May 05, 2009 - 09:27 AM

STAR TREK

Directed by J.J. Abrams

in theatres

****

Director J.J. Abrams shows all in the business how to re-boot a movie franchise, how to go back and make a kick-ass prequel, how to breathe life into a floundering series.

Last week Wolverine: X-Men Origins was released and will bomb as it should in theatres because there is not a shred of imagination in the film. That film supposedly officially launched the summer blockbuster season, though there is little doubt that this week's film, Star Trek, is the first great blockbuster of the season and one of the best movies of the year.

The film goes back into the pasts of Captain Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Sulu, Chekov and Uhura and in grand detail lets us see how they became the characters they did. This is more than major movie excitement, this is some sort of film-going heaven, a film that transports us into the pasts of well-known characters, yet always seems fresh, always seems new. That last fact, more than any other, is Abrams's great accomplishment.

We encounter James Tiberius Kirk (Chris Pine), an adventure-seeking Iowa lad left fatherless when his father died at the helm of a spaceship. Taken under the wing of Captain Pike (Bruce Greenwood), young Kirk, in and out of trouble, is convinced to join Starfleet Academy, possibly to be the head of the new ship being built, the Enterprise. There Kirk will meet Spock (Zachary Quinto), half human, half Vulcan, which has led to no small amount of teasing and torment wherever he goes. Once given command of the new ship, Enterprise, whose mission is to boldly go, uh you know where, Kirk surrounds himself with faces familiar to us, though now in their youth: Chekov (Anton Yelchin), Bones McCoy (Karl Urban), Sulu (John Cho), Uhura (Zoe Saldana) and Scotty (Simon Pegg). With the words "Let's punch it," they are off on their first series of adventures, which will see Kirk do battle with Nero (Eric Bana), a nasty maniac who has a weapon that causes planets to implode. He is most excited to be able to use this weapon on Earth.

The film will keep die-hard Star Trek fans happy in its loyalty to the TV series, while movie fans will love the scope and action in the film, as good as anything I have seen. There is even a cameo by Leonard Nimoy, beloved as Spock. When exiled to an ice planet, Kirk does some time travelling and encounters his friend in an older version.

While the film hurtles along with the speed of an Indiana Jones film, there is room for great character development. We believe these characters will grow into William Shatner and Nimoy and the entire crew of the Enterprise. With the screenplays from Star Trek (1979) and Star Trek II: Wrath of Khan (1982) providing blueprints for the creation of the characters, we are confidently watching younger versions of iconic characters, no small feat.

Star Trek is extraordinary, knockout entertainment with jaw-dropping visual effects that will leave the audience wanting more, and if the film is a hit (duh!) we can expect an entire new series to be launched. If the rest of the films are half as good as this, I welcome them. Abrams just became the hottest director in movies.

WOLVERINE: X-MEN ORIGINS

directed by Gavin Hood

*

What a mess of a movie ... stupid and insulting. Perhaps it is because the previous X-Men films were reasonably good, but more likely it seems to me that those previous films had several characters and in this one we are focused on how Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) became Wolverine. Frankly, the mystery of the character was one of the previous films' strongest aspects. What Jackman lacks as an actor was made up for in the mysterious life his character had led. Seeing how he became the character does nothing for the franchise other than display Jackman's great limitations as an actor.

Missed is Ian McKellan, hell, missed are all the characters of the first three films because there is not one in this that strikes the slightest bit of interest. The single star rating is for the effects ... period.

The first dud of the summer and possibly the end of the X-Men series. Jackman should host the Oscars again, it might be the only job he can get after this and Australia (2008).

John Foote, director of the Toronto Film School, is a nationally known film historian/critic and a Port Perry resident. Get more reviews at www.footeonfilm.com. Contact him at jhfoote@xplornet.com.