Review: 'Star Trek' is Slick Fun – Nothing Wrong With That

Every action picture is a science-fiction picture anymore. How else to explain Hero Survival In A Hail of Bullets, Inexhaustible Supply Of Energy In A Street Fight, and the Amazing Car That Still Operates After Driving Off A Building? Star Trek is not an exploration of an alternative physics or the ramifications of technology that’s possible only after the intractable engineering problems have been solved. Star Trek is an action picture set in space. It’s good fun, it’s exciting and engaging, it nods to a few perpetual icons of pop culture, and it’s even suitable for families. What’s not to like?

The most notable achievement here is the extraction of the franchise from fanboy fever swamps into mega-mainstream entertainment. The first three or four Star Trek movies were events with fanfare and media pomp, but after that they diminished into little more than baubled-up TV episodes for fans. You had to know not only the characters but also the Star Trek “universe” to really care about what was going on and why. But this picture works for anybody who even stumbles into it: Kirk is a tough guy, Spock is a smart guy, the rest are identifiably quirky in a Syd Field kind of way, and everybody who aspires to be above the title in their next movie is sexy.

The visual effects are impressive, and evoke those from the earlier pictures while still being gussied up with the latest computer-driven miracles. The costumes are closer to those of the original series than the movies–another nice touch. In fact, the whole thing is wonderfully clever in acknowledging the series and even the movies while still updating the characters and setting with the possibilities of 21st century movie-making.

If there’s a big failure here, it’s the screenplay. After the first hour, the story is almost impossible to follow–something about time travel and alternate universes (with utter disregard not only for basic physical laws like the conservation of energy but also vital pensées such as Are you now liable twice for your outstanding credit card balance? and Can you collect double social security?).

But this Star Trek still thrives, and for one reason: It drops familiar characters and backdrops into the 21st Century Action Movie Machine. That means certain inherently attractive things are guaranteed: a furious pace, lots of explosions and close calls, eye-popping visual effects, a few futuristic characters created with computer animation, and a nostalgic cameo. Every year, the machine gains a new and faster-spinning gear. The old Star Trek movies look dated and, in a few years, this one will, too. But not today. The “rebooted” Star Trek is, as Elvis Costello put it, just “this year’s model.” It’s simple, ephemeral fun. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.