New Star Trek is a Victory for Old Movies

"Trekkies" are not the only people who will enjoy this newest edition in the "Star Trek" saga. The movie has everything that makes this type of film entertaining. The special effects go without saying. Yet, it does a much better job than the newer "Star Wars" trilogy at developing characters and plot and does not merely rely on special effects to carry the movie. And this is the point I would like to leave the reader with: Movies that develop plot and characters, with a bit of humor and believable drama, along with a great story are always what make great movies. CGI cannot replace acting any more than a robot can play a person. The human element is what people love more than anything. And this new "Star Trek" does a great job of developing the more subtle aspects of film while, of course, doing an incredible job with special effects.

Without getting into detail about the plot of the movie, the overall point is to tell the story of how the old beloved characters of the first "Star Trek" series come to know each other and forge friendships as the crew of the USS Enterprise. Chris Pine, playing Kirk and Zachary Quinto, as Spock, do an amazing job of copying the extremely unique personalities that were so strong in the old series. The other main characters do an equally good job of re-creating the old heroes of "Star Trek". Yet, it is the character of Spock, in particular, that stood out for me.

The movie focuses on the unique experience of Spock who was born of a Vulcan father and a human mother. The Vulcans are known for their precise logic and absolute control of their emotions. The battle within Spock is drawn out as he struggles with maintaining his human side while being true to his Vulcan logic.

The interesting facet of all this is how we can relate to Spock. He represents the struggle in us between our minds and our emotions. So many times, we know in our heads what is the right thing to do, but our emotions or our passions tug the other way. The desire to be able to completely control our emotions happens every time our heart is broken, or every time we give in to our emotions and hurt someone or in a state of passion betray our wives, husbands, family and friends.

Contrasting Spock's personality with that of Kirk, we see in Kirk, someone who goes with his gut. And ultimately Kirk's instinct makes him captain. The philosophy displayed here is that there is an intangible quality in humanity which allows us to overcome odds where logic would give us no chance. This intangible quality in Kirk allows him to take in limited information and intelligently come up with an answer for a situation that may logically have no answer. In other words, he has hope. There may be a small chance that there will be a good outcome in any given situation in our lives and what keeps mankind going is not the Stoic attitude of a Vulcan who just says, "Well, it makes no difference in the end" but the hopeful attitude of Kirk who says, "I don't believe in the no-win scenario."