Movie review: Star Trek,The Future Begins

‘Star Trek,The Future Begins’,is a prime example of Hollywood’s recent love for backstories,re-jigging the 1966 iconic TV series which spun off a spate of re-runs and ten feature films. This is where it all begins,the classic face-off between young tearaway James T Kirk and the pointy-eared Spock ,which develops into uneasy camaraderie and long-standing friendship. A by-product of the growing and learning is their mission to save the world: why else would a Hollywood blockbuster pour so much energy into what is,after all,a sci-fi flight of fantasy?

But,as diehard Trekkies will have you know,this is no ordinary futuristic ramble amongst the planetary system and its inhabitants. ‘Star Trek’,helmed by JJ Abrams,the man who made ‘Lost’ the most watched TV series at one time,is not for those softies who think ‘Star Wars’ was the last word in films featuring sleek spaceships and dark villains. The ‘Trek’ is for those who can handle the hard stuff,at warp speed.

It is the year 2387,and a supernova is threatening to swallow up everything in its orbit. On the side of the good and noble,stand the company of Kirk,Spock,McCoy ‘Bones’ the doctor,Uhura the beauty-with-brains,and a zillions uniformed extras who rush around the ship fiddling with complicated controls and diving into space.

The bad guys are headed by Captain Nero (Eric),who is out to take revenge on Spock and his companions,for the destruction of his planet and his wife and unborn child.

Abrams does well when he gets his cast to engage in fast and furious intergalactic skirmishes,but the bits of not-so-funny banter in between slow things down. Get ready for racing back and forth in time (being sucked into a black hole will do that to you),and good luck with keeping track of which time band the characters are in.

The director,born in the year the first series came out pays faithful tribute to the original story and cast (a lot of them look like their predecessors,and Nimoy makes a brief appearance). Chris Pine resembles the young Kennedy,and Zachary Quinto,as the ‘emotionally compromised Vulcan’ is still kinda cute. The special effects,which make up most of this kind of film,are completely,in the ready words of today’s viewers who will watch the film,awesome.

‘Star Trek’ works both as a nostalgia trip for those that remember,and a fun,on-the-run sci-fi flick for those that are Trekkie virgins.