Now you can own the latest in the Trek franchise

Cocksure and impetuous James T Kirk (Chris Pine) enrols at Starfleet Academy, making an instant friend in Dr Leonard McCoy (Karl Urban). Some of the other recruits prove more difficult to win over, especially Spock (Zachary Quinto), until a Romulan attack on the Vulcan homeland unites the young men and women.

With Captain Christopher Pike (Bruce Greenwood) at the helm, crew members Uhura (Zoe Saldana), Chekhov (Anton Yelchin) and Sulu (John Cho) guide the pristine USS Enterprise into battle against Romulan warship captain Nero (Eric Bana). The wily villain has a few tricks up his sleeve, pushing poor Spock to the brink as he races against time to save his father and mother.

Star Trek is a big-budget re-imagining of the series, which breathes new life into the iconic characters. Ardent fans of the universe created by Gene Roddenberry in the early 1970s will take issue with some changes, including the introduction of a forbidden romance and a time-travelling narrative thread. The new Star Trek also lacks an imposing villain, and two hours simply isn't long enough to establish all of the crew in enough detail.

But like the first X-Men, JJ Abrams's film is a solid building block for the future. Action sequences are orchestrated at breakneck speed, enlivened with slick digital effects. However, a monstrous interlude on a snow-laden planet, recalling The Empire Strikes Back, is unnecessary. Pine inhabits his role with authority, but it is Quinto's portrayal of the emotionally-conflicted first officer, struggling to control the rage within, which lingers in the memory.


- Star Trek. Out now on DVD from Dh65

 

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