Star Trek (2009)

"Dammit, man! I'm a doctor, not a physicist!"
 

James T. Kirk (Pine) is reckless, but intelligent young man.  After a brief conversation with Captain Pike (Greenwood), who served in Starfleet with his late father, Kirk decides to follow in his father's footsteps and join the Starfleet Academy.  Three years later he is still trying to prove his worth, by taking the Kobayahi Maru for a third time.  Kirk outmaneuvers the simulation, and is brought before a disciplinary council by the creator of the test, Spock (Quinto).  During the trial, the Academy receives a distress signal from Vulcan, and the cadets are mobilized for a rescue mission.

Captain Pike is the commander of the USS Enterprise, a new ship, with the most promising cadets serving on his crew.  Kirk realizes it is a trap, and warns Pike before they arrive at Vulcan.  Pike is called aboard the attacking Romulan ship, captained by Nero (Bana).  He leaves Spock in charge, with specific orders for a rescue mission.  Can the cadets come together to save they day, or are they doomed to watch Nero destroy all they hold dear?


The original "Star Trek" TV series has cult status.  It was ahead of it's time and influenced technological advances... and made stars of the original cast, who will always be associated with the characters they played.  Besides the show, there were numerous "Star Trek" films that featured the original cast.

In the 1980s "Star Trek: The Next Generation" was on TV, with a new cast (this is the Star Trek I am most familiar with).  In the 1990s it was "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" and "Star Trek: Voyager."  And finally in the 2000s it was "Star Trek: Enterprise."

This film returns the series to it's roots, with the original characters... but with a twist.  The opening sequence of the film changes everything you know about the series, giving the filmmakers the ability to give you the characters you know and love, with some twists.  It also gave them the freedom to recast these iconic characters, without forcing the cast to duplicate the original portrayals.  Each actor makes the part their own, without forgetting the original portrayal.

When this film was announced, I was not particularly interested.  I grew up with the "Star Trek: The Next Generation Series", but was not particularly attached.  I knew nothing about the original series, except for how it is mocked / revered in popular culture.  Despite the buzz surrounding this film, I never got around to watching it.  However, with the sequel Star Trek: Into Darkness premiering this year, my interested was piqued.  My boss raved about the film, so I borrowed it from my local public library and resolved to give it a shot.  But before I could do that, I wanted to get a taste of the original series.  So I watched 2 episodes from the first season, and then dove right into the film.

The film is well done: a nice mix of humor and sci-fi gadgetry.  It manages to update the TV show, while still feeling like the TV show.  It was the right time to update "Star Trek" with the right cast and right writer / director.

Star Trek (2009) 127 minutes
Rating: PG-13 for sci-fi action and violence, and brief sexual content
Director: J.J. Abrams
Starring: Chris Pine as James T. Kirk
Zachary Quinto as Spock
Bruce Greenwood as Captain Pike
Karl Urban as Dr. "Bones" McCoy
Zoe Saldana as Uhura
Simon Pegg as Scotty
John Cho as Hikaru Sulu
Anton Yelchin as Chekov
Eric Bana as Nero