I ranked my favorite Star Trek movies but realized I hadn’t watched a lot of them for a long time. I am watching them again in chronological order and sharing some of my thoughts after a fresh viewing. Maybe some of the movies will have a chance to move up my list after watching them again.
This week I watched Star Trek: Nemesis. This week I watched Star Trek.
I never got a chance to write a review for Star Trek when it came out in 2009. The Christian Nerd was still about seven months from launching so I didn’t have anywhere to share my thoughts about the movie.
In the four and a half years since its initial release, I have grown to love Star Trek. It is the Star Trek movie that I have watched the most frequently over the past few years. Whenever I need to put something on while cleaning or packing I usually go with Star Trek (or A Knight’s Tale because that is one of the greatest artistic contributions to humanity of all time).
I originally listed it as my third favorite Star Trek movie. I think J.J. Abrams does a good job rebooting the franchise and so many of the actors capture the heart and personality of the original actors, especially Chris Pine as Kirk and Karl Urban as McCoy. I know that Star Trek is a flashier and sexier version of Gene Roddenberry’s wagon train to the stars but it still focuses on the characters and their relationships, which has always been the strength of Star Trek.
Here are some other thoughts I had while watching Star Trek.
Choices
All of our choices will undoubtedly have consequences. Some choices, like what cereal we eat for breakfast, won’t lead to any significant consequences. Choosing to go back in time and destroy an entire planet, though, could have some very far-reaching consequences. We need to be aware of the choices we’re making and the impact they could have. Even though we like to think our choices will only impact our lives, all of our choices will have some impact on the lives of those around us. Nero made choices to serve his own selfish needs and changed the world around him. We can make choices to serve the needs of others and also change the world around us, just in a God-honoring way.
Friendship
Because you needed each other. I could not deprive you of the revelation of all that you could accomplish together, of a friendship that will define you both in ways you cannot yet realize.
I love the opportunity for the older Spock to look back on his friendship with Kirk. When we’re in the early stages of a friendship or even celebrating years of friendship, it’s not always easy to see how our friends are shaping our lives. I can look back on my best friendships and see how they have influenced my life, but I also wish I could see from the older Spock’s perspective. God wants to bless us with amazing friendships. We have to be willing to open up our lives to others and also put in the hard work of becoming better friends ourselves. If we can do that, when we get towards the end of our lives, we will be able to see how God blessed and shaped our lives through our friends.
Impersonation
Star Trek’s original crew is so iconic that the new cast could have easily fallen into cheap impersonations of the old. I’m really glad that each of the actors found the core of their character instead of just doing a simple impersonation. Chris Pine’s Kirk had all of the swagger and bravado of Shatner’s Kirk without mimicking Shatner’s delivery. While Zachary Quinto’s Spock modeled a lot of Nimoy’s mannerisms, he made the character his own by showing a younger and more stringent Vulcan. The movie worked because the cast members weren’t just trying to be someone else. Our lives work best like that, too. God didn’t handcraft us so that we would try and be like someone else. God gave us all unique gifts and abilities to use for his glory. We glorify God best when we embrace the gifts he has given us and use them for his kingdom.
Even after watching it a lot, I still love Star Trek. After rewatching a lot of the original movies, though, Star Trek might slide a little down my list. I still want to see Star Trek back on TV but, back in 2009, I was just happy to see the Enterprise soaring through the stars again.
What are your thoughts about Star Trek?
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