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A fashion writer reviews ‘Star Trek’
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Spock (Quinto, left) and James T. Kirk (Pine) start their final frontier
bromance in Star Trek.
Every time any kind of “reinvention” occurs under the pop culture umbrella, I am skeptical. With fashion, we have seen inappropriate comebacks of ‘80s and ‘90s trends: broad Working Girl shoulders, glaring neon colors and grotesque acid wash. In a way, I see the recycling of trends as a way of saying, “We have run out of ideas.”
With movies, it’s the same way. The Manchurian Candidate redux was like a Prada knock-off and The Day the Earth Stood Still was like the return of leg warmers – but with this new Star Trek directed by J.J. Abrams, my skepticism has turned into enthusiastic optimism. Well, this isn’t really a remake per se, it’s more of a prequel – but it is a reinvention of the classic Gene Roddenberry film/television series with a rabid following.
If Abrams were a fashion designer who recreated the classic Chanel suit, he would probably do a mind-blowing job. He, along with screenwriters Roberto Orci & Alex Kurtzman, reconfigure the franchise with a discerning eye. They pump his contemporary storytelling skills to make the movie watchable for Trekkies and non-Trekkies alike. He bypasses all that nonsense that made non-Trekkies view the franchise as a geekfest of dorkdom and gives a hip, yet thoughtful movie about a bunch of twentysomethings who are trying to do something with their education.
Abrams has a way of taking something and turning it upside down and making it his own, but he still keeps the spirit alive (i.e., memorable catchphrases and scenarios from the original). From the very action-packed beginning (and pivotal birth of James T. Kirk), he traps you in the orbit of the beloved characters without notice and in turn, you are delightfully "energized." This only makes sense considering he introduced the world to Felicity, Alias and Lost.
In this “before they went where no man has gone before” retelling, we see a young James T. Kirk (Chris Pine) as a rebellious punk, an angsty pointy-eared Spock (Zachary Quinto) still rockin’ the straight cut bangs and a very hot and sassy Uhura (Zoe Saldana). Rounding out the soon-to-be crew of the USS Enterprise are a batch of actors that make the movie fresh, sexy and sleek: John Cho wields his sword as Sulu; Anton Yelchin is endearingly precious as a young Pavel Chekov; Simon Pegg stamps his brand of comedy as Scotty and Karl Urban flails about as Dr. McCoy. Eric Bana steps in as the villainous Romulan, Nero. He doesn’t say much in the movie, but when he does, he can cause quite a scare. Did I mention the original Spock (Leonard Nimoy) stops by via time travel for some cameo action?
I really want one of those Starfleet shirts. I wonder who made them. They look like classic Pierre Cardin circa 1960. (from left: Anton Yelchin, Chris Pine, Simon Pegg, Karl Urban, John Cho and Zoe Saldana)
Pierre Cardin's 'Space Age' looks in the '60s
As the crew gets called on to don the signature Starfleet logo (which, by the way wouldn’t look too bad on a polo) in order save Earth, the movie becomes a warp speed ride of action and drama. More importantly, we witness the seeds of bromance between Spock and Kirk start to grow.
I was never a Star Trek fan – mainly because of the crazed costumed fans. They scare me. But with the flawless cast and the pitch perfect pace, this movie will make everyone jump on the fanboy wagon.
Overall review: I’m going to just say it: Star Trek is the best movie of the summer – and summer hasn’t even officially started. And P.S., seeing Kirk make out with a green woman is quite entertaining.
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