Star Trek

May 16, 2009 - J.J. Abrams, the man behind the hit TV shows Alias and Lost, leaps onto the big screen by boldly imagining a new incarnation of Gene Roddenberry's classic sci-fi series, Star Trek. Chris Pine is a young James T. Kirk, Zachary Quinto (of Heroes) is young Spock and Zoe Saldana is young Uhura. Look for Ben Cross and Winona Ryder as Spock's parents. And, Leonard Nimoy reprises his role as Spock.

You could call this film "Star Trek: The Younger Generation." Abrams shows us how Kirk and company came to be on board the Enterprise and how they came to be the crack crew we know and love. The plot is a little hard to follow but, basically, it centers on a renegade Romulan miner named Nero who blames Spock for the destruction of his home planet. The miner is now determined to get revenge on Spock and on the Federation by destroying planets near and dear to their hearts.

To counter this threat, the Federation rushes its newest starship, Enterprise, into service. Captain Pike (Bruce Greenwood) is at the helm with Spock, Uhura, Sulu and Chekov on board. Kirk is not part of the crew, but Dr. McCoy sneaks him onto the ship, and young Kirk quickly proves his worth and proves that he belongs in the captain's chair.

Overall review: *** This fast-paced film has more than enough action and humor to overcome the convoluted plot. The actors are well-cast as younger versions of their iconic selves, but they also manage to take their characters in new, unexpected directions. I don't know if a sequel is planned, but I hope so. This was one wild ride.