Uber-nerd JJ Abrams (producer of Cloverfield, Lost, Alias) brings us back to the early days of Star Trek, when the Starship Enterprise had that new-car smell and Captain James T Kirk still had acne problems. With a fresh cast, including NZ’s Karl Urban and Simon Pegg as Scotty, this action-packed sci-fi epic reboots the franchise to the glory days of yore.
Story follows the maiden voyage of the USS Enterprise, and the new recruits' mission to stop an evil being whose mission of vengeance threatens all of mankind. But aboard the ship is a bitter rivalry: James T Kirk (Chris Pine), is a delinquent, thrill-seeking Iowa farm boy, whereas Spock (Zachary Quinto), was raised in a logic-based society that rejects all emotion. As fiery instinct clashes with calm reason, their unlikely partnership is the only thing capable of leading their crew through unimaginable danger.
Read our exclusive Karl Urban interview here.
See our 'Then and Now' feature, comparing the original and new cast.
I apologise, we feel bad, but there's no trailer available. ~Ed.
Boom. Star Trek is back. It’s action-packed, exciting, and visually spectacular – who would have thought that the dying sci-fi series could be resurrected into something this fun?
Director J.J. Abrams and his team have beaten preconceptions with this streamlined space epic, which will please long-term fans while entertaining newcomers. The film deftly balances amazing big scale spectacle (a thrilling skydive onto a drilling platform is a highlight) with character-based moments, adding plenty of humour, tension and even a hint of romance into the mix.
The film takes a while to get going after a noisy intro but once the crew take the bridge of the Enterprise it moves at warp speed, racing towards its conclusion so fast that the final battle is almost over before you know it. Visually, the film is '1960s meets Apple Store', captured with flare-heavy photography. Shame the budget doesn’t extend to the engine room scenes, which look like they were filmed overnight at a Fonterra factory.
The biggest surprise is NZ’s Karl Urban, who ditches his surly action-man routine to flex his humour and become a scene-stealer as Dr McCoy. Eric Bana’s Nero is a forgettable yet functional villain, a victim of a script burdened with too much set-up and not enough pay-off. But what a set-up! A Star Trek movie is now something worth looking forward to, and the sequel can’t come soon enough.
By Andrew Hedley, Flicks.co.nz
an alternate TREKKIE VERSE O K now that thats out of the way, I kinda liked it, it was good to see Leonard Nimoy in there that made the movie watchable for me & Zoe Saldana AKA Uhura is way Hot. The story was ok but it felt LESS Trekkie to me than most star trek movies.
Seeing as I am a self-confessed nerd, I only thought it right for me to dip my toes into the Star Trek 'verse... and now that I have, there's no going back! :D For me, the main thing is feeling some kind of connection with the characters - and man, I just LOVED these ones. Kirk, and McCoy are hilarious together - and I just adore Spock! Simon Pegg was a nice surprise, as I didn't know he was in this film - his accent... hehee. The perfect dose of Sci-fi, with everything you could want from a film. Go. See. It! :)
I didnt have much hope for the Star trek films never have but wow this is the best by a long shot a totally cool cast heaps of action and a dam good storyline this a movie I haved watched several times and seeing our Kiwi boy Karl Urban as bones and that funny line he say why hes called that I am so looking forward to the next one in anticipation
this was an amazing movie I saw it the first time today well the new one anyway but it was the best ever and I won't think twice if someone says do you want to go see it agian cause the answer it was just fantasic
Best Movie of the Year,Enough Said!!
I'll be surprised if I see a better blockbuster this year.
Odd-number curse be gone. The most exhilarating Trek to date marks a new future for Kirk and co. If this can boldly go on to seek out ideas to match its speed and style, a franchise is reborn.
Paced at warp speed with spectacular action sequences rendered brilliantly and with a cast so expert that all the familiar characters are instantly identifiable.
Near-brilliant reboot of the much-rejigged spaceship saga.
It has been made by lovers of Star Trek but they are not afraid to give us interesting new twists.
We've been told the NZ release date for this flick is Thursday, 7th May 2009.
Release date: May 7th 2009.
We haven't received times for this movie in this location yet. However these are updated as cinemas announce them, so check back soon. Hopefully the lovely cinemas in your location will choose to play it shortly. ~Ed.
