Star Trek

UK Release Date. 8 May 2009
Certification. 12A
Running Time. 2 hours 7 mins
Director. J.J. Abrams
Cast. Eric Bana, John Cho, Ben Cross, Bruce Greenwood, Chris Hemsworth, Leonard Nimoy, Simon Pegg, Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Winona Ryder, Zoe Saldaña, Karl Urban, Anton Yelchin.
Rating. 77%

Review.

Poor Olson. In a wonderful tribute to the original Star Trek series first screened on NBC in 1966, Chief Engineer Olson wore a red Starfleet shirt on a space jump to the surface of Vulcan. His fate was inevitable.  

The 2009 reboot of the Star Trek franchise was entrusted to J.J. Abrams, writer and director of the popular television series Alias and Lost. Having never been particularly drawn to the original television series created by Gene Roddenberry, or any of the subsequent spin-off films or next-generation iterations, I very much reviewed this film as a stand-alone piece of work.

First and foremost, there's an energy to Star Trek. Very much like its dynamic, sexy young cast, the film is fresh, fast-paced and confident. The action is relentless.

And without the reference point of William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, Nichelle Nichols, DeForest Kelley and George Takei, the cast performs admirably. Chris Pine pitches the bullish and rambunctious James T. Kirk perfectly, Zachary Quinto brings a wry charm to an otherwise sterile character and Zoe Saldaña simply oozes sexuality as the feisty Nyota Uhura. Only Eric Bana's Romulan villain, Captain Nero fails to hit the mark, as a somewhat dour and derivative adversary.

The film looks spectacular, particularly the evolution, and treatment, of the spacecraft. The space docking sequence was particularly impressive and the refresh of the energising teleportation mechanism is pleasing on the eye. But in contrast, there's a harshness to the interior lighting and an over-use of lens flare, to the point where the film is almost headache-inducing at times.

J.J. Abrams' handling of Star Trek will undoubtedly open up the franchise to a completely new audience. An audience that will approach beloved characters such as Captain Kirk, Mr Spock and Lieutenant Uhura with a fresh pair of eyes. In the capable hands of J.J. Abrams, I may just be willing to be part of that audience.