To boldly go...

After going to the movies for Father’s Day, I have an embarrassing confession to make: I love Star Trek. For those who know me best, this may not come as much of a surprise. Though I would’ve denied it throughout high school, in college I became more comfortable about at least acknowledging that I had watched the show growing up. But I haven’t really been completely honest with my friends about the extent of this love.

To prove my nerdiness: I own dozens of Star Trek action figures and little toy ships called Micro Machines. In fact, I think I have at least three different versions of Patrick Stewart’s Jean Luc Picard alone – in 1st/2nd season uniform with stripe at the top, in ready room lounge coat, and as the old vineyard owner from All Good Things, the series finale. To complement this, I have playsets of both the bridge and main engineering from the Next Generation Enterprise (D, duh) that, when properly equipped with batteries and bulbs, light up and make noise. I owned a large red shirt that had iron-on pips for the collar, used to denote rank. (My mom never got around to ironing them on, leaving me embarrassingly rank-less). In elementary school, I used to parade around the woods with my friend John William, pretending to be Admiral Riker to his Luke Skywalker. We would carry plastic weapons (again, that lit up and made noises) and have exciting adventures of all sorts.

Over the years, I have attended two Star Trek conventions, and even made my own tshirt for one of them by drawing on a white undershirt with fluorescent markers. My favorite part of the family’s vacation to the great national parks of the Southwest was Las Vegas, because we visited Star Trek: The Experience. For fun, I used to read books called Nitpickers’ Guides, which went episode by episode and pointed out bloopers and inconsistencies. I also own a Star Trek encyclopedia, which I would use to make up trivia questions, and a Star Trek version of Monopoly. Buried in my closet at home are five out of the seven seasons of The Next Generation on DVD. All of this has enabled me to name all five iterations of the TV series, as well as most of the main characters and actors for each.

My point in writing this is not to thoroughly embarrass myself, though that is certainly a side consequence. Instead, I was inspired to write about Star Trek because I enjoyed J.J. Abrams’ new movie so much. On one hand, it shouldn’t be shocking that a Star Trek movie would be such a blockbuster. The premise involves exploration and adventure in outer space (something for which I have already established my love). But the problem with this franchise has always been that it’s too intellectual to be mainstream. The crew of the Enterprise grapples with complex issues of morality as often as it battles enemy warships. The plotlines of the TV series, in that sense, are brilliant. They far outshine, say, Star Wars (and the acting is generally much better too).

Unfortunately, philosophical dilemmas are not enough to create great movies. Relying on the inherent appeal of Star Trek’s mantra – “to boldly go where no one has gone before” – works ok for television (though the later spin-offs became kind of tiresome), but for a two hour feature film you need the excitement and glitz of a lightsaber battle. Somehow this latest movie captures both. There is plenty of action, beefed up by modern special effects. But it’s balanced by heady themes that give the production more depth than a normal action movie – the need to balance logic with spontaneity (illustrated by impressively genuine portrayals of Spock and Kirk), a group of young officers forced to rise to face adversity, the sometimes debilitating pressure of being expected to live up to a great legacy.

It’s neat to watch the way that Abrams masterfully pulls in new viewers and longtime fans. Concepts like Starfleet and the Federation and the Vulcan adherence to a logical existence are explained artfully, in a way that makes sense to the uninitiated yet doesn’t feel heavy-handed or forced. As a bonus, the film integrates tidbits that only a shameless Trekker would recognize, similar to the Easter Eggs on Lost (the kobayashi maru test comes to mind). Abrams even finds a clever way to deal with any nagging continuity issues that rabid fans might scream about (so relax, Phil Farrand).

In all, it’s not so much that this is a legendarily great movie. But it’s very good, with fantastic characterization, a beautiful score, and the type of chemistry among cast and plot that hints at the potential for numerous successful sequels. The nearly universal praise for the film suggests that maybe there are many other closeted fans who have been inspired by such an unexpectedly respectable offering bearing the Star Trek name. Paramount Pictures owes J.J. Abrams big time for this. And, as a (newly unabashed) lifelong fan, so do I.