May 17, 2013


In simple terms, the 12th installment of the Star Trek franchise, directed by J.J. Abrams, is full of effects and action, and surprisingly a pretty decent plot. Was it better than the first resurrected Trek film, hard to say. It was fun, don’t get me wrong, it’s just hard to compare, which I guess people shouldn’t, since Star Trek films usually are stand-alone. And the end of this leaves a lot to make more sequels.



We begin the Class M planet of Nibiru. The crew of the USS Enterprise, run by Captain James T. Kirk (Chris Pine) and First Officer Spock (Zachary Quinto), is tasked with observing a primitive civilization, but Spock interferes when learning the planet is in danger of extinction. Both he, and later on Kirk when he has to save him, break the Primitive Directive, when they reveal themselves to the inhabitants. While they are reprimanded at the Starfleet headquarters in San Francisco, half way around the world, a former Starfleet agent John Harrison (Benedict Cumberbatch) has bombed a secret command center in London. As the commanders of the Starfleet gather to discuss a plan of action, Harrison attacks the meeting and kills several officers.



Though demoted, Kirk is soon given back his ship and has direct orders to find Harrison on the Klingon planet of Kronos, where he has fled, and kill him. Before the crew departs, the ship has 72 top secret torpedoes delivered, which Kirk is told can be used to wipe out Harrison. Upon landing on Kronos, Kirk, Spock and Uhura (Zoe Saldana) are attacked by Klingons, but soon saved by Harrison. Having been convinced by Spock, Kirk agrees to capture Harrison, instead of kill him.



Back on the ship, the crew soon learns that Harrison is Khan, a genetically engineered warrior, awakened from a cryosleep to develop advanced weapons for war against the Klingon Empire. While at first Kirk teams up with Khan to help save his crew, Khan soon shows his true colors and the team must race against the failing Enterprise in order to save themselves and the world.



Though the plot might seem simple, it was quite entertaining with some twists in there. I’m sure avid Trek fans might have a lot to say about this, with the franchise bringing back the Klingons and Khan. The ending was quite fun, with the crew embarking on a five-year exploration of space, which is what the Starfleet is essentially made for. This will open up a lot for future films, which is pretty exciting.



Pine and Quinto play pretty good Kirk and Spock characters. Pine’s playboy banter as Kirk, goes well with Quinto’s deadpan, emotionless Vulcan. I found Saldana’s Uhura quite distracting in this film, with her whining about Spock ‘not caring’ about their relationship. Everyone knows Vulcans don’t show emotions! Get over it.

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Since it’s a big blockbuster film, see it in the theater. And as always, skip the IMax and 3-D. If those two items were significantly cheaper, I’d say go for it, but with the high prices, just seeing it on the big screen is awesome enough.