The first thing to keep in mind is that the new Trek movie is set in an alternate universe. Within the first thirty minutes of the movie, the time traveling villain has obliterated any chance of continuity with the original series. Star Trek (the new movie) attempts to give the origin of the crew, in between fast paced action sequences.
The original series was firmly rooted in the World War II experience. Kirk (William Shatner) might have been the youngest Starfleet captain ever, in his mid thirties. By contrast the new Kirk takes command at twenty five and the rest of the crew, absent the Vulcan and the doctor, isn’t much older. Watching the new, younger, crew come together can be a bit of a surreal experience. On a ship of several hundred people, is an ensign ever going to realistically take command? Outside time of war will a starship ever have a seventeen year old helmsman?
The new movie glosses over this, though it does obliquely suggest an answer. In this alternative reality Star Fleet has such a high mortality rate that if an officer survives four years, they’re likely to command a ship, and I don’t mean the Star Fleet version of a PT Boat. We certainly see enough ships going down, presumably with all hands, to make this at least moderately plausible.
Speaking of things going boom, this new version of Trek has a lot of it. Space combat in the original series was a somewhat slow and sedate affair, mainly due to limitations on the special effects budget. By contrast we see ships in the new movie letting loose on incoming missiles with point defense phasers while zooming at angles off the Z axis more akin to the Millennium Falcon then the starship Enterprise.
This is a good movie. You should go see it while it’s still in theatres. Much of the plot is carried by the fact that the characters are already well known. The question is will the sequels be as good or will Abram’s alternative universe collapse under its own implausibility?
