Plot
A ship of rogue Romulans return to seek revenge for the destruction of their race and come face-to-face with the USS Enterprise, crewed by a host of rookie space cadets. Can the brilliant Spok and his reckless shipmate James T. Kirk rise to the ocassion and save the day?
The Review
When did action movies suddenly become so much fun again? Recent outings have seen a dramatic shift from the conscience-laden, power-and-responsibility sulk-fests that dominated the landscape ever since Neo took that red pill back in 1999.
The last couple of years have seen the glorious return of the bombastic action sci-fi flick that goes beyond the characters’ emotional struggles and gets straight on with the ass-kicking, gag-a-minute, non-stop adrenaline rush that leaves you happy to be along for the ride.
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J.J Abrams (of Lost fame) 2009 reinvention of Star Trek, like Iron Man, and Die Hard 4 before that, is one of those movies. Kicking off at a breakneck pace with George Kirk’s short-lived, but deathly heroic command of the USS Kelvin, it never relents, with non-stop action, and absolutely brilliant CGI (the Enterprise itself is a work of art) throughout, it’s by far the most enjoyable action romp we’ve seen this year.
Zachary Quinto, who carved a magnificent niche as an eccentric intellectual as Heroes’ villain Sylar, was the perfect pick for Spok. The Vulcan-human hybrid is charming and a hilariously authentic throwback to Leonard Nimoy’s iconic character. While the relatively unknown Chris Pine is like William Shatner’s better looking, more charismatic, younger brother as the pair play off each other as well as the dynamic duo from the original series.
The absence of A-List egos gives the movie fantastic balance. Karl Urban’s Bones is a hoot, as is Simon Pegg as Scotty, while Chekov’s broken English is a giggle throughout. Zoe Saldana’s Uhura is sci-fi’s sexiest space adventurer since Caprica Six in Battlestar Galactica in this tour de force of an action movie.
While the Peter Parker-esque whining has been cast aside in this return to a 80s action ethos, Star Trek still has enough tender moments to warm the heart. Spok’s disregard for the Vulcan way of rational over emotional behaviour is a nice counter to the charming cocksure arrogance of Captain James Tiberius Kirk.
There’s a definite balance to be struck between Michael Bay’s pointless car-crash ethos and the depressing comic book adaptations since the turn of the century and Abram’s Star Trek does it perfectly. It’s everything that a modern action movie should be, while paying wonderful tribute to the source material. News of a sequel in 2011 almost makes us want to skip 2010 completely.
A Blu-ray buy?
If you’re going to splash out on any Blu-ray movie this Christmas, make it Star Trek. The visuals are absolutely incredible. We were lucky to see it in the IMAX originally and it feels like none of that experience has been lost here. It’s also packed with interesting extras and a bonus digital copy of the movie.
Link: Star Trek is available on DVD and Blu-ray from Play.com
