Review

What would happen if somebody went back in time and severely traumatized a significant historical figure, causing them to grow up to be a different person? That's the question this film grapples with in its fresh faced take on Star Trek. James Kirk is a different man now and as a consequence of his paramount importance to the timeline, everything else is profoundly different too. The broader implications of this remain woefully inadequately explored in both a character sense and a timeline sense. The former issue of the inadequate character explorations can be attributed to this film's hyperactive pacing; there is little time to explore what kind of people Kirk and Spock are now that their lives are so different. The latter issue of the status of the original timeline I discuss in more detail in another article, however the short version is based on the evidence presented in the film we can't really conclude one way or the other whether the old timeline still exists or not. It's possible the events of this film exist in an alternate universe like Ent: In a Mirror, Darkly. But it is also possible that this film pressed permanently the biggest, most giant reset button ever pressed on Star Trek, all for nothing but a fun action romp; something that would be unspeakably tragic to the long term health of the franchise.

But regardless of whether or not our beloved timeline has been irreconcilably destroyed, this film by itself is indeed an undeniably fun ride. The action in this film is unparalleled by anything previous, the destruction of Vulcan was horrifyingly touching and compelling, the performances of the new cast (with the glaring exception of Chekov and at times Sulu) were exceptional, and the directing and feel of the storytelling invoked all the best aspects of the dark and gritty universes of Firefly or Battlestar Galactica. The new film is of course not without its annoyances. The score is remarkably repetitive and derivative, much of the action is superfluous, such as the ice monster that attacked Kirk on Delta Vega, and Scotty's alien comrade felt more like the painfully immature comic relief of an Ewok character or Jar Jar Binks from a Star Wars film than something we should expect from Star Trek. What's more, there are a few embarrassing technical and continuity problems (documented above) as well as some painful cliches. For example, why was most of the Federation fleet not available? And isn't it a little convenient that Nero forgot to put up his shields when he attacked Earth, thus allowing our heroes to beam aboard his ship and surprise him?

Some cliches of the film are more deliberate and more enjoyable. There are too many delightful references to previous episodes to list. And while it stretches realism to see Kirk go from cadet to captain in one day, the film's story as a plot device to reassemble the old crew unnaturally early strangely works quite well. It feels like in the face of the trauma they've endured, they've emerged stronger than ever. The characters as well as the franchise has been revitalized by the continuity-contorting events of the story. Having old Spock play a major role was lovely, though as with the murky implications for the timeline, it is not well understood why Spock can't simply go back in time to stop Nero from destroying the Kelvin. Also, Leonard Nimoy's recitation of the "space, the final frontier..." theme was unnecessarily nostalgic and makes the film's ending feel somewhat overwrought. Overall though, this film is enjoyable and establishes the new-old universe quite compellingly. I look forward to the next installment.