ALLAN HUNTER at the Movies

IT IS MORE than forty years since the U.S.S. Enterprise began to boldly go where no man had gone before. The science-fiction franchise has seen better days but receives a stunning injection of fresh energy and impetus with the shiny new J J Abrams feature film.

Abrams goes back to basics, telling the early story of the bond that was forged between the hot-headed Captain James T Kirk and the coolly rational Spock. Everything that was tired and familiar now seems fresh and dynamic in a breathless space-age adventure.

Abrams is clearly a fan, and treats this re-launch with tender loving care. The film is expertly cast and told with a compelling energy that quickly becomes infectious. There may not be much time for reflection or some of the social and political undercurrents of the original series but this is still a big screen spectacle that proves thoroughly entertaining.

Handsome Chris Pine is the new Kirk, a cocky rebel who is persuaded to apply for the Starfleet Academy. Zachary Quinto bears an uncanny resemblance to Leonard Nimoy as the half-human, half-Vulcan Spock, a rational being to balance Kirk’s gung-ho man of action. Naturally, there are conflicts to resolve before mutual respect can be taken for granted.

Old-school fans will admire the care that has gone into the casting and plotting of the new Star Trek. Karl Urban makes a wry ship’s medic as Leonard ‘Bones’ McCoy, Simon Pegg provides comic relief as Scotty and Zoe Saldana is a smart, commanding Uhura. There is a fiercesome baddie in Eric Bana’s Nemo and some trouble with the time-space continuum that allows the young Kirk to encounter the old Spock, played by Leonard Nimoy.

Fast-moving, edge-of-the-seat fare, Star Trek delivers everything that fans might have hoped for and should attract a whole new generation to the continuing voyages of the USS Enterprise.

Nationwide release

Director: J.J. Abrams
Cast: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Leonard Nimoy, Eric Bana, Bruce Greenwood, Karl Urban, Zoe Saldana, Simon Pegg
Screenwriters: Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman
Certificate: 12A
Running time: 126 mins
Country: US
Year: 2009

© Allan Hunter, 2009