Star Trek (2009)

Photo Source: Wikipedia

Directed by: J.J. Abrams (1)

Written by: Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman (2)

Cast: Chris Pine (3), Zachary Quinto (4), Karl Urban (5), Zoë Saldana (6), Simon Pegg (7), John Cho (8), Anton Yelchin (9), Eric Bana (10), Chris Hemsworth (11), Bruce Greenwood (12), and Winona Ryder (13)

My Favourite Quote: “Spock, you are fully capable of deciding your own destiny. The question you face is – which path will you choose. This is something only you can decide.”

Did You Know? – The man who played George Kirk, James T Kirk’s father, Chris Hemsworth, also played Thor in the film of the same name and in The Avengers (2012). The mother of James T Kirk is played by Jennifer Morrison, who currently plays Snow White’s daughter in the television series Once Upon A Time.

Fate and destiny. I love the concept of ‘what if’. Unfortunately, at present, we cannot prove or disprove that such a thing as destiny or fate exists. However, we humans love to speculate about it.

Time travel is not a new concept. However, I greatly appreciate the creative and smarts of the producers and writers who have used this concept well in this film. Destiny, to believe that no matter what you choose to do, even if the journey is different, the end point remains the same. What is your stand on this matter? I think that while we may choose paths that steer us from heading towards our destined end path, we will still end up there. As they say, all paths lead to Rome. Though while I believe this, I also like to hope that we are the masters of our own destiny.

Besides having a great interest in the concept of fate and destiny, I realise now that what I enjoy most about the television series I follow is the development of its characters. Star Trek has given us many great characters to love. I like to understand the history of how things came to be. And this film really is about two men and their connected destiny.

At the heart of it, Star Trek is a ‘bromance’. The story of how two men first became friends. Trekkers know of the brotherly bond and close friendship between Kirk and Spock, but none of the previous films or series ever focused on how they came to be friends.

There are plenty of things I love about JJ Abrams’ Star Trek. When I first watched the film, I was expecting plenty of heart pumping action and awesome graphics. What I didn’t expect when I first watched the film in the cinemas, was to thoroughly enjoy the humour littered throughout the film. The witty exchange between various actors made me laugh out loud, even now after watching it countless times. The film has a lot of heart on top of being a great action film.

The casting of these beloved characters was also spot on. Chris Pine’s James T Kirk was a good combination of charm and confidence. I believe that we are shaped by the things that happen in our lives. And I could see the growth of the character of Kirk and Chris Pine’s delivery of that growth was subtle but spot on. I have already seen how great an actor Zachary Quinto is from his performance in the television series Heroes. So his wonderful turn as Spock was no surprise to me.

Although the story revolved around Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto’s characters, Star Trek has always been a story about the entire crew of the Enterprise. The remaining actors featured in the film all played a big part in making this Star Trek a great film. I especially liked Simon Pegg and Karl Urban’s great comedic timing in the film. Some of the best lines of the film were delivered by these two actors.

To be honest, there are so many underlying messages in the film that I feel overwhelmed to have to put it all into this one review. One day when I watch the film again, if something else struck a chord with me, I would add on to the review. But for now, all that’s left is to wait patiently for the sequel to be released.

2013, please come sooner.

(1) Director J.J. Abrams has directed films like Mission: Impossible III (2006) and Super 8 (2011), Star Trek Into Darkness (2013), and Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015). He was also credited as a screenwriter on films like Armageddon (1998), Cloverfield (2008), Morning Glory (2010), Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol (2011), Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation (2015), Star Trek 3 (2016), and Star Wars Episode VIII (2017).

(2) Roberto Orci & Alex Kurtzman has written films like The Island (2005), The Legend Of Zorro (2005), Mission: Impossible III (2006), Transformers (2007), Watchmen (2009), Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen (2009), Cowboys & Aliens (2011), People Like Us (2011), Star Trek Into Darkness (2013), The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014). They’ve also been credited as producers on films like The Proposal (2009), Now You See Me (2013), Ender’s Game (2013), Now You See Me: The Second Act (2016), The Mummy (2016), and Star Trek 3 (2016).

(3) Chris Pine has acted in films like The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement (2004), Just My Luck (2006), Blind Dating (2006), Smokin’ Aces (2006), Unstoppable (2006), This Means War (2012), People Like Us (2012), Star Trek Into Darkness (2013), Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit (2014), Horrible Bosses 2 (2014), Into The Woods (2014), Z For Zachariah (2015), and The Finest Hours (2016). He’s also appeared in television series like ER, CSI: Miami, and Six Feet Under.

(4) Zachary Quinto has played Adam Kaufman in the television series 24 (2003-2004) and the role of Gabriel Gray/Sylar in Heroes (2006-2010). He has acted in other television series like Touched By An Angel, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Lizzie McGuire, Six Feet Under, Six Feet Under, Charmed, American Horror Story: Murder House, American Horror Story: Asylum, Girls, and Hannibal. He’s also acted in the films Margin Call (2011), What’s Your Number? (2011), Star Trek Into Darkness (2013), Hitman: Agent 47 (2015), and Snowden (2016).

