Boldly Going Where We’ve Already Been
By JORDAN IKEDA
RAFU STAFF WRITER
Saturday, May 9, 2009

J.J. Abra m s ’ remake of ‘Star Trek’ is both refreshingly new and comfortingly familiar.

Associated Press/Paramount Pictures photos
From left, Anton Yelchin as Chekov, Chis Pine as James T. Kirk, Simon Pegg as Scotty, Karl Urban as Bones, John Cho as Sulu and Zoe Saldana as Ohura are shown in a scene from “Star Trek.” The update of the 1960s science fiction classic opens nationwide Friday.

This Dec. 28, 1988 file photo shows members of the original “Star Trek” crew, from right in front: DeForest Kelley, William Shanter and Leonard Nimoy, and back row from left: Walter Koenig, George Takei and Nichelle Nichols, toast their latest “Trek” fi lm during a news conference at Paramount Studios.

It’s the kind-of-new 21st century trend in Hollywood and it was old before it even began. Remakes.

Thanks to Kevin Costner and John Travolta and their trio of $200 million sci-fi bombs, as well as the countless millionaire actors flaunting their money so extravagantly that Joe Schmo came up with a way to download and share their movies for free, in addition to a down economy preceded by a writer’s strike, Hollywood seems content in no longer taking any risks (“Slumdog Millionaire” notwithstanding).

Instead, Tinseltown has continued the decade-long trek down the same worn and beaten path. Out with the new and in with the old.

Reinvention is probably one of the most difficult tasks a person has to undergo, let alone a Hollywood director. For every “Batman Begins” and “Casino Royale” there are countless other films that fail and do so quite miserably.

Any of the “Star Wars” movies that don’t feature Harrison Ford, “Superman,” “The Incredible Hulk” (both), “Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull,” “King Kong,” “Miami Vice,” “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre,” “Planet of the Apes,” “The Day the Earth Stood Still,” etc. etc. etc.

Okay, I’m not going to lie, the advancement of computer graphic imaging stirs the geek in me to get geeked over seeing orcs and hobbits come to life and robots in disguise transform from cars into giant humanoid machines. Sometimes, a remake has to be done simply because technology allows directors to tell a more complete story.

CGI, at times, can be good enough to transcend everything else a movie might lack in terms of quality filmmaking (actors, script, director, etc.). More often than not, however, a movie without depth really shows how bad it is no matter how much visual awe and splendor is used to fill in the gaps.

Look at the list above and I’m certain you could tack on at least a dozen more less-than-appealing remakes off the top of your head.

So, regardless of how visually stunning CGI has become, in the end, it’s really just eye candy. And eye candy is all sensory stimulation with no substance.

With these thoughts waging war in the space between my ears, I approached J.J. Abram’s (“Lost,” “Cloverfield”) newest film “Star Trek” with skepticism and lowered expectations. Always more of a “Star Wars” kid, Trekkies weren’t my thing.

In all honesty, the only reason I went to review the movie was because it featured recent East West Players Visionary Award winner John Cho in the role of Sulu, made famous by real-life community hero, George Takei.

I kept thinking that the only way for the movie to be a success was if it got right two overriding features.

First and foremost, as in all movies, the writing had to deliver. Secondly, because it was a remake, the actors had to make you believe you were watching William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy all over again.

In many ways, these two features perfectly complimented each other.

Writers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman did a praiseworthy job of sticking to Gene Roddenberry’s vision while simultaneously making it their own. There is a great deal of juxtaposition involved in the movie. Violence—fights leave bruises and scars on the faces of the crew—is somewhat offset by campiness— Chekov’s (Anton Yelchin) over-thetop Russian accent that struggles with the letter ‘V.’

There are distant familiarities, Captain Pike and Romulan warships, as well as differences. What, Captain Spock? Hey, those two don’t belong together! That’s not exactly how…

But, I don’t want to give too much of the movie away. Let’s just say that the plot twists that make way for these differences should leave even the hardcore fans who fluently speak Klingon satisfi ed, and perhaps even a little giddy. After all, they are nothing, if not completely logical.

And then there are the actors.

While Chris Pine, who plays James T. Kirk, doesn’t really look like Shatner, he certainly nails the Shatnerisms. The unmistakable inflections in his voice, the nuanced body movements and posture and his overall take-no-crap-but-I’m-a-flirt demeanor were so money that there was little doubt I was watching Captain Kirk lead the Enterprise.

From Zachary Quinto’s Spock, to Karl Urban’s Bones McCoy to Zoe Saldana’s Uhura, each actor brought something new and blended it with classic Trek. Oh, and, Cho does Takei proud. Just like back in 68, Sulu is a cool, cool customer.

Newbies of the genre will get a taste for who these characters are and at the same time will be able to own this Star Trek rebirth. Fans of the original series will be greeted by a spruced-up version of what they experienced over 40 years ago and learn how the beginning began. And the hardcore Trekkies will enjoy pointing out subtleties and details that are sprinkled throughout the movie that pay homage to its roots.

Of course, for all those visually stimulated moviegoers, the CGI of “Star Trek” spreads a sparkling gloss over the whole production. The final frontier never before looked so dazzling.

One of the coolest scenes involves a Starfleet ship getting attacked. The camera starts inside the ship when a huge explosion rips the hull apart.

One of the crewmembers inside screams and then is sucked out into the vacuum of space as lasers and debris and carnage rage on in utter silence.

Science fiction “Star Trek” isn’t so much a remake as a re-experience.

Despite all of my initial reservations, when I left the theatre, I was more than impressed. I was, dare I say it…energized!

“Star Trek” opens May 8 nationwide.