Movie Review: Star Trek (2009)

Black holes and planets don’t mix.

Photo source: Star Trek

We all went to see the new Star Trek movie last night. Suna and I both approached it as Trekkies from the sixties. That is, we were optimistic but ready to be disappointed, especially after the last few movies. TubaBoy was seeing for the second time in two nights. Beccano seemed eager to see it for the first time.

I was not disappointed. The movie was a success on all accounts. The least entertaining point was the long expository sequence where Spock recounts the events leading up to the history-changing battle that opens the movie. Other than that, it certainly did not seem as if we were in the theater anywhere near as long as we were. We even watched the credits for a while—something we almost never do.

I used the phrase “history-changing” rather than “historic” or “history-making” for a reason. The movie has been called a “reset.” It’s like when we were kids. It’s a “do over” more than a remake.

Forget any current theories of black holes or wormholes. Science is not one of the strengths of this movie. Hopefully, that will come back in future installments.

Using a fourth-grader’s understanding of physics, Director J.J. Abrams wipes the slate clean and allows these young actors to reshape our favorite characters in their own ways. None of the events that shaped the characters we have cherished for decades ever happened except in some alternate history, as Uhura noted.

Abram walked a tightrope with this movie. While remaining true to the spirit of the original, he set the stage for a new new generation—or is that a new first generation?—to go boldly where no human has gone before, again. It will be interesting to see where they go.