Star Struck

I've seen the new Star Trek movie. Twice. It is just that good.

On Thursday night Beth, Jeff, and I went to see the movie in our local cinema; this made me a little nervous, as I've encountered a lot of theatre-talkers there. (It's the only cinema in town, two screen, privately owned.) Luckily, with the advent of digital Internet and wider access to the outside world, the cinema goers seem to have learned respect for their fellow audience in the past few years; I heard no overt talking and saw no cell phones. Of course, this could have something to do with the fact that the owners encourage anyone to hiss at an offender to quiet them down. Apparently benign vigilanteism works.

There were several groups from different demographics in the audience. The oldest there was an elderly woman in her 80s with her daughters. The youngest was a boy who looked to be about 5. I was quite impressed with the number of teenagers there, some boys but mostly girls; on the second night, when Jeff and I went alone there were several groups of teenage girls and their guy friends. I overheard one 17-year-old girl say she'd seen it three times since it came out the Thursday before.

Trek lives!

It's encouraging to hear younger people liking this new Trek. As Leonard Nimoy observed, Star Trek died several times over its 43-year history, only to resurrect itself in the younger generations. I was jazzed. One of my earliest memories is watching The Day of the Dove, one of the original Trek episodes, when I was almost three.

When The Next Generation came around I found the characters sweet but dull. It wasn't until around the third season that I watched it with regularity. Though TNG eventually held a fond place in my heart, like most Trekkers, I acknowledged that there was something special about the original series that could not be topped. There was a certain vitality that TNG never had, a certain innocence that Deep Space 9 could never touch, and an intrepidness that eclipsed even that of the Voyager crew. Enterprise had heart but no soul, much to the chagrin of many fans and Jolene Blalock, the fangirl actress who played T'Pol. When that series ended the Star Trek universe lay in state for nearly four years.

Now this film comes about, breathing vitality back into the fandom. With no guilt and no need to cotton to established canon, we really can boldly go with this new crew to places where no fan has gone before.

Review up ahead. If you don't want spoilers for the new Star Trek movie don't read past the new Uhura!

Zoë Saldana as Lieutenant Nyota Uhura, courtesy of Shockya.com

To save time and readers' eyes I'm just going to review a few key points that I as a Star Trek fangirl was particularly moved by. I am not a worshiper of canon and thought that this young cast was a perfect choice for a reintroduction into the universe I loved as a little girl.

Director J.J. Abrams – I am glad that the director was not an overt fan of Star Trek to begin with. This allowed him to free the universe from the shackles of canon and fan expectation. Yet, in spite of his re imagining, he included enough inside references not vital to the plot that still made me as a Trek fan feel welcome into his version of the show and characters. I also hear from a Lost fan that there are little clues to Abram's other works to make them feel welcome as well.

The new Enterprise – She is built. Sleek, silver, like a hot rod in space, she feels like a living ship, rather than a matte model cruising through the quadrant. Her bridge is like the glossy, dewy face of a young woman. Combined with the throb of her warp core and the little buzzes and beeps recycled from the original 1966 ship she breathes and has a heartbeat. The Enterprise is finally a character in her own right.

Lens flares and sun spots– What a contribution to atmosphere!

Best line – "No, not really. Not this time." Spock to Kirk on whether they agree that showing Nero mercy is the right thing to do.

Leonard Nimoy – Seeing Mr. Nimoy as Spock for the last time caused such a pure, sweet feeling of joy in me that I was brought to tears. At his repeating of the famous line: "I always have and always shall be your friend" caused me to go into a full weep. Mr. Nimoy brought such heart to the story, even a little bit of tongue-in-cheek humor at the complexities of the sci-fi plot, that I felt no one in the theatre could be unmoved by his performance. And judging by the amount of sighs in the room, everyone was indeed moved.

Kirk – It might be betrayal for saying this, but I think Chris Pine brought just the right amount of swagger, sexuality, slapstick, and intelligence to the character of James T. Kirk. I think that in all honesty, I wish Kirk Prime were a little more like him. Kudos to Pine for introducing the Shatner-esque sprawl to the new captain's chair, however. You have my respect as Kirk's new incarnation sir.

Spock – Zachary Quinto, your star is on the rise and you deserve it. He brought the edge of raw emotion to Spock while still being smoothly logical for most of the film. I especially loved the way he bit off his line of "Live long and prosper," to the Vulcan High Command, allowing just enough glint of temper in his eyes. Quinto shows a little more emotion leaning toward Spock's sad, tender, and temperamental nature, rather than to the side of humor and snark that the original Spock was also known for. Considering the nature of the plot, this emotive side of the impassive Spock is in just the right key.

McCoy – This is the character I felt emotionally closest to in this go-round. Karl Urban is a staunch fan of The Original Series and it shows. When he is introduced, growling about space flight and divorce in the Starfleet shuttle I felt immediately at home for the first time in the movie. I've always leaned toward McCoy as Trek's father figure, and though Urban has only a few years on me, I still felt that same paternal warmth coming from McCoy. Favorite line: "I don't know, but I like him!" McCoy to Kirk about the "pointy-eared bastard" Spock.

Uhura – Finally this character is given her due as a vital part of the Enterprise crew instead of just being a glorified administrative assistant! She is a linguist in her own right, bold, sensual, and intelligent. I also liked how athletic she seemed; she sprints down the hallways with strength and determination. She shows compassion and tenderness with her own character intact. I can easily see her as the original woman, who once helped hijack a Federation ship to save the life of a friend. Many kudos to Zoë Saldana for finally giving me a Trek woman with whom I felt immediate kinship.

Spock and Uhura – Also, finally. This love story makes the utmost sense to anyone who viewed the original series, especially the first few episodes, and later episodes when Spock tells Uhura he can think of no one else who can complete delicate work on computer connection boards. Even back when Star Trek was firmly placed in the man's world of the 1960s, Spock treated Uhura with more humanity than anyone else, as well as Kirk and McCoy. Quinto and Saldana have chemistry where several other established Trek couples lack. Seeing her hands caressing the back of his neck in the turbo lift and his hands on her hip in the transporter room gave me a sweet thrill.

Scotty, Chekov, Sulu – Excellent work gentlemen! Chekov has talent, unique abilities and is a darling to boot! Scotty is hilarious and maintains his genius. Sulu is a masculine, athletic fighter and saves Kirk's life. I hope for sequels so these characters can take more forefront story lines.

Physics – Even though I love the Star Trek universe, sometimes I find it hard to suspend disbelief, knowing what I know about space travel theory and basic physics. While this movie strained my belief yet again I also felt adequately seduced by the film to forgive the errors. Abrams also put in small moments that redeemed the far-fetched scientific plot. Once, when the hull of the USS Kelvin is compromised, a Starfleet officer is sucked out into space. As we follow the doomed woman out of the ship we hear her screams and the rush of escaping air. Once she is out in the vastness of space everything goes immediately silent. Bravo, Mr. Abrams. Another time is when Scotty looks at his future warp-transporter equation. "I never figured it was space that moves!" he exclaims, and indeed, if warp were an achievable science this is exactly how it would work. On the other hand, as Morbo from Futurama would say: "Black holes do not work that way!"