You’d think that after five television series, a total of 28 seasons and 704 episodes; 22 animated episodes, ten movies, thirty computer games and more that a thousand books and ebooks there can be very little added to a franchise as popular and well explored as Star Trek. J.J. Abrahams proved us wrong. He boldly went where no man has gone before and brought us a movie that perfectly fit into the mythos of the Star Trek Universe.
Star Trek hits your screen at warp speed, photon torpedoes blazing and in the process beams scifi fans to Trekkie heaven. All the favourites are there, from the bridge of the Enterprise to the characters we all came to know and love and although they are all reminiscent of the elements we fell in love with, there is something fresh about them, something new.
The film starts off when a strange Romulan spacecraft emerges from a lightning storm, and attacks the USS Kelvin, killing the captain, Robau in the process. Acting Captain George Kirk manages to get most of the crew to safety, including his wife who at that moment is giving birth to their son, James Tiberius Kirk.
The film briefly touches on the childhood lives of James Kirk (Chris Pine) and the young half Vulcan, half human, Spock (Zachary Quinto) before moving on to their time at the Starfleet Academy. While there they are ordered to go on a rescue mission to the planet Vulcan.
Vulcan, it seems, is under attack by the same Romulan spacecraft that killed James’ father. Spock and Kirk will have to get over their differences and their various personal issues and learn to work together in order to save the world.
We get to meet all our favourite characters from communications officer Uhura (Zoe Saldana) and pilot Sulu (John Cho) to Bones (Karl Urban) and Chekhov (Anton Yelchin) and even Scotty (Simon Pegg). Leonard Nimoy reprises his role as the Spock from the original films, giving us one of the most touching scenes of the movie, when young Spock meets his future counterpart.
The storyline is simple but flawless in its execution. Gripping from start to finish, this film is much more than a simple reboot of an old franchise aimed at diehard fans. Utilising the tried and tested plot device of time travel, Abrahams, along with the writers Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman and Gene Roddenberry created an alternate timeline in which they were the masters. This gave them the option of using elements from the other films that will resonate with die hard fans, but it also gave them a clean slate to work from so that any newcomer to the franchise could still watch and enjoy the show without having any of the backstory.
The film was nominated for a Grammy Award for best score and received four Academy Award nominations for Best Make Up, Best Visual Effects, Best Sound Effects, and Best Sound Effects Editing.
This movie is a definite gem and it is sure to introduce the next generation to the world of Star Trek.
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