SCREEN IT! PARENTAL REVIEW: STAR TREK

"STAR TREK"
(2009) (Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto) (PG-13)

Alcohol/ Drugs	Blood/Gore	Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude	Frightening/ Tense Scenes	Guns/ Weapons
Mild	Mild	Extreme	*Moderate	Extreme

Imitative Behavior	Jump Scenes	Music (Scary/Tense)	Music (Inappropriate)	Profanity
Moderate	None	Extreme	*None	Mild

Sex/ Nudity	Smoking	Tense Family Scenes	Topics To Talk About	Violence
Heavy	None	Heavy	Moderate	Extreme

QUICK TAKE:: Sci-fi: The young and relatively inexperienced crew of a starship must set off on a rescue mission when a madman goes on an intergalactic spree of revenge.

PLOT:

In this "origins" look at the beginnings of the story of the Starship U.S.S. Enterprise and her crew, young James Tiberius Kirk is born just moments before his father, George Kirk (CHRIS HEMSWORTH), sacrifices himself to save everybody onboard the U.S.S. Kelvin that's just come under attack. The perpetrator is Romulan Captain Nero (ERIC BANA) who's out to avenge the death of his wife, child and others, for which he fully blames Ambassador Spock (LEONARD NIMOY).

Decades later, Kirk (CHRIS PINE) has grown up into a brash and impulsive young man in Iowa with a thing for bucking authority and hitting on pretty, young women such as Nyota Uhura (ZOE SALDANA), who wants nothing to do with him. The latter results in a bar fight between Kirk and some Starfleet Academy enrollees, only to be broken up by Captain Christopher Pike (BRUCE GREENWOOD). He sees untapped if unrefined potential in the young man, and eventually convinces him to attend the academy.

Yet, three years later, Kirk's impulsive behavior has kept him from being called to duty on any ship, particularly due to clashing with young academy instructor Spock (ZACHARY QUINTO). Having grown up bullied by his Vulcan brethren for having a Vulcan father and human mother, and trying to balance that internal combination of logic and emotion, Spock has little patience for Kirk and his ways of breaking the rules in order to win. But when a distress call comes from Vulcan and the yet-to-christened U.S.S. Enterprise is called into duty, Kirk ends up onboard, thanks to his medical officer friend, Leonard "Bones" McCoy (KARL URBAN), who induces a fake illness to pull that off.

Along with Pike and Spock, Kirk encounters the rest of the crew, including communications expert Uhura, helmsmen Hikaru Sulu (JOHN CHO), and navigator Pavel Chekov (ANTON YELCHIN). Upon arriving at Vulcan, Pike and his crew realize the planet as well as several Federation starships are under attack by Nero and his technologically advanced warship.

When things go badly there, Kirk ends up banished on an ice planet where he not only meets engineering expert Montgomery "Scotty" Scott (SIMON PEGG) but also a much older and wiser Spock, who gives him the lowdown on what's occurring. From that point on, Kirk does what he must to gain control of the Enterprise and prove his worth by defeating Nero and saving the day.

WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT?: It's a good bet many will (especially if they're Trek or just sci-fi movie fans) as this will likely be one of the big summer movies of 2009.

WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: PG-13: For sci-fi action and violence, and brief sexual content.

