Star Trek

J.J. Abrams' treatment of Star Trek is a lot of things. Entertaining? Yes. Action-packed? You bet. Audience-friendly? Totally. But there's one thing it's not that really keeps the film from being a top-notch film: Suspense.

With Star Trek, Abrams and his Bad Robot team establish themselves clearly as auteurs. If you've followed Lost, the entire film will feel very familiar. Abrams' execution of color, set design, writing and sound design, including the score, is fantastic. In my experience, the film passed the major test of any "re-boot" film; it satisfied the die-hards and kept the novices in the loop. Sitting next to a friend of mine who wasn't familiar with Star Trek past "Beam me up, Scottie," was a great testament to the success of this film. "I can't wait for the sequal," he said.

Therein lies the problem, I suppose. This isn't to fault Abrams, the writers or the cast, but instead the nature of the "origin"-type film. This film was the first of its kind that, on a few occasions, had me thinking "Oh no, what's going to happen?" immedately followed by, "Oh wait, this is Kirk and Spock we're talking about...they can't die." So, while I was enthralled by the nature of spectatorship, my mind kept correcting itself; not only is this a movie, but it's a movie where the good guys can't die. This isn't to say that they can't lose, though, becuase there's always going to be a sequel. The Dark Knight is a prime example; Batman unfoils the plans of Two-Face and the Joker, but the film ends with a slew of questions. Is Two-Face dead? What happens to the Joker? What will Batman do? Star Trek ends on a similar note, but the questions that will be answered in future installments probably only come from those familiar with Star Trek, not casual viewers like my dear friend. While these people might be wondering what they'll do next time, Trekkies are already pondering when Khan will make an appearance.

All in all, I really can't blame Star Trek for what has become an industry fault. Abrams has crafted a perfect summer movie that will, without a doubt, enlighten a new generation of viewers and make dump-truck-loads of money. Just remember to suspend your disbelief at the door.