One Of J.J. Abrams' Only Star Trek Regrets Revolves Around Eric Bana
One of the more fantastical elements of J.J. Abrams' 2009 film "Star Trek" is the use of a mysterious, seemingly magical substance called Red Matter.
In the 23rd century, Spock (Leonard Nimoy) used Red Matter to create a black hole in the Romulan star system just as its sun was about to go supernova. The idea was that the black hole would suck up the exploding star like a vacuum cleaner and save the Romulan homeworld. No, the actual astral physics don't many any sense, but this is what they went with.
Spock did suck up the supernova with his black hole, but he was too late to save Romulus. The black hole, it turns out, was also a portal through time, and Spock is sucked in and deposited about a century in the past. Following Spock through the time hole is a bitter Romulan named Nero (Eric Bana), incensed that Spock failed his mission and let Romulus be destroyed. Nero arrives in the past as well, but at a point about 25 years before Spock (time portals are unpredictable). Nero spends 25 years waiting for Spock, stoking his ever-growing desire for vengeance. Nero will eventually, after decades of waiting, steal Spock's Red Matter and set about a planet-destroying scheme of revenge.
The 2009 "Star Trek" was also the second "Star Trek" film in a row to feature a wrathful, revenge-bent villain. Nero is not a terribly interesting character, emerging more as a pulpy caricature than a nuanced, angry person. J.J. Abrams agrees with the assessment and said as much in the invaluable oral history book "The Fifty-Year Mission: The Next 25 Years: From The Next Generation to J. J. Abrams," edited by Mark A. Altman and Edward Gross. Abrams wishes he had given Bana more.
Just fiddling around
Abrams admitted that casting was going to be an enormous challenge for his "Star Trek." His film is set largely prior to the events of the original 1966 TV series and catches up with the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise as they meet for the first time as 20-somethings. Abrams was going to have to find young actors who could forge their own identities in iconic roles, but also pay respect to the original cast. The film did a fair job of reinventing but also retaining the original characters with a case that included Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldaña, Karl Urban, John Cho, Simon Pegg, and Anton Yelchin. As a villainous Romulan, Eric Bana was excellent casting, given the actors talents and abilities to communicate a brash, gruff demeanor (watch the 2000 film "Chopper").
But Bana was, by Abrams' own admission, not given a lot to work with:
"Our first 'Star Trek' movie was, if anything, an exercise in perfection of casting. April Webster and Alyssa Weisberg helped us find the absolutely perfect actors. I'm proud of its telling and humor, but of course only see what's wrong with it. Among other things, I wish we had given Eric Bana a bit more to do other than be full of rage, given that he is such a fine actor."
Nero's dialogue consists of old action movie cliches like "I want Spock dead now!" and "I would rather die in agony than accept assistance from you!" He's angry that his planet exploded, but Bana never gets a moment to express anything other than pure rage.
Bana has indicated he had a positive experience making "Star Trek" and has no regrets. He saw Nero as understandable and relatable. The actor didn't have the same misgivings as his director.