CAST AS ROLE MODELS:: CHRIS PINE plays the cocky, impulsive, and brash young man with a problem with authority and rule following, until Pike convinces him to do something with his life. Even so, his manner and methods clash with Spock as he tries to resolve the situation and save lives. He also uses some profanity, and earlier on comes on to Uhura and ends up fooling around with her roommate, drinks, and gets into several fights.
ZACHARY QUINTO plays the Starfleet Academy instructor who clashes with Kirk from the get-go, puts him on training suspension, and must deal with him onboard the Enterprise during moments of crisis. Half human and half Vulcan, he must contend with the constant clash between emotion and logic within him. He's also romantically involved with Uhura, and briefly fights with Kirk when he lets emotion get the better of him.
ERIC BANA plays the former Romulan miner turned deadly vigilante who wants to avenge his wife, child and others whose deaths he blames on the Federation and Spock. He's responsible for billions of deaths.
BRUCE GREENWOOD plays the captain of the Enterprise on her maiden voyage, a rescue mission to Vulcan. He's the first one to see potential in Kirk (years earlier) and encourages him to do something good with his life.
KARL URBAN plays the medical officer -- sarcastically pessimistic yet loyal and friendly -- who creates an illness in Kirk to get him onboard the Enterprise.
ZOE SALDANA plays the communications expert onboard the Enterprise who's Spock's girlfriend and isn't happy to see Kirk join them, based on her earlier encounters with him (at a bar where she was ordering drinks for herself and others).
SIMON PEGG plays an engineering expert who's happy to be removed from a remote Federation outpost to be brought onboard the Enterprise. He uses some brief profanity.
JOHN CHO plays the helmsmen who accompanies Kirk on a dangerous mission to take out Nero's massive drill device.
ANTON YELCHIN plays the teenage Russian navigator onboard who turns out to be quite knowledgeable with the transporter device (and thus saves people's lives).; ZACHARY QUINTO plays the Starfleet Academy instructor who clashes with Kirk from the get-go, puts him on training suspension, and must deal with him onboard the Enterprise during moments of crisis. Half human and half Vulcan, he must contend with the constant clash between emotion and logic within him. He's also romantically involved with Uhura, and briefly fights with Kirk when he lets emotion get the better of him.
ERIC BANA plays the former Romulan miner turned deadly vigilante who wants to avenge his wife, child and others whose deaths he blames on the Federation and Spock. He's responsible for billions of deaths.
BRUCE GREENWOOD plays the captain of the Enterprise on her maiden voyage, a rescue mission to Vulcan. He's the first one to see potential in Kirk (years earlier) and encourages him to do something good with his life.
KARL URBAN plays the medical officer -- sarcastically pessimistic yet loyal and friendly -- who creates an illness in Kirk to get him onboard the Enterprise.
ZOE SALDANA plays the communications expert onboard the Enterprise who's Spock's girlfriend and isn't happy to see Kirk join them, based on her earlier encounters with him (at a bar where she was ordering drinks for herself and others).
SIMON PEGG plays an engineering expert who's happy to be removed from a remote Federation outpost to be brought onboard the Enterprise. He uses some brief profanity.
JOHN CHO plays the helmsmen who accompanies Kirk on a dangerous mission to take out Nero's massive drill device.
ANTON YELCHIN plays the teenage Russian navigator onboard who turns out to be quite knowledgeable with the transporter device (and thus saves people's lives).; ERIC BANA plays the former Romulan miner turned deadly vigilante who wants to avenge his wife, child and others whose deaths he blames on the Federation and Spock. He's responsible for billions of deaths.
BRUCE GREENWOOD plays the captain of the Enterprise on her maiden voyage, a rescue mission to Vulcan. He's the first one to see potential in Kirk (years earlier) and encourages him to do something good with his life.
KARL URBAN plays the medical officer -- sarcastically pessimistic yet loyal and friendly -- who creates an illness in Kirk to get him onboard the Enterprise.
ZOE SALDANA plays the communications expert onboard the Enterprise who's Spock's girlfriend and isn't happy to see Kirk join them, based on her earlier encounters with him (at a bar where she was ordering drinks for herself and others).
SIMON PEGG plays an engineering expert who's happy to be removed from a remote Federation outpost to be brought onboard the Enterprise. He uses some brief profanity.
JOHN CHO plays the helmsmen who accompanies Kirk on a dangerous mission to take out Nero's massive drill device.
ANTON YELCHIN plays the teenage Russian navigator onboard who turns out to be quite knowledgeable with the transporter device (and thus saves people's lives).; BRUCE GREENWOOD plays the captain of the Enterprise on her maiden voyage, a rescue mission to Vulcan. He's the first one to see potential in Kirk (years earlier) and encourages him to do something good with his life.
KARL URBAN plays the medical officer -- sarcastically pessimistic yet loyal and friendly -- who creates an illness in Kirk to get him onboard the Enterprise.
ZOE SALDANA plays the communications expert onboard the Enterprise who's Spock's girlfriend and isn't happy to see Kirk join them, based on her earlier encounters with him (at a bar where she was ordering drinks for herself and others).
SIMON PEGG plays an engineering expert who's happy to be removed from a remote Federation outpost to be brought onboard the Enterprise. He uses some brief profanity.
JOHN CHO plays the helmsmen who accompanies Kirk on a dangerous mission to take out Nero's massive drill device.
ANTON YELCHIN plays the teenage Russian navigator onboard who turns out to be quite knowledgeable with the transporter device (and thus saves people's lives).; KARL URBAN plays the medical officer -- sarcastically pessimistic yet loyal and friendly -- who creates an illness in Kirk to get him onboard the Enterprise.
ZOE SALDANA plays the communications expert onboard the Enterprise who's Spock's girlfriend and isn't happy to see Kirk join them, based on her earlier encounters with him (at a bar where she was ordering drinks for herself and others).
SIMON PEGG plays an engineering expert who's happy to be removed from a remote Federation outpost to be brought onboard the Enterprise. He uses some brief profanity.
JOHN CHO plays the helmsmen who accompanies Kirk on a dangerous mission to take out Nero's massive drill device.
ANTON YELCHIN plays the teenage Russian navigator onboard who turns out to be quite knowledgeable with the transporter device (and thus saves people's lives).; ZOE SALDANA plays the communications expert onboard the Enterprise who's Spock's girlfriend and isn't happy to see Kirk join them, based on her earlier encounters with him (at a bar where she was ordering drinks for herself and others).
SIMON PEGG plays an engineering expert who's happy to be removed from a remote Federation outpost to be brought onboard the Enterprise. He uses some brief profanity.
JOHN CHO plays the helmsmen who accompanies Kirk on a dangerous mission to take out Nero's massive drill device.
ANTON YELCHIN plays the teenage Russian navigator onboard who turns out to be quite knowledgeable with the transporter device (and thus saves people's lives).; SIMON PEGG plays an engineering expert who's happy to be removed from a remote Federation outpost to be brought onboard the Enterprise. He uses some brief profanity.
JOHN CHO plays the helmsmen who accompanies Kirk on a dangerous mission to take out Nero's massive drill device.
ANTON YELCHIN plays the teenage Russian navigator onboard who turns out to be quite knowledgeable with the transporter device (and thus saves people's lives).; JOHN CHO plays the helmsmen who accompanies Kirk on a dangerous mission to take out Nero's massive drill device.
ANTON YELCHIN plays the teenage Russian navigator onboard who turns out to be quite knowledgeable with the transporter device (and thus saves people's lives).; ANTON YELCHIN plays the teenage Russian navigator onboard who turns out to be quite knowledgeable with the transporter device (and thus saves people's lives).

CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO

HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE

Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit?
Then read OUR TAKE of this film.

(Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below).

OUR WORD TO PARENTS:

The following is a brief summary of the content found in this sci-fi film that's been rated PG-13. Profanity consists of at least 1 "s" word, while other expletives and colorful phrases are uttered. Sexually related dialogue and innuendo are present, a couple fools around in their underwear (with heavy breathing, initially suggesting they're having sex, but they're not), another young woman is seen in her skivvies, and there's an accidental bit of clothed breast groping played for laughs in the middle of a fight scene.

All sorts of sci-fi related action violence is present, including deaths, injuries, and/or property damage from spaceship battles, phaser shootouts, hand to hand fighting, and even some mass planetary extinction. Some of that has bloody results (but not a great deal), and those scenes and moments of potential peril could be unsettling and/or suspenseful to some viewers, particularly younger ones. The fighting, stunts and other action might be enticing for some kids to imitate.

Bad attitudes are present, as is tense family material revolving around familial deaths. Some drinking also occurs in a few scenes.

If you're still concerned about the film and its appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home who may be interested in seeing it, we suggest that you take a closer look at our detailed listings for more specific information regarding the film's content.

For those concerned with bright flashes of light on the screen, there's some of that during an attack on the U.S.S. Kelvin, and then later in another scene.

For those prone to visually induced motion sickness, all sorts of camera movement (bouncy and shaky as well as fluid movement) occurs throughout the film.

ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE: People drink in a bar where Uhura orders various drinks for herself and others, thus drawing Kirk's attention (he's also drinking). Following a fight, Kirk has a drink and then more.
Bones shares his flask with Kirk on a transport shift after having just met him.

BLOOD/GORE: Young Spock has a little bit of a bloody lip following a fight.
A man picks on Kirk in a bar, resulting in a fight between Kirk and that man and then others. That man ends up pummeling Kirk, bloodying his face, and it only ends when Pike puts a stop to it. We later see dried blood on Kirk's face.
Being nervous about flying into space, Bones states he might throw up on someone else (he doesn't).
To get Kirk onboard the ship after he's been suspended during officer training, Bones injects him with something to make him appear and actually be sick. As a result, Kirk tells Bones that he might throw up on him (but doesn't). Later, Kirk has huge swollen hands as a reaction to that (played for laughs).
Kirk has a few bloody scrapes on his face.

DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE: We see young Kirk driving his stepfather's convertible down an Iowa road, disobeying a pursuing police officer's command for him to stop.
Some fellow Vulcan boys decide to pick on young Spock yet again, all because his mother is human. One states that Spock's father is a traitor for marrying her, referring to her as "that human whore."
A man picks on Kirk in a bar, resulting in a fight between Kirk and that man and then others, with Kirk ending up pummeled.
To beat an unwinnable simulation exercise, we learn Kirk has rewritten the program to allow his victory (thus cheating).
To get Kirk onboard the ship after he's been suspended during officer training, Bones injects him with something to make him appear and actually be sick (thus meaning Bones can bring him along for treatment).
Nero blames the Federation for the death of his wife, child and other Romulans, saying they did nothing to help them. Accordingly, he's spent the past 25 years plotting and carrying out his revenge, and he kills billions of people in the process.

FRIGHTENING SCENES: Scenes listed under "Violence" may also be unsettling and/or suspenseful to younger viewers and/or those with low tolerance levels for such material.
Nero's ship attacks the U.S.S. Kelvin, with resultant external and internal explosions. The latter blow people about and we see one person who's blown out into space, but while deaths are implied, none are directly seen and there's no blood. After a brief lull, Nero's ship fires upon the Kelvin again, causing more damage and the captain, George Kirk, to order an evacuation via various shuttlecrafts. To insure that they escape safely, Kirk stays onboard the Kelvin, blasting shots fired at the shuttlecraft, all while setting his starship on a collision course with Nero's much larger ship. The starship eventually crashes into it and explodes, causing damage, but not enough to debilitate it.
We see young Kirk driving his stepfather's convertible down an Iowa road, disobeying a pursuing police officer's command for him to stop. The boy then races toward a precipice, turns the car sharply and jumps out just in time. The car goes over the cliff and the boy slides along the ground and over the side, barely holding on while dangling there for a moment.
The crew of the Enterprise sees that Nero's ship has deployed an incredibly long and quite large drill down to the surface of Vulcan. With that blocking any transmission and transporting, a small team must sky dive (starting in space) down toward a small platform attached to the drill cable, but still very high above the surface. That team consists of Kirk, Sulu and another man who skydive and then parachute toward the platform. But the third man waits too long to deploy his chute, resulting in him landing hard on the platform surface. His chute then pulls him over the edge and down into the jet-like flames emanating from the bottom, instantly incinerating him. Kirk then lands and is nearly pulled into the same flames by his chute, but manages to save himself. But he must then battle two armed guards who come out of the platform, with one's laser gun going off and hitting Sulu's chute, sending him falling faster toward the platform from which he's nearly pulled off. Once safely on the platform, Sulu pulls out his sword and battles the other man, all while Kirk continues to fight the first man. Kirk ends up dangling from the edge, with the man trying to stomp down onto his hands. Sulu positions his opponent on a grate from which flames erupt and incinerate him, and just when the other man nearly causes Kirk to fall, Sulu runs his sword through him (no blood). The man's body then falls off the platform and disappears into the distance toward the planet. The two then fire phasers into the platform device and cable, but to no avail. Having accomplished their goal on Vulcan, Nero's team retracts the drill, with Sulu falling off and Kirk then diving after him. He catches Sulu, but his chute then breaks and they resume plummeting toward the surface, with Kirk yelling on his communicator to be beamed back up to the Enterprise, but they can't get an exact lock on them. Chekov does, however, just in time as they nearly slam into the rocky surface (and then land hard on the transporter pad back on the ship.
With a black hole having been planted inside the center of Vulcan, Spock races against time to beam down to the planet and save the council, including his parents. The planet starts to collapse into itself, and a huge statue lands on one person, with a rock or similar collapse falling onto a second. Outside, Spock calls for them to be transported back up to the Enterprise, but the ground shakes and his mother falls backwards, thus out of the transporter range, resulting in her unseen death. The rest escape, just as the planet completely collapses into nothingness (we later hear that only ten thousand of the six billion inhabitants managed to escape).
When Pike won't give up important details, Nero has a "slug" (a large, insect-like creature that we hear will wrap around his brain) put into his mouth to make him talk.
Kirk regains consciousness only to discover he's on nearly deserted ice planet with a Federation outpost a distance away. He starts hiking there, only to have a huge mammal-like carnivore chase after him. Just when it appears it's going to get him, a monstrous, insect-like monster erupts from the ground and snags that other creature, killing it. Its huge, multi-fold mouth is then right at him, and he flees, falling down a steep embankment, with the creature then falling down the same. It then continues the chase, with Kirk racing into a cave, only to have the monster blast through part of that, grabbing Kirk by the foot. He seems doomed until a figure uses a torch to drive the monster away.
Kirk and Scotty are transported into Nero's ship, with Scotty accidentally ending up in a large, liquid-filled chamber. He's then sucked from tube to tube, all of which leads to another chamber with huge, rotating blades in it. Kirk then races to rescue him and barely does, with an escape hatch opening and Scotty falls many feet and lands hard on the floor.
We see that Nero has deployed his massive drill on Earth.
The Enterprise tries to fly off, but its crew finds the ship being sucked into a newly formed black hole, with the stress causing parts of the ship to crack. They then cause an explosion that propels them forward and out of the hole's gravitational grip.

