Set phasers on stunning!
0 Comments Published by Steven Friedman on Wednesday, May 13, 2009 at 12:05 PM.
Boy, it's been almost a week now since I saw J.J. Abrams' STAR TREK-reboot (digitally projected, no less) and I think I actually needed that time to allow the full impact of that film to properly sink in. Sure, I'm a sucker for hyperbole when it comes to films I really like, but I think Abrams, Kurtzman, Orci, Pine, Quinto and pretty much everyone else who worked on this film are truly deserving of every bit of praise they're getting. I mean, 95% positive on Rotten Tomatoes? For a summer blockbuster scifi-vehicle? When was the last time that happened?Truth be told, I've never been a huge STAR TREK-fan. Actually, strike that 'huge'-part. I've just never been a fan, period. Didn't care much for the original series (the epitome of camp if you ask me), tried to watch a few episodes of that Next Generation-thingee, but it never struck a chord with me. As far as the films are concerned, I love WRATH OF KHAN and really dug FIRST CONTACT, but the rest is just a mishmash of great ideas and poor execution to me, with that humpback whale-story as an all-time low.
Now I'm definitely not a Lucashound in the sense that I vehemently hate everything Trek simply because the STAR WARS-universe is way cooler. It's just that Roddenberry's vision, as foreseeing and ambitious as it was, never managed to 'wow' me the way that STAR WARS did (and still does). It was just too clean, too neat, too organized, too utopian. From the uniforms to the design of the ships to the idea of an 'intergalactic Federation', it all felt so esoterically impeccable, that I didn't want to be a part of it.
In comes J.J. (soon to be the biggest director in Hollywood, trust me) and he injects the STAR TREK-universe with two elements I think it desperately needed: grittiness and fun. From the adrenaline-rush of the opening sequence, where the U.S.S. Kelvin gets attacked by a Romulan vessel emerging from a black hole, you know right away what kind of Trek-adventure this is going to be. Ships get banged up, people get sucked into the vacuum of space, shit blows up... all while Michael Giacchino's music soars and the sound and visual effects draw you into a world of fun and wonder.
This is a summer blockbuster the way it's supposed to be. After two fun-filled hours it leaves you both satisfied and hungry for more. The $75 million opening weekend might not be the biggest in history, but I think great word-of-mouth will keep this baby spinning in warp drive all summer.
