Star Trek (2009) Sci-Fi / Action

Star Trek (2009) - Director J. J. Abrams creates an alternate timeline where Star Trek can live without all the baggage of the past while still respecting those past stories. After some origin stories for Kirk and Spock we get into the meat.

In this time travel tale we see an alternate version of how the crew comes together in Star Fleet. All ending up at the academy and then after a crisis calls the cadets to service early to the starship Enterprise. There was plenty of lore for Trekies and a compelling story of revenge to create a good action movie.

In this one I do not need to complain about the certain outcome because frankly I was too occupied with my geeking out about the crew to feel the inevitable success and tidy wrap up of the story. I was taken out a couple time by the silly comedy bits thrown in to break up what was a fairly tense story. First was Kirk getting on the Enterprise with the help of McCoy who injects him with a vaccine that will make him seem sick so McCoy can take him to sickbay. The Mickey Mouse hands and other symptoms were dumb. It happens just when the tension needs to be ramping up and cuts that in a negative way. There is also a sequence when Scotty is transported into a cooling tank and Kirk frantically tries to get him out as he travels the tubes holding his breath. It is played for comedy but I did not like the timing. Nero (Eric Bana ), a Romulan who in the future watched his planet destroyed by a supernova and blames Future Spock for not acting quickly enough to stop it. Both Future Spock and Nero are pull into the impossibly quick to develop Black hole that the Supernova becomes and are transported back in time instead of obliterated by the pressures of entering a black hole. Nero has a plan to destroy Vulcan to punish Spock by making sure he is in a position to watch but not stop it. The story was decent enough and the pacing was excellent a real tribute to Abrams. The cast was very capable and captured the essence of the original characters without over doing it.

Kirk (Chris Pine)- Right on as the younger more rebellious James T Kirk. I loved at the end when he nailed an imitation of the William Shatner Kirk entering the bridge.

Future Spock (Leonard Nemoy) - This is Spock, All Hail Spock!
Currant Spock (Zachary Quinto) - Played nicely with a bit more emotion which is appropriate in the Spock timeline and besides he is banging Uhura, that's bound to illicit some emotion.

Uhura (Zoe Saldana) - More outfront than in the series and well played. I liked that her confrontation of Spock about ship assignment she won with logic very appropriate.

Scotty (Simon Pegg) - Too tiny a role. Real shame.

Bones McCoy (Carl Urban) - The most right on portrayal that was living and breathing McCoy. It was just a joy to watch.

Checkov (Anton Yelchin) - eh, mostly just okay.
Sulu (John Cho) - Okay I guess, did you know Sulu fences?

Rating (8.2)