Planets Beyond Stars

Star Trek (2009)
directed by J. J. Abrams
rating: 4 out of 5 cravats
seen on the screen at Century 14 Downtown

I'm a Star Trek fan. I grew up watching The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine, and the death of Kirk's father in the opening minutes of Abrams' heart-of-a-blockbuster was a more emotional moment for me than anything so contrived has a right to be. Kirk Senior's soapy good looks don't account for it, and villains don't get much sillier than a bald Eric Bana, but there I was, with rapt attention. Star Trek has always been a generous show, but its pace and tone, specifically - thoughtful in the midst of action, wise in its writers' use of an endless universe's gifts - reminds me, I think, of the stories my father read to me as a kid. And so Picard's warm introduction to The Next Generation's credit sequence reminded me of my childhood, even as a kid, just as Leonard Nimoy - nearly 80 now - reminds me of what it was I loved so much in stories then, which was adventure and a campfire to return to - to sit beside someone and imagine far-away worlds. One could argue that none of this has anything to do with Star Trek the movie at all, but it does.