GUNS/WEAPONS: Phasers (hand-held and ship-based)/Spear: Carried and/or used to threaten, wound or kill others and/or cause property damage. See "Violence" for details.

IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR: Phrases: "Bullsh*t," "That human whore," "You get your ass back home," an incomplete "I'm gonna whip your..." "Hello, ladies," "Study my ass," "How the hell did /that kid beat your test/you get onboard the Enterprise/they do that?" "Who was that pointy-eared bastard?" "Don't be such an infant," "What the hell is going on here?" "I can't wait to kick some Romulan ass," "Are you nuts?" "Damn it man, I'm a doctor, not a physicist," "Are you out of your Vulcan mind?" "Green-blooded hobgoblin," "Shut up," "(Come with me) cupcake" (said to a man, meant as a putdown), "Fascinating" and "You bet your ass."
The action, fighting and others stunts might be enticing for some kids to imitate.
We see young Kirk driving his stepfather's convertible down an Iowa road, disobeying a pursuing police officer's command for him to stop. The boy then races toward a precipice, turns the car sharply and jumps out just in time. The car goes over the cliff and the boy slides along the ground and over the side, barely holding on while dangling there for a moment.
Nero and his followers have what look like tattoos of some sort on their faces.
To beat an unwinnable simulation exercise, we learn Kirk has rewritten the program to allow his victory (thus cheating).
Some kids might imitate the Vulcan hand gesture of spreading apart the two adjacent fingers on each side of the hand.

JUMP SCENES: None.

MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE): An extreme amount of suspenseful, ominous, heavily dramatic and action-oriented music plays in the film.

MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE): None that we heard, but a song had lyrics that we couldn't fully hear and/or understand, thus presenting the possibility of it potentially containing something objectionable.

PROFANITY: At least 1 "s" word, 5 damns, 4 asses, 4 hells, 2 uses of "Oh my God" and 1 use each of "G-damn," "Good God" and "My God."

SEX/NUDITY: We see Kirk's expectant mother ready to give birth to him (we see a side view of her with her legs spread, but nothing explicit is seen).
Some fellow Vulcan boys decide to pick on young Spock yet again, all because his mother is human. One states that Spock's father is a traitor for marrying her, referring to her as "that human whore."
Having met for the first time, Kirk tries coming on to Uhura who wants nothing to do with him. Knowing of her communication and translation skills, he suggestively says that means she has a "talented tongue." After other brief talk, she says at least that means he's not a local who only has sex with farm animals, with him replying back not just farm animals. Nothing else happens as a fight then breaks out, although during that Kirk falls forward and his hands accidentally land on Uhura's clothed breasts.
We see a close-up view of Kirk on top of a woman on a bed, with heavy breathing, and we're initially led to believe that they're having sex, but then see that they were just fooling around, albeit with him wearing just underwear and the young woman a bra and small panties. When they hear the roommate (who turns out to be Uhura) enter, Kirk hides under the bed where he sneaks peeks at Uhura undressing down to her bra and panties. She then realizes he's there and confronts him, with both standing that way.
Uhura and Spock briefly kiss (her comforting his family loss).
Scotty uses some slightly suggestive sexual slang (nothing explicit) in describing the Enterprise as a lady and that he'd like to get his hands on a certain part of her.
Spock and Uhura kiss while saying goodbye to each other.

SMOKING: None.

