New Star Trek movie blasts off
May 6, 2009 at 10:00 am by Curt Holman in movies & tv, review
THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL: Chekov (Anton Yelchin, from left), James T. Kirk (Chris Pine), Scotty (Simon Pegg), Bones (Karl Urban), Sulu (John Cho) and Uhura (Zoë Saldana)
Here we are, near the end of the first decade of the 21st century, and I honestly expected to have a personal jet pack by now.
The speculative fiction of the last century promised a shiny, happy future that’s conspicuously failed to pan out. Maybe it’s too much to ask for flying cars, android butlers or domed cities on the moon, but why can’t we commute to work in safe, fuel-efficient, non-ass-burning jet packs? As high-tech personal transport goes, the Segway is a poor option.
In some ways, our real present exceeds the visions of the future imagined by writers of the past. The iPhone completely outshines the 23rd-century Starfleet-issue communicator. Our cordless cell phones empower us to take pictures, send text messages, play games, access a vast network of computers and even, in a pinch, talk to other people. On “Star Trek,” the Starship Enterprise crew’s walkie-talkies didn’t even have touch-screen technology.
Otherwise, “Star Trek” set a relatively high standard for things to come, and gave the human race something to shoot for. Fans and critics frequently point to the enduring sci-fi franchise’s positive attitude to explain its longevity. Gene Roddenberry’s optimistic space opera began as a low-rated NBC series in 1966. It found a fanatically supported second life in syndication, eventually spinning off four more live-action shows, a cartoon series, a multitude of books and 11 feature films. The latest, simply named Star Trek, opens in theaters on Friday and boldly strays from Roddenberry’s vision of the future.
(Photo courtesy Industrial Light & Magic)
May 7th, 2009 at 11:49 am
That picture needs more Zach Quinto. He MADE that film!