at "the House of Ideas." Essentially it's a way to throw out clunky old continuity while preserving what works, revitalize classic story arcs with new variations, spin characterizations in different directions, and generally freshen up something that may be aging past its current shelf life. It's also a way to simply start over and attract a new readership with a fresh and shiny beginning devoid of decades of attached history. And when it's done right, with talented creators behind it, the old fans line up as well-- excited at the new life that has been breathed into characters dear to their hearts, and interested to follow a new journey that may share some parallels to what went before, but which may also diverge into unexpectedly different directions.
And of course, this also perfectly describes the new Star Trek film. Abrams and Lindelof have been very savvy with how they've gone about it-- using Leonard Nimoy as fan-favorite Spock to not only midwife this new reinterpretation into existence, but to seal the entire project with a stamp of approval. In addition to revitalizing Star Trek, this strategy immortalizes it. No longer is history stuck with one interpretation of Spock, Kirk, or likely Khan... but the characters are transformed into archetypal icons that can be reinterpreted and passed down from generation to generation, much like we've see happen within comic-dom and across media with the likes of Batman, Superman, Spider-Man, and the X-Men. Captain Kirk is no longer just William Shatner; Captain Kirk is now simply Captain Kirk. And ironically, by doing this, Abrams and Lindelof will likely also generate more interest in the original Star Trek than simply continuing on with more flaccid sequels ever would have. Because now as new sequels and iterations are able to capture the zeitgeist, fascinated and curious audiences will always be able to go back and re-discover the original interpretations of the characters that started it all. And everything old will be new again once more.
As for the new film itself, it's certainly not flawless... but then again, no Star Trek film ever was. There are a few over-the-top attempts at crowd-pleasing that probably go too far, and a whole new generation of Trek fans is already debating things like the validity of Spock's justification in jettisoning Kirk in a safety pod down to a Hoth-like planet home to some large, predatory creatures ("... but the automated message in the pod told him to wait there for Starfleet to pick him up!").
But damn it, it's fun. The new film captures an excitement and a visceral crackle that no prior Trek film has ever quite achieved. Part of this is simply due to film technology being more advanced than it was at the time when other standouts in the series like The Wrath of Khan and First Contact were produced. The Onion even ran a story with the headline "Trekkies Bash New Star Trek Film as 'Fun, Watchable'." But at the same time, it's reverential of its characters while reinventing them. Every classic core Trek character gets to steal at least a scene or two. And in typical Abrams' fashion, the casting is inspired and spot-on across the board, and all of the actors do a fantastic job in their roles. From Karl Urban's interpretation of McCoy's brash and bitter attitude, to Chekov's battle with his accent so that the ship's computer can understand him, to Sulu demonstrating his badass fencing skills-- the reintroduction of all of the classic characters and elements is done with tremendous energy and success. On top of that, Abrams finds a way to include everything from big, high-energy moments like Kirk's encounter with the aforementioned nasty alien predators on a Hoth-like ice planet (Abrams and Lindelof love their Star Wars, of which there are more than a few nods throughout) to more character-driven, broader, humorous moments like McCoy following Kirk around the ship and repeatedly inoculating him, or Kirk's infamous defeat of the Kobayashi Maru simulation. Abrams even finds a way to sneak in his beloved Red Matter MacGuffin. There's such a variety of invention throughout the film, that the leanness of the story never becomes much of an issue, especially when countered with the forward-positioning for future installments.
And with Lindelof on board the sequel as a co-writer and not just a co-producer, any lingering doubts or minor quibbles and worries should be provided their salve. At the end of the day, not only is Star Trek pure, unadulterated fun, but it's also ripe with the promise of future voyages that look very bright for the first time in years.
9/10
No comments:
Post a Comment