Engage! If you haven't seen Star Trek yet I've only got one thing to say...go! Brought to you by J.J. Abrams, the director of Cloverfield, this reboot of the classic series is incredible. The casting is by far the greatest strength of Star Trek. The characters are all very familiar to the original cast, yet each one is unique to the actor portraying them. I have always liked Star Trek in all it's forms; my Mom was a fan of the original series and we owned all the original cast films. I also grew up with The Next Generation, so the characters and many of the references were easy for me to grasp. However, many have not been exposed to Star Trek, much less the original series, so this part's for you!
James T. Kirk is Captain of the U.S.S. Enterprise, a starship capable of faster than light travel. Under the command of Starfleet, the peace keeping armada of the universe, the Enterprise travels to distant worlds and other unknowns in space to: "seek out new life and new civilizations; to boldly go where no one has gone before." During it's travels the Enterprise routinely encounters hostile alien forces and other dangerous situations. With the help of his crew, Captain Kirk overcomes the odds, breaks a few Starfleet commands, and is a hero. The ship's First Officer is Spock, an alien who relys on logic and is capable of entering your mind known as a Vulcan. His Chief Medical Officer is Dr. McCoy, aka 'Bones', a surly and bizarre man who will follow Kirk anywhere. Chief Engineer Scott, aka 'Scottie', keeps the Enterprise running while constantly pushing her to the limit. At the helm of the ship is Sulu, a man of Asian descent skilled in martial arts, he's also a terrific pilot. Navigating beside him is Chekov, a Russian with a very thick accent. Rounding out the members of the bridge is Uhura, the communications officer and the best thing to look at inside the ship. Uhura is an African-American woman, as Gene Roddenberry, the creator, wanted to show a future where there were no boundaries between men and women or different races...including aliens.
Abrams' reboot brings the whole cast back: Kirk (Chris Pine), Spock (Zachary Quinto), Bones (Karl Urban), Mr. Scott (Simon Pegg), Sulu (John Cho), Chekov (Anton Yelchin), and Uhura (Zoe Saldana). James Tiberius Kirk is born seconds before his father sacrifices himself in order to save the lives of those who abandoned his ship after being attacked by an alien ship commanded by Nero (Eric Bana). Growing up he constantly gets into trouble, and when he is old enough he is approached by Captain Pike of Starfleet, who convinces him to enlist in the Starfleet Academy. Three years later the cadets are excited to finish training and start working aboard a starship. All want to be on the Enterprise, Starfleet's newest and most advanced starship.
A distress signal sparks a rescue mission that turns into a slaughter and only the Enterprise makes it out in one piece. During the fray the members of the Enterprise begin to take on the roles they have been in for countless missions during the classic TV series. Their goal is to stop the Romulan Nero, who intends on destroying Spock's home planet of Vulcan, as well as Earth. It is up to Kirk, Spock, and the rest of the Enterprise to save the day.
Stunning action sequences with incredible angles and shots, a fabulous script that is surprisingly funny, and a rich history to pick and choose from. I hope they keep making more of these movies. One of the best science fiction films I have ever seen, and that's saying a lot. That's all for now, beam me up Scottie!
The Movie Doc
