Film Reviews

STAR TREK

By • May 18th, 2009 •

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Sunny hothead cadet meets his Vulcan soulmate. Wisely, no bloated, buffoon pitchman has a cameo. Is Mr. Spock a sociopath? He fits the criteria.

No doubt about it. This reboot is big and glorious. I’ve already seen it twice. Once on IMAX. Director J.J. Abrams puts every dollar up on the screen and, without even one tormented Starfleet Academy character, achieves a gratifying beginning to the Enterprise’s beloved, mythic crew.

Casting was crucial and here is where the real genius lies. Chris Pine (Capt. Kirk) has the Brad Pitt looks (and even his early acne-scarred face!) and Zachary Quinto (Spock) has the Vulcan bemused expression down pat. Though it seemed to me that the TV Mr. Spock was totally unsympathetic to, and in fact revolted by, human emotions. Screenwriters Roberto Orci & Alex Kurtzman know the template well and all the supporting players are given dialogue securely cemented from the TV series characters.
With these “beginnings” movies, do we have to go back to their childhoods, or, in the case of STAR TREK, pre-birth? So, we learn that James T. was raised without a father and Spock was an outcast because he was a half-breed (and not because his father was the ambassador to the backwater planet Earth).
James T. is a rebel alright, he is a stowaway on board the Enterprise! But, because his father was a hero, he is allowed to run around and advise Capt. Christopher Pike (Bruce Greenwood). The team is on a mission to save Vulcan from total destruction and Capt. Pike is taken prisoner by a time-traveling Romulan named Nero (Eric Bana). As usual, Nero, in Hitlerian mode, is hell-bent on destroying every planet in the Federation. Talk about payback!
See what happens when a Romulan falls in love!

So Mr. Spock takes over for Capt. Pike, then James T. gets the chance to sit in the swivel chair by hoodwinking Mr. Spock into freaking out. Would the rest of the crew ever be able to respect Mr. Spock again?

Director J.J. Abrams seems fascinated with time travel. How his LOST writers will get out of the ugly mess they are currently in will likely be this generation’s Pamela Ewing wakes up from her year-long dream moment.

Supposedly there is a secret time travel portal in Spain. I heard about it on Coast to Coast AM.
About 80 years ago, scientists discovered that it is possible to be in two locations at the same time at least for an atom or a subatomic particle, such as an electron. For such tiny objects, the world is governed by a weird set of physical laws known as quantum mechanics. For us, it’s just not possible unless you are jolted on J.J. Abrams’ LOST island. There, Miles occupies the same space as his infant self.

In STAR TREK, we conveniently have time-travel and/or bilocation, so that young Mr. Spock can meet old Mr. Spock (Leonard Nimoy). Are they in different times occupying the same space? Or is Mr. Spock in two places at the same time? Has Mr. Spock taken the ancient magic of bilocation (once the domain of Christian saints, mystics and ecstatics) to another level by adding time-travel to the phenomenon?
I’m going with my own theory that Mr. Spock had a nervous breakdown and the old Mr. Spock was a hallucination.
While you might be missing a cameo by the previous Capt. Kirk – William Shatner certainly does – it is wonderful to see Nimoy embrace his iconic character and give his blessing to Quinto.

Would Mr. Spock be considered a sociopath? According to the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-V) he fits the criteria! Read the criteria and you will see exactly what I mean.

Grandiose Sense of Self – Feels entitled to certain things as “their right.”
Pathological Lying – Has no problem lying coolly and easily and it is almost impossible for them to be truthful on a consistent basis. Can create, and get caught up in, a complex belief about their own powers and abilities. Extremely convincing and even able to pass lie detector tests.

Lack of Remorse, Shame or Guilt. A deep-seated rage, which is split off and repressed, is at their core. Does not see others around them as people, but only as targets and opportunities. Instead of friends, they have victims and accomplices who end up as victims. The end always justifies the means and they let nothing stand in their way.

Shallow Emotions – When they show what seems to be warmth, joy, love and compassion it is more feigned than experienced and serves an ulterior motive. Outraged by insignificant matters, yet remaining unmoved and cold by what would upset a normal person. Since they are not genuine, neither are their promises.
Incapacity for Love!

Other Related Qualities:

Contemptuous of those who seek to understand them

Does not perceive that anything is wrong with them

Authoritarian

Secretive

Paranoid

Only rarely in difficulty with the law, but seeks out situations where their tyrannical behavior will be tolerated, condoned, or admired

Conventional appearance

Goal of enslavement of their victim(s)

Exercises despotic control over every aspect of the victim’s life

Has an emotional need to justify their crimes and therefore needs their victim’s affirmation (respect, gratitude and love)

Ultimate goal is the creation of a willing victim

Incapable of real human attachment to another

Unable to feel remorse or guilt

Extreme narcissism and grandiose

May state readily that their goal is to rule the world

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