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Plot: Jim Kirk, Spock, Uhura and the other original Star Trek series characters take the Enterprise to battle a Romulan, who is destroying the Federation planets to get revenge. The movie begins with Kirk's parents and shows a snippet from Kirk's rebellious childhood. Kirk then joins Star Fleet and ends up in a key role during a crisis. There is an elaborate plot twist where Spock meets his older self, and a rivalry between Kirk and Spock.
Review: The movie is fun, stylish and modern. The actors take these established characters and make them new. We get to know them and like them. The movie is best appreciated by fans who know the backstory already and want to see it illustrated for them. The plot is serviceable, but the Romulan villian is just an excuse to get the crew together.
I saw the IMAX version. It is a great place to see a movie.
The strongest part of the film is the cast. Pine's Kirk may be unlikeable, but it is a fine performance. Quinto's Spock steals the show. Urban's McCoy, Saldana's Uhura, and Yelchin's Chekov are the reasons this movie is enjoyable.
I am cool on this movie because I don't like the mythology of Kirk -- I don't like that this brash, lazy, cheating, full-of-himself guy is rewarded with great success when all the young geniuses around him are subordinate. In this movie, it is predestined the Kirk is going to be the Captain, so all the little outrages just seem like so many unbelievable plot twists.
I know you see the same talent thing in James Bond or Batman, and I don't care, but I think it is worse here. I don't believe in in-borne talent or the "great man" theory of history; see my other post on this topic.
I know most of the fans like the Star Trek music and the overblown "Space - the final fronter" blank verse that Nemoy reads at the end. This franchise legacy should have been far more subtle. Look, I watched the first TV episode of Star Trek on television, so no one has been a fan longer than I, but I don't find all this nostalgia appealing. I would like more re-invention and less Star Teck cliche'.
Cast and crew: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Eric Bana; directed by J.J. Abrams.
Rating:
More: A good summer movie. Fun for fans. Great cast, but Kirk is a jerk.
