Why Would Anyone Love Star Trek?
As I’ve written before, I consider both The Original Series and The Next Generation formative pop-culture experiences. Naturally, I was pretty excited for the J.J. Abrams reboot. Is it any good? Yes and no. There are reasons to like the new Star Trek — they just don’t have much to do with the reasons people loved the old one.
That’s not what some have been saying. I can’t wait to see if this one speaks to our age the way The Undiscovered Country spoke to 1991.
Anything Abrams can do to recapture the optimism that Rick Berman abandoned would be welcome. I’m starting to think it’s a good thing that Abrams is not an old hand at Star Trek. Some of the best people to come to the shows—Patrick Stewart, for instance—were those whose backgrounds were the farthest thing from it. Only problem is, once they get in, they’ll never get out.
I’m seeing it tonight on IMAX, with the friend who got me obsessed with Star Trek during a week-long snowstorm in 4th grade, and will certainly report on The Row Boat.
— Nathan Schneider · May 8, 03:17 PM · #
Peter, I don’t think you could have written a review that would make me less interested in seeing the movie. Your “yes and no” sounds like “no and no” to me. Yet more voyages of personal discovery occuring in histrionic comic-book sets? As Mookie told the Brooklyn JWs: HELL no!
— Carl Scott · May 8, 04:41 PM · #
Wonderful review, Peter. I’ve been having the exact same worries about whether the movie would still retain the old franchise’s faith in American progress. And my fear isn’t just that Abrams don’t understand Star Trek, you know? It’s bigger than that. Maybe the old Star Trek vision just can’t made anymore in this culture. Maybe it’s just a casualty of 9/11 and George Bush and we’re stuck with Jason Bourne and The Dark Knight and Daniel Craig.
Going to see the movie tonight. I hope Nathan’s right about it being the “first major blockbuster of the Obama era,” and that you are wrong—though only for the good of the country, of course :)
— raft · May 8, 07:54 PM · #
I loved it… thought it brought fresh takes to the characters while preserving the essence of the old versions.
— Freddie · May 8, 08:05 PM · #
Did we see the same movie? It did an astonishingly good job of capturing the spirit of the original. All that was “missing” were some of the the negative aspects of the original – lame special effects, etc.
Evaluated on its own terms it was a near flawless movie. (i.e., its flaws were the flaws inherent in the genre, improbable coincidence based plotting, pat ending, etc. Flaws shared with the original, of course.) The casting especially was incredibly good.
— LarryM · May 9, 03:23 AM · #
A couple more specific quibbles:
“far greater emotional turmoil”
Oh, come on, that was ALWAYS the joy of the character – the emotion underneath the logic. Granted, it was more out there on the surface than in the majority of the original episodes, but come on, that logic/emotion conflict was the core of the character from the start.
“a sexually manipulative Aaron Sorkin-esque Ivy League striver”
Huh? I think that’s a misreading of the character. Certainly the “sexually manipulative” part.
Now regarding the relative lack of political/social themes – I do think you have a point about that, but it’s not as if that’s all there was to the original’s appeal, nor was that present in every episode. Even aside from the commonalities which you acknowledge, I think the biggest reasons for the appeal of the original – idealism, optimism, teamwork – are all still there.
— LarryM · May 9, 03:36 AM · #
“far greater emotional turmoil” again
And, while avoiding spoilers, there was, I think you would agree, some pretty solid reasons in terms of plot for the “far greater emotional turmoil.”
— LarryM · May 9, 03:39 AM · #
“a sexually manipulative Aaron Sorkin-esque Ivy League striver” “
I also wouldn’t say it’s a fair description of her character, but he’s probably referring to her special pleading to get on the Enterprise.
As for the inward vs. outward looking bit: there isn’t much that’s political in <i>The Wrath of Khan,</i> which is many people’s favorite movie. Also, as an origin story, it’s only natural that it’s going to focus more on character development. I do think, though, that if we ever do get a more “ideas focused” Star Trek chapter under this franchise, it will probably have to be with someone other than Abram’s directing.
And I agree wit LarryM: emotional turmoil inspired by Spock’s human-vulcan duality was present in many classic episodes, including my favorite, <i>The Naked Time</i>.
— Criminally Bulgur · May 9, 01:28 PM · #
Spoiler Alert:
I was actually pretty (make that very) surprised they took out Vulcan. This by definition changes the dynamic with the federation and everything here on out.. they can no longer be the ‘second species’ of the federation (spock excepted). I mean, the vulcans are like guinan’s species in TNG now, right? But, I’m not sure it’ll play significantly in how plots for subsequent movies are developed. I suspect we’ll be seeing klingons in #2..
— jackal · May 9, 05:52 PM · #
Peter’s review does make you think about just what it was about tos that earns our love. After some more thought, I really think that the number one factor is the characters and their interplay – and that’s one thing that the new movie got almost perfectly right. Mind you, though, as I said above I dodn’t think that that is the ONLY thing that the new movie got right.
Another point to keep in mind – looking at tos episodes, and movies using those characters, there have been a lot of misses along with the hits. I mean, just to use one example, is anyone going to seriously argue that V is better than this movie?
It’s interesting – reading reviews and comemnt threads, it looks like most fans of tos love the new movie. Most, but not all, of the exceptions are people who don’t like the “alternate time stream” aspect of the new movie. But really they couldn’t have made a successful movie in the “official” continuity. Well, maybe one movie – maybe – but definitely not a whole new franchise.
I’m really pretty excited about the possibilities going forward.
— LarryM · May 10, 11:56 AM · #
Now, if only J.J. Abrams would do a “reboot” of Wolverine, X-Men Origins…
— Nomad · May 10, 06:40 PM · #