Film File - Star Trek

The adventure begins with a young crew"s maiden voyage onboard the most advanced starship ever created: the U.S.S. Enterprise. In a journey of intrigue and cosmic peril, the new recruits must find a way to stop an evil being whose mission of vengeance threatens all of mankind. So far, so predictable. The fate of the galaxy rests in the hands of bitter rivals born worlds apart. One, James Tiberius Kirk (Chris Pine), a delinquent, thrill-seeking Iowa farm boy, a natural-born leader in search of a cause. The other, Spock (Zachary Quinto), grows up on the planet Vulcan, an outcast due to his half-human background, which makes him susceptible to the volatile emotions that Vulcans have long lived without, but an ingenious, determined student, who will become the first of his kind accepted into the Starfleet Academy. While Kirk and Spock could not be more different with their drastically opposite styles, they also become defiant, contentious adversaries, each equally unimpressed with the other, each going all out to be among the special few chosen to join the crew of the Enterprise. The crew is headed by Captain Christopher Pike (Bruce Greenwood); the ship"s Medical Officer Leonard 'Bones" McCoy (Karl Urban); the ship"s Chief Engineer, Montgomery 'Scotty" Scott (Simon Pegg); Communications Officer Uhura (Zoë Saldana); experienced Helmsman Sulu (John Cho); and the 17-year-old whiz kid Chekov (Anton Yelchin). In its 40-year history, Star Trek has carved out an iconic place in modern pop culture. With the indelible opening words of the original 1960s television series, 'Space, the Final Frontier," the show was not a hit when it first aired, but later caught on like wildfire among the ever-growing legion of fans who responded to its compellingly funny, contentious, charismatic personalities and its mission to peacefully engage new worlds and cultures. How did that mission begin? What brought together this disparate group of brash, brilliant, ambitious young men and women and drove them to explore new frontiers? And how did they forge that special chemistry and sense of purpose that would inspire so many discoveries and fantastic adventures for years and even centuries to come? For director/producer J.J. Abrams, going back to the beginning after more than six television series and ten feature films was the only way to forge into the future. His vision was to literally start fresh, beginning with James T. Kirk and his First Officer, Spock"s advancement in the Starfleet Academy and their extraordinary first journey together. 'I always felt there was something that had not been done with Star Trek,' said Abrams. 'What I hope with this movie is that you never have to have seen anything about Star Trek before to really enjoy a comical, romantic, suspenseful adventure.' While many anticipated a total re-boot from Abrams, he opted to go in an unexpected direction, heading way back into the untold story of the 23rd century launch of the Enterprise. Starting from that base, the core of Abrams" film imagines the never-before-seen youth of Kirk and Spock - the idea of two wholly opposite men coming together like two lost halves and embarking on a perilous mission in a way neither one could have alone. As the brains behind hit shows like Lost, Fringe and Alias, as well as films like Cloverfield and Mission Impossible 3, Abrams has become the golden-touch Spielberg of modern visual entertainment. Much of his reputation rests on the success of Star Trek - and it seems a reputation well intact based on the finished product. Breathing new life into a film franchise that had spluttered somewhat in its last few outings, Abrams is the right man in the right place for a franchise ready to travel a few more galaxies yet before the Enterprise is put in mothballs. Packed with terrific action sequences, a storyline that, while chronologically complex, is snappy and well edited, plus a cast who"ve stepped into large shoes without any apparent difficulties. Zachary Quinto makes a perfect Spock, a tough call given he acts in a number of scenes opposite Leonard Nimoy - the original of the species. Similarly, Chris Pine as Kirk manages much of William Shatner"s swaggering personality while still investing the role with a youthful smarts well aimed at a new audience. Eric Bana as the Romulan Nero, the villain of the piece, is the vengeful and menacing ogre required of any decent Star Trek baddie, and UK actor Simon Pegg as Scotty is a revelation of humour and warmth the recently deceased original would surely approve of. While adhering to the good versus evil ethos that permeates all Trek films, Abrams drives the narrative through the initial conflict and slow burning friendship of Kirk and Spock. Clearly respectful of creator Gene Roddenberry"s original vision, the director takes the film into a whole new orbit where massive orbital explosions compete for our attention with the multiple Enterprise personalities, all of whom acquit themselves with aplomb. A visually breathtaking spectacle, Star Trek is a great outing for all ages enhanced by Michael Giacchino"s dramatic and diverse music score. This one definitely goes boldly where no-one has before. Welcome back, boys.