I have not yet gotten the chance to see the new Star Trek—this week has just been too crazy—but I’m hoping my wife and I will be able to go sometime next week. In the meantime, I’ve been interested to read the various reviews and comments (including, of course, the brilliant spoof The Onion came up with—see below), which have left me looking forward to the movie. I’d rather see a sequel to Serenity (preferably involving a couple resurrections), but goodTrek is a solid second-best. Of everything I’ve read, I might be biased, but I’ve appreciated my friend Eli Evans’ analysis the most—especially this, which I think is quite insightful:
Trek presents us a vision of a future that, frankly, I wouldn’t want to live in. It seems like the most ponderous, politically correct, and (quick! think of another word that begins with “p” . . . yes!) and perfect place. Too perfect. . . .
It’s as if the UN were running the world—no, the galaxy—and (get this) they’re doing a bang-up job. Suspension of disbelief, indeed.
James Tiberius Kirk always rubbed against the grain of that society. Why? Because he refused to evolve beyond his petty human ego. He realized that human nature has no history. People are people, no matter where (or when) you go. Kirk is an un-reconstituted man in a world that is entirely reconstituted, right down to the replicated coffee and doughnuts. (Wait, no. Starfleet personnel definitely do not eat doughnuts. Unless they were square and made of a substance resembling balsa wood.)
Much of the dramatic tension in the 60’s TV show came from the conflict between the adventurer Kirk and his bureaucratic surroundings. Starfleet Command is chirping on the subspace frequency? Don’t answer it, Lt. Uhura. We have aliens to fry.
Now, I like “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” and I have a lot of respect for Patrick Stewart as an actor. But then and there, the Trek producers pretty much de-fanged the franchise. Picard is a man settled into his society. Yes, he pops out of gear now and then, but for the most part, he’s a cog in the Starfleet machine.
When the movie first came out, I admit I was leery. As a long time fan of just about all incarnations, I had no idea where they might go with a complete “revamp” or if I even wanted to know. That didn’t necesarily mean that I didn’t think it was time. Just leery.
But the reviews have been so all over the place and mostly good, that I’m weakening. 😉
And that clip was absolutely hilarious. 😀
Glad you liked it. They have some brilliant satirical writers at the Onion.
And yeah, it was a project that could have been done wrong a lot more ways than right. I tended to trust J. J. Abrams, though, and at this point, I’m optimistic.
The movie is amazing, and I have been a Trekkie (not a trekker, those dudes seem to think it is a documentary) since the mid seventies. Mark and I floored and are anxiously waiting for the sequels.
That’s good to hear. I’m hoping Sara and I can get out to see it Thursday night.