J.J. Abrams’ reboot of the iconic franchise injects new vitality into the tired space saga. It deals briefly with the early life of James T. Kirk (Chris Pine), introduces the other key characters and effectively ends where Gene Roddenberry’s 1960s TV series begins.
Kirk is established as a super-confident, highly talented liability who ends up captaining the Enterprise. In parallel the film explores his relationship with – and the character of – the young Spock (Zachary Quinto). In particular, it probes the psychological complexity of his half-Vulcan, half-human origins. Does he have emotions or doesn’t he? Leonard Nimoy also appears as the older Spock, explained via a complicated time-travel narrative.
The character of Uhura (Zoe Saldana) is better developed than it was in the TV show, and Simon Pegg adds extra quirkiness to Scotty.
The effects are remarkable and the large-scale space scenes look impressive.
The only real flaw is that the villains – the tattooed Romulans – aren’t especially convincing. For baddies to be scary they need to seem real.
That aside, it’s a highly entertaining romp.
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