Star Trek

Star Trek (2008) starring Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Eric Bana, Simon Pegg, Karl Urban, Zoe Saldana, John Cho, Bruce Greenwood and Anton Yelchin

Before...I had high expectations of this film, with JJ Abrams at the helm how could it go wrong. A fan himself of the series he seemed to want to create an origins story of the crew, something that hadn't been done before. Although I had high expectations of the film that does not mean I was not nervous about certain things, eg the trailer showing Spock getting very angry indeed...surely that is not right?!?! Anyway although I was nervous about a few thins I still was thoroughly excited at the prospect of a reboot of a series!

James T Kirk (Pine) has grown up in his father's shadow. George Kirk died at the helm of USS Kelvin saving countless lives in the process. It is only when Captain Pike (Greenwood) pulls him out of a bar brawl where Kirk is fighting over Uhura (Saldana) and suggests that he joins Starfleet. Kirk does and one of the first people he meets is Leonard "Bones" McCoy, the two become quick friends. Spock goes against his fathers wishes and joins Starfleet instead of the Vulcan Science Academy. We also are introduced to Scotty (Pegg), Sulu (Chou) and Chekov(Yelchin). The bad guy involved in the film is Nero, a Romulan intent on getting his revenge on Starfleet.

From the start of this film you can tll it is going to be different to other Star Trek films that have come before. Not only do we get so much back story you feel giddy with excitement, but you also are given action-sequences that are relevant to the plot. The action-packed plot is the first Star Trek film that presents us with meaningful sequences, whether it is George Kirk being attacked by Nero or a young Kirk being chased by a cop. Each of the action sequences has relevance to the plot, and for 127mins the tension and action-packed feel is kept up brilliantly. If you are wanting a film where you can pop to the loo half way through this is not the film for you.

Not only is the action brilliantly choreographed and flows excellently but JJ Abrams has created characters that ooze charisma. Each and everyone of the core characters have been fantastically written and as a way of introducing a lot of characters. A fantastically stunning introduction movie, the only other movie that did it this good was X-men. Not only is it able to cope with a large and varied cast but also each of the characters is presented in a way that does not diminish the rest. The only character that doesn’t get as much on-screen time as he could have is Chekov. The time that he does have on-screen portrays him more as the comic role. Although in the original movies he did have this role, I would be intrigued to see him developed more as a character as the films progress. Yes you did just read films. Each of the characters has signed up for at least three films, though they are all dependent on whether they do well or not, but going on how successful this first one is becoming I look forward to Star Trek reboot 2 and 3!

The film balances action and plot perfectly, however I know that there is still room to improve more, especially as the audience gets to know the characters more. And because there is room for improvement that is why I am giving it 4 stars. Like with X-men, I look forward to Star Trek 2 in the hope that it can match the heights that X2 brought!

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