I have been a Star Trek fan ever since I laid my eyes on the Enterprise and her handsome captain, James T. Kirk, somewhere in the 80s. Truth be told, there wasn't another handsome dude on board, except for an odd crewman or two who would usually be the first one to get vaporized in an alien attack or bumped off during a trip to an alien planet. I was fascinated by the tricorder readings, the communicator, the equipment that could beam the crew from anywhere, the shield that could go up at the press of a button, the cloaking mechanism and of course, the different alien species (though they often bore a startling resemblance to humans!). Okay, enough of the nostalgia. To cut the long story short, there was no way I was going to miss out on the latest offering, the imdb ratings be damned.
So the story goes as follows. The Enterprise, on one of its 5-year missions, finds itself docked at Yorktown, a Starfleet base. A scientist is seeking help to rescue her team which has been stranded on a remote planet in a yet uncharted territory. Since the Enterprise is the only vessel which can venture there, captain Kirk agrees to help her, little knowing that someone who hates the Federation is waiting there to take control of his ship. The enemy does take control of the Enterprise but Kirk and his teammates manage to destroy her instead of letting her fall into enemy hands. In the process they find themselves stranded on the planet without any means of contacting the Starfleet.
There is not much in the plot by way of novelty, if truth be told. The storyline of someone disgruntled with the Federation hellbent on destroying it has been explored before. I wish they had taken us to a new civilization instead. A new planet perhaps, inhabited by people, who instead of bearing a striking resemblance to humans, are actually humans, but have managed to make a better life for themselves. They have succeeded where we have miserably failed. They are where we could have been, if only we had made different choices. Interesting, huh? Alas! The writers have chosen to venture into the much-charted territory, with the result that the rest of the movie just becomes a story of how Kirk and team manages to fight the odds and get back to civilization, once again.
I confess that there were times when I found myself quite unable to follow the plot - things got just too technical. I have said before that I am not too happy with the subplot of Uhura and Spock. The Spock that I seem to remember from the old series was more interested in (or fascinated by!) the strange life-forms or planets. He also didn't seem to be much of a man of action, save an occasional bit of a skirmish to save good old Jim. But here he, with good old Bones at the wheels, is shown to be rescuing Kirk as he is about to fly off the starbase. Speaking of that base, the innumerable intersecting pathways and buildings erected at a twisted angle to the space made me dizzy. I am sure I would have never been recruited by the Federation. :-) Chris Pyne does a good job of playing the slightly reckless, fearless James Kirk. But he doesn't have William Shatner's killer smile. :-( And I had eyes only for the good old doctor. Karl Urban looks so cute that I think Uhura is certifiably mad not to fall in love with him. (A confession is in order here. I watched the totally unwatchable Dredd just for Karl Urban and was hopping mad when he didn't take that mask off even once during the entire movie!). I would have happily traded places with Spock to be stranded on a remote planet with him and wouldn't have dreamed of ever getting back to mother Earth. Speaking of Spock, I am not sure exactly what he has in mind as far as the rebuilding of his race goes. Is he planning to open a harem and sire as many children as he can? I hope not. Oh, and it was very hard to watch the Enterprise go down though. I have come to love that ship and so was happy when they showed it being rebuilt (but of course!) towards the end of the movie.
I hope that the next time the writers will find it in their heart to boldly go where no one has ever gone before, as far as the plot goes.
So the story goes as follows. The Enterprise, on one of its 5-year missions, finds itself docked at Yorktown, a Starfleet base. A scientist is seeking help to rescue her team which has been stranded on a remote planet in a yet uncharted territory. Since the Enterprise is the only vessel which can venture there, captain Kirk agrees to help her, little knowing that someone who hates the Federation is waiting there to take control of his ship. The enemy does take control of the Enterprise but Kirk and his teammates manage to destroy her instead of letting her fall into enemy hands. In the process they find themselves stranded on the planet without any means of contacting the Starfleet.
There is not much in the plot by way of novelty, if truth be told. The storyline of someone disgruntled with the Federation hellbent on destroying it has been explored before. I wish they had taken us to a new civilization instead. A new planet perhaps, inhabited by people, who instead of bearing a striking resemblance to humans, are actually humans, but have managed to make a better life for themselves. They have succeeded where we have miserably failed. They are where we could have been, if only we had made different choices. Interesting, huh? Alas! The writers have chosen to venture into the much-charted territory, with the result that the rest of the movie just becomes a story of how Kirk and team manages to fight the odds and get back to civilization, once again.
I confess that there were times when I found myself quite unable to follow the plot - things got just too technical. I have said before that I am not too happy with the subplot of Uhura and Spock. The Spock that I seem to remember from the old series was more interested in (or fascinated by!) the strange life-forms or planets. He also didn't seem to be much of a man of action, save an occasional bit of a skirmish to save good old Jim. But here he, with good old Bones at the wheels, is shown to be rescuing Kirk as he is about to fly off the starbase. Speaking of that base, the innumerable intersecting pathways and buildings erected at a twisted angle to the space made me dizzy. I am sure I would have never been recruited by the Federation. :-) Chris Pyne does a good job of playing the slightly reckless, fearless James Kirk. But he doesn't have William Shatner's killer smile. :-( And I had eyes only for the good old doctor. Karl Urban looks so cute that I think Uhura is certifiably mad not to fall in love with him. (A confession is in order here. I watched the totally unwatchable Dredd just for Karl Urban and was hopping mad when he didn't take that mask off even once during the entire movie!). I would have happily traded places with Spock to be stranded on a remote planet with him and wouldn't have dreamed of ever getting back to mother Earth. Speaking of Spock, I am not sure exactly what he has in mind as far as the rebuilding of his race goes. Is he planning to open a harem and sire as many children as he can? I hope not. Oh, and it was very hard to watch the Enterprise go down though. I have come to love that ship and so was happy when they showed it being rebuilt (but of course!) towards the end of the movie.
I hope that the next time the writers will find it in their heart to boldly go where no one has ever gone before, as far as the plot goes.
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