If you are reading this it's logical to assume that you like Star Trek. You probably wouldn't be reading this if you aren't. But just in case, keep reading because you're in for a surprise.In the 1960's a moderately successful American TV series was created. Forty years on, its a cultural supernova with catchphrases and dialogue that have entered common parlance and a grip, Vulcan-like on the minds of millions. But like any ancient star, it's been dying, decaying, decomposing for years, threatening to consume the universe it illuminates, in danger of going dark forever. Star Trek ceased to be cool decades ago, overtaken at warp speed by slicker, sexier shows in its genre like X Files, Heroes, Lost and Alias.
These last two shows came from the imagination of JJ Abrams, a TV producer and director with the same visionary credentials as Gene Roddenberry, Star Trek's founding father. It's appropriate then, that it is Abrams who's been given the task of breathing new life into Roddenberry's creation.
In its 40-odd years on screen, Star Trek has existed in various incarnations: The 'classic' series with William Shatner as Captain Kirk, a 1980's reboot with Patrick Stewart in command and three further shows, Deep Space Nine, Voyager and Enterprise. The Star Trek universe is expansive to say the least. Boldly, Abrams has been very public about his lack of affection for all of this. It's bold because it's the back catalogue of tradition that fans cherish and guard most fervently of all. Mess with it, mate and you'll find that space is a very cold and lonely place.
I must confess that I was expecting to hate this new version. Not because I have any loyalty to the old shows but because I was bracing myself for the impact of yet another disappointing Summer blockbuster, devoid of a script worth the paper it was typed on, another hollow sound and light spectacular without a heart or a brain.
Rarely have I left a cinema so energised. Star Trek is exhilarating. It's wonderful. It's fun. The stakes are high, the skirts are short and the phasers are set permanently to 'wow!' from the first frame to the last. I loved it. Walking from the cinema, I realised I wasn't alone. One other member of the audience put it best when he said "They nailed it". They certainly did.
I saw this film at the marvellous IMAX cinema in London. The screen is 20 metres high and 26 metres wide. I was sat about eight rows back and couldn't see the edges. At times I felt like I was actually in the film, not merely watching it. You wouldn't want to watch Vera Drake this way but it's perfect for a film like this.
So what's gone so right when so much has gone so boldly but so limply before?
Many have said that each new entry in the Star Trek log book has been thinner and weaker than the one before and so it's wise of Abrams to return to the original 60's show for his film. A back to basics approach if you like, similar to the BBC's tactic when it re-tooled its own 1960's sci-fi classic, Doctor Who. Don't build a brand new ship, instead take the trusty old vessel into space-dock and give her a refit. In this way, Abrams has cleverly allowed himself to have his cake and eat it. He's kept the old crew together but torn up every scrap of their original stories and given them all a clean slate. Audacious, to be sure. And it pays off in spades.
It's a brand new Star Trek that is somehow different and reassuringly familiar at the same time.
The Kirk/Spock dynamic so well-etched into the minds of fans is turned on its head at the start but restored by the end. Out go the beloved notes of the theme tune in favour of something new but carefully close to the original. The plot is a mix of bang up to date dialogue and old-fashioned Star Trek hokum.
Nothing illustrates Abrams' new philosophy better than the closing lines of the film, the almost proverbial mission statement: "These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise...", repeated by so many schoolboys with more ardour then the Lord's Prayer. Lines given to William Shatner, the actor who seemed to embody all that dated Star Trek so badly. Lines rescued from the refit by Abrams and given instead to the one member of the original cast to appear in 2009, Leonard Nimoy.
It's satisfying, exciting and spectacular. It has brilliant special effects and credible heroes and villains, too. Roddenberry would approve. In Abrams' hands Star Trek really could live long and prosper.
