William Shatner Feels The New Star Trek Movies Don’t Have Enough Heart
With the release of Star Trek Into Darkness only six months away, audiences and Trekkies are ready to watch the sequel to the widely popular 2009 summer blockbuster film, Star Trek. Now that J.J. Abrams has two Star Trek films under his belt, it’s safe to say that the 46-year-old director is firmly part of the Star Trek universe. But William Shatner is an even bigger part of that universe, and he feels the newer films don’t have the same emotional punch that the originals do.
Although Shatner says he likes Abrams’ film, the Canadian-born actor thinks the new Star Trek has too much action and not enough character moments or emotional payoffs. “I think it’s wonderful. It’s a great ride, a great opening up of Star Trek to modern audiences. It doesn’t have the story heart that the best of my Star Trek had, but it’s a glorious motion picture,” he told the Pittsburgh Post Gazette.
Is Shatner right? The original Star Trek movies have always built upon the relationships of the Enterprise’s crew, such as between Captain Kirk and Spock. Spock’s death scene at the end of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan was probably the emotional high point between these two characters, and arguably the entire film series. Nothing in J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek even comes close to that, not even the death of Spock’s mother.
Star Trek Into Darkness will not hit theaters until May 2013, but audiences can get a glimpse of the sequel’s first nine minutes at the beginning of IMAX 3D screenings of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey this December. Maybe Star Trek Into Darkness will delve more into the friendships between Kirk and the rest.
Star Trek Into Darkness will open wide in theaters everywhere on May 17, 2013 in IMAX 3D.