(5) Karl Urban has acted in films like The Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers (2002), The Lord Of The Rings: Return Of The King (2003), The Bourne Supremacy (2004), Dredd (2012), The Loft (2012), Star Trek Into Darkness (2013), and Riddick (2013). He played the lead role of John Kennex in the television series Almost Human (2013-2014) and appeared in the series Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and Xena: Warrior Princess.

(6) Zoë Saldana has acted in films like Center Stage (2000), Get Over It (2001), Pirates Of The Caribbean: The Curse Of The Black Pearl (2003), The Terminal (2004), Avatar (2009), The Losers (2010), Death At A Funeral (2010), Colombiana (2011), The Words (2012), Star Trek Into Darkness (2013), Out Of The Furnace (2013), Infinitely Polar Bear (2014), Guardians Of The Galaxy (2014), and Nina (2015).

(7) Simon Pegg has acted in films like Shaun Of The Dead (2004), Mission: Impossible III (2006), How To Lose Friends And Alienate People (2008), and Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol (2011), Star Trek Into Darkness (2013), The World’s End (2013), Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation (2015), and Absolutely Anything (2015). He’s also done voice work on animation films like Ice Age: Dawn Of The Dinosaurs (2009), The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Voyage Of The Dawn Treader (2010), and The Boxtrolls (2014).

(8) John Cho has acted in films like American Pie (1999), American Pie 2 (2001), Evolution (2001), Down To Earth (2001), Big Fat Liar (2002), American Wedding (2003), In Good Company (2004), Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle (2004), Harold & Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay (2008), A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas (2011), American Reunion (2012), Total Recall (2012), Identity Thief (2013), Star Trek Into Darkness (2013), and Zipper (2015). He also played Henry Higgs on the sitcom Selfie (2014) and also acted in television series like Felicity, Charmed, House M.D., Kitchen Confidential, Grey’s Anatomy, How I Met Your Mother, Ugly Betty, FlashForward, 30 Rock, Sleepy Hollow, and The Mindy Project.

(9) Anton Yelchin has acted in films like Along Came A Spider (2001), Hearts In Atlantis (2001), Charlie Bartlett (2007), New York, I Love You (2009), Terminator Salvation (2009), Memoirs Of A Teenage Amnesiac (2010), Like Crazy (2011), Fright Night (2011), Movie 43 (2013), Star Trek Into Darkness (2013), Cymbeline (2015), Experimenter (2015), and The Driftless Area (2015). He also voiced Clumsy Smurf in the film The Smurfs (2011) and appeared in television series like ER, The Practice, Without a Trace, NYPD Blue, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, and Criminal Minds.

(10) Eric Bana has acted in films like Black Hawk Down (2001), Hulk (2003), Troy (2004), Munich (2005), Lucky You (2007), The Other Boleyn Girl (2008), The Time Traveller’s Wife (2009), Funny People (2009), Hanna (2011), and Knights of the Roundtable: King Arthur (2016).

(11) Chris Hemsworth has acted in films like Thor (2011), The Avengers (2012), Snow White And The Huntsman (2012), Red Dawn (2012), Rush (2013), Thor: The Dark World (2013), Blackhat (2015), Avengers: Age Of Ultron (2015), In The Heart Of the Sea (2015), Vacation (2015), The Huntsman (2016).

(12) Bruce Greenwood has acted in films like The Core (2003), I, Robot (2004), Being Julia (2004), Racing Stripes (2005), Déjà Vu (2006), National Treasure: Book Of Secrets (2007), Mao’s Last Dancer (2009), Super 8 (2011), Flight (2012), Star Trek Into Darkness (2013), Endless Love (2014), The Captive (2014), Truth (2015), and Fathers and Daughters (2015).

(13) Winona Ryder has acted in films like Beetlejuice (1988), Edward Scissorhands (1990), Mermaids (1990), Dracula (1992), The Age Of Innocence (1993) , Little Women (1994), The Crucible (1996), Girl, Interrupted (1999), Autumn In New York (2000), Zoolander (2001), Mr. Deeds (2002), The Private Lives of Pippa Lee (2009), Black Swan (2010), The Iceman (2012), Homefront (2013), and Experimenter (2015).

Final Thoughts:

JJ Abrams’ Star Trek strikes a wonderful balance of action, comedy, and drama. And it does so while managing to thrill non-Trekkers, as well as to please those who hold dear to their hearts creator Gene Roddenberry’s Trek. There are some seemingly unnecessary lines in the dialogue that I feel would have been best left unsaid and would have been better if relied on the actor’s performances. However, those lines are few and do no permanent damage to the overall enjoyment of the film. Now I only hope for the sequel to match its near-perfection or surpass it. (4.8 of 5)

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3 responses to “Star Trek (2009)

  1. Pingback: The Devil Wears Prada (2006) | Adventures of The SIA Brat·

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  3. Pingback: Like Crazy (2011) | Adventures of The SIA Brat·

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