The 'Star Trek' series and I have never properly clicked, and as a result I have always come down on 'Star Wars' side of the 'Star Wars vs Star Trek' debate (a very incidental debate in my mind, the original Star Wars films are incomparable and are yet to be matched in the Sci-Fi/Fantasy genre, despite the blemishes of the Special Editions and Prequel trilogy). Admittedly I am speaking from a rather uneducated standing point, until this year I had only since one Star Trek film, 'Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country'. Even the title bores me, I was dragged to the cinema when I was 7 for that film and it remains one of my most awful experiences in a cinema, thus turning me off the entire series and keeping me away from the other chapters and television spin-offs.
This year I was willing to give JJ Abrams' 'Star Trek' mainly owing to a fantastic teaser trailer and the man JJ Abrams himself. I was never into 'Lost' or 'Alias' but thought 'Mission: Impossible 3' was a fantastic entry into a rocky series and his involvement in 'Cloverfield' did a lot to lift his status in my eyes. I wouldn't line up for new 'Star Trek' but I would go and see it when I have nothing to do on a rainy afternoon in Prague, and that's exactly how it played out.
The new 'Star Trek' works as an sci-fi adventure film even if cliched and predictable. Most impressively it made me care about the characters of Kirk and Spock in a strange way, it made me happy to see them again even if I had never really paid much attention to them before. I rooted for characters and felt invested in them in a way that I hadn't predicted and even probably partly resisted.
The film was fun even if not exactly an on-the-edge-of-your-seat thriller owing to a poorly defined villian in the form of Nero. The screenplay gives the character no real quality of interest as it is a bit too focused on sketching out the characters of the Enterprise, no doubt a vital task but pointless when you don't feel they have any real adversary.
Most impressively is how Abrams goes about rebooting the series, giving his new timeline and younger versions of characters a chance to exist alongside the previous films and characters. More 're-boots' should take note of what an audience is willing to accept with a little intelligence and creativity. I'm looking at Terminator Salvation as I write this paragraph.
A sequel is unavoidable and while this film won't have me finally revisiting the previous series and while I won't be lining up for 'Star Trek 2', if there is a rainy day in London (highly doubtful), I'll be there.
