Pure Summer Entertainment Lives on in J.J. Abrams’ ‘Star Trek’

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CHICAGO – It will be a stunning surprise if the summer of 2009 produces another slice of movie entertainment as satisfying and well-made as J.J. Abrams rollicking “Star Trek” reboot, a film that not only delivers on high expectations but shatters them by clicking on every single level.

Rating: 5.0/5.0

“Star Trek” features a character travelling through time (not a major spoiler…don’t write hate mail) and that’s exactly what writers Roberto Orci & Alex Kurtzman and director J.J. Abrams have done with their film, returning to the start but also injecting their own life into a dead franchise.

Read Brian Tallerico’s full review of “Star Trek” in our reviews section.

The film opens with an attack on a Federation ship that happens to have among its crew members the man who would be the father of the king of the Trekker world - Kirk. His son James Tiberius is born on an escape pod as his dad crashes into a gigantic Romulan vessel. Years later, a rebellious young Kirk (Chris Pine) is recruited for Starfleet Academy by Captain Pike (Bruce Greenwood), a man who knew his father and sees the same leadership skills in the new cadet.

In the blink of an eye, Kirk is aboard the Enterprise and dealing with a universal crisis that could mean the end of Earth. I wouldn’t dare ruin the surprises of this clever script, but Kirk is, naturally, joined by Spock (Zachary Quinto), Uhura (Zoe Saldana), Sulu (John Cho), Chekhov (Anton Yelchin), Bones (Karl Urban) and Scotty (Simon Pegg).

Continuing reading for Brian Tallerico’s full “Star Trek” review.

Chekov (Anton Yelchin), James T. Kirk (Chris Pine), Scotty (Simon Pegg), Bones (Karl Urban), Sulu (John Cho), and Uhura (Zoë Saldana) in "Star Trek."
Photo credit: Paramount