Set phasers on fun: “Star Trek” reboot is really a kick

Jim Hill

16 years ago

The TV commercials claim that “This is not your father’s
Star Trek.” Which made me wonder: What audience is this new J.J. Abrams movie
actually aimed at?

So – to get a sense of who’d embrace this Star Trek reboot –
I assembled a rather unique control group:

My 78-year-old father, Frank. Who first became a fan of this
franchise when “Star Trek” made its network television debut on NBC back in
September of 1966.

My 48-year-old brother, Peter. Who only got into “Star Trek”
after this by-then cancelled TV series began its run in syndication in the
1970s.

My 24-year-old nephew, Jeff. Who has very fond memories of
this show & its characters from the many hours that he spent watching “Star
Trek” on VHS in the 1990s.

So here we have three generations of Hills. Each of them a
big enough “Star Trek” fans that Dad, Pete and Jeff were all thrilled when I
invited them to come along to a press screening of this new Paramount Pictures
release.

So given the wide range of ages here, the differing levels
of fandom, were my family members able to come to some sort of consensus in
regards to the new “Star Trek” movie? Happily, the answer to that question is
yes. All three Hills genuinely enjoyed this reboot of this sci-fi franchise.
But for surprisingly different reasons.

For my father, this new “Star Trek” movie was fun because of
the talented young cast that Abrams had assembled to play Kirk, Spock et al.
These performers brought a level of energy & excitement to Gene
Roddenberry’s characters that Dad hadn’t seen since … Well, since “Star Trek”
initially aired on NBC back in the 1960s.

For my brother Pete, what made this new “Star Trek” movie
fun was all the clever winks & nods to the Trek TV episodes & films
that came before it. From actually getting to watch the young James T. Kirk
(played with a convincing Shatner-like swagger by Chris Pine) beat the no-win
scenario in Starfleet’s Kobayashi Maru training exercise to those tribbles that Scotty
keeps in a cage on his desk, it’s clear that this project was put together by
people who had great respect & affection for their source material.

That said, the reason that my nephew, Jeff, enjoyed “Star
Trek” was because this new Paramount Pictures release is a good movie – period.
Even if you can’t tell a Romulan from a Klingon, this film’s storyline is so
engaging and entertaining that you can’t help but be sucked in.

As for me … I guess the clearest sign that this new “Star
Trek” film is a success was when – as the movie was drawing to a close and as
this new set of actors was taking their characters’ standard positions on the
bridge of the Enterprise – I felt this real pang of sadness that the adventure
was over. For now anyway.

Mind you, Paramount has already signed Roberto Orci &
Alex Kurtzman (i.e. the two gentlemen who wrote “Star Trek” ‘s very clever
screenplay) to write a sequel. Which – if all goes according to plan – will be
beaming into a theater near you sometime during the summer of 2011. So it won’t
be all that long ‘til my family get another shot at going “ … where no one has
gone before.”

But until this “Star Trek” sequel arrives, there are the
infinite pleasures of this J.J. Abrams movie to enjoy. Which – with apologies
to the nice folks who put together those TV commercials for this new Paramount
Pictures release – WAS my father’s Star Trek. And my brother’s. And my
nephew’s. And mine.

Your thoughts?