Review: Star Trek

Well folks, the summer has officially begun.  That is if you determine the season's inception by the release of action-packed blockbusters.  (I do; climate and calendar indicators are just too depressing).  And I don't count X-Men because I really had no interest in seeing it.  So for me, summer officially began last night, when we ventured out to the drive-in to catch the Star Trek /I Love You Man double feature.

Although I'd never call myself a Trekkie, I have a soft spot in my heart for Star Trek and *most* if its spin offs.  Growing up I was a devoted follower of The Next Generation, and must admit that the hokey original series re-runs featuring Kirk, Spock & co always seemed a little cornball compared to Patrick Stewart's booming presence.  It wasn't until around the time William Shatner started doing All Bran commercials that I really started to understand the appeal of the original series, and attempted to pay attention whenever I found my dad watching it (always with earnest admiration).

The new Star Trek movie has largely dropped the ridiculous hokeyness of the original series, but tastefully maintains a sort of self-conscious camp that assures movie-goers it's not taking itself too seriously.  As everyone knows by now, the film is a prequel to the original series, showing how Kirk (Chris Pine) and Spock (Zachary Quinto) originally meet at Starfleet, and subsequently come to be captain and first officer of the USS Enterprise.  The plot is rife with action-packed excitement, but the story line manages not to become lost in a mess of explosions and computer-generated effects (a necessary condition for me to enjoy a movie like this). 

The plot, however, seems almost secondary compared to the overall theme of futuristic myth meets pop culture post-post-modernism (if you will).  In essence, the whole idea of the movie is what makes it so great.  That coupled with the fact that they didn't screw it up.  The best parts, for instance, are the bits with Leonard Nimoy (original Spock).  Fans of Sean of the Dead and Hot Fuzz will also recognize Simon Pegg, who is fabulous as Scotty.

Does Star Trek warrant the 4 1/2 stars given to it by Richard Krauss (the Canada AM film critic I watch religiously every Friday morning despite the fact that I rarely agree with him)?  Probably not, but it's a damn good movie.  (Come on, only about 5% of movies ever made deserve 4 1/2 stars)!