Is the World Ready for a New Kirk?

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Apr 16

Is the World Ready for a New Kirk?

William Shatner vs. Chris Pine

Shatner Pine
That's not really a tough question or a question at all really, there is only one James Tiberius Kirk and that man is William Shatner. The new Star Trek film is due to be released on May 7, and upon its release thousands upon thousands of nerds will flood their blogs with one profound statement: That's not Kirk!

Now I have no problem with Chris Pine. I have no problem with the new. In fact, I think Next Generation is far better than the original Star Trek series (but that's a whole other debate). My problem is that Chris Pine has the audacity to not even try to do a Bill Shatner imitation. Yes, it would be completely cheesy, but it's really the only thing that can be done. Look at the Star Wars prequels. Ewan McGregor did a hell of an Alec Guinness imitation. He wasn't bogged down by it and he added his own spin to the character. McGregor was an actor and he acted. He was charged with being an iconic character, Obi Wan Kenobi, and he did his job by utilizing what was laid out before him.

And here's where the problem is... James T. Kirk is William Shatner. Or is it Shatner is Kirk? Shatner is so crucial to the character that the two have become hopelessly intertwined. So, how are we to believe that Chris Pine is a young James Kirk if he uses none of the tools at his disposal? The only thing worse than a bad Kirk imitation is an obvious Kirk impostor.

Follow up:

3 comments

§ Nicki said on : 04/22/09 @ 19:00
Maybe if Shatner didn't do all those Priceline commercials AND those karate moves, the new movie and character would respect him. I looked at those Priceline scripts and none of them called for any karate!
§ Unlock any phone said on : 08/09/10 @ 10:40
Well done, i like your website design and content ofcorse.
§ MCV said on : 09/14/10 @ 08:47
Just saw the movie and I have to say, I think I disagree with your argument. Yes, Kirk is an iconic character and, under normal circumstances I would agree that it would be important for Pine to add a touch of Shatner to his take on the character. Unfortunately, the Kirk of the new film is NOT the Kirk of old. The timeline has changed and the Kirk that would have been will never be and the things that made him who he was no longer exist. These changes have made the character a much darker, rougher version of the original and I think Pine does a good job in that respect.