TENSE FAMILY SCENES: We see Kirk's expectant mother ready to give birth to him, and she's escorted to an escaping shuttlecraft during Nero's attack. George decides to stay behind to allow those escaping to get away safely, and sets a collision course with Nero's ship. His wife is upset that he's not coming along, but gives birth and briefly gets the chance to talk to him before the fatal collision.
We see young Kirk driving his stepfather's convertible down an Iowa road, and hear communication from the stepfather who's none too pleased about Kirk's behavior.
We hear that Bones has an ex-wife.
After racing to rescue his parents from their imminently doomed planet, Spock sees his mother fall back and out of the transporter range, resulting in her unseen death.

TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT: Self-sacrifice.
Revenge.
How "Star Trek" has evolved over the years and its impact on real science as well as inventions, etc.
Time travel.
The comment that what is necessary is never unwise.

VIOLENCE: Nero's ship attacks the U.S.S. Kelvin, with resultant external and internal explosions. The latter blow people about and we see one person who's blown out into space, but while deaths are implied, none are directly seen and there's no blood. After a brief lull, Nero's ship fires upon the Kelvin again, causing more damage and the captain, George Kirk, to order an evacuation via various shuttlecrafts. To insure that they escape safely, Kirk stays onboard the Kelvin, blasting shots fired at the shuttlecraft, all while setting his starship on a collision course with Nero's much larger ship. The starship eventually crashes into it and explodes, causing damage, but not enough to debilitate it.
Nero impales the captain of the U.S.S. Kelvin with a spear (we don't see the actual impact or any blood, but the attack is fatal).
Some other Vulcan boys decide to pick on young Spock yet again, all because his mother is human. One states that Spock's father is a traitor for marrying her, referring to her as "that human whore." One shoves and then he or another pushes Spock backwards, resulting in a brief fight with punches, etc. thrown, with Spock pummeling one.
A man picks on Kirk in a bar, resulting in a fight between Kirk and that man and then others. That man ends up pummeling Kirk, bloodying his face, and it only ends when Pike puts a stop to it. We later see dried blood on Kirk's face.
Kirk accidentally hits his head on a low overhead beam.
Various ships explode on a screen during a simulation exercise.
The Enterprise races to an emergency on Vulcan, with Kirk realizing it's a trap. As they leave warp speed and arrive at the planet, they encounter damaged and destroyed Federation ships, as well as all sorts of floating debris (from Nero's ship having already attacked the others). Nero's ship then opens fire on the Enterprise that fires back, but is clearly out-matched and damaged.
The crew of the Enterprise sees that Nero's ship has deployed an incredibly long and quite large drill down to the surface of Vulcan. With that blocking any transmission and transporting, a small team must sky dive (starting in space) down toward a small platform attached to the drill cable, but still very high above the surface. That team consists of Kirk, Sulu and another man who skydive and then parachute toward the platform. But the third man waits too long to deploy his chute, resulting in him landing hard on the platform surface. His chute then pulls him over the edge and down into the jet-like flames emanating from the bottom, instantly incinerating him. Kirk then lands and is nearly pulled into the same flames by his chute, but manages to save himself. But he must then battle two armed guards who come out of the platform, with one's laser gun going off and hitting Sulu's chute, sending him falling faster toward the platform from which he's nearly pulled off. Once safely on the platform, Sulu pulls out his sword and battles the other man, all while Kirk continues to fight the first man. Kirk ends up dangling from the edge, with the man trying to stomp down onto his hands. Sulu positions his opponent on a grate from which flames erupt and incinerate him, and just when the other man nearly causes Kirk to fall, Sulu runs his sword through him (no blood). The man's body then falls off the platform and disappears into the distance toward the planet. The two then fire phasers into the platform device and cable, but to no avail. Having accomplished their goal on Vulcan, Nero's team retracts the drill, with Sulu falling off and Kirk then diving after him. He catches Sulu, but his chute then breaks and they resume plummeting toward the surface, with Kirk yelling on his communicator to be beamed back up to the Enterprise, but they can't get an exact lock on them. Chekov does, however, just in time as they nearly slam into the rocky surface (and then land hard on the transporter pad back on the ship.
With a black hole having been planted inside the center of Vulcan, Spock races against time to beam down to the planet and save the council, including his parents. The planet starts to collapse into itself, and a huge statue lands on one person, with a rock or similar collapse falling onto a second. Outside, Spock calls for them to be transported back up to the Enterprise, but the ground shakes and his mother falls backwards, thus out of the transporter range, resulting in her unseen death. The rest escape, just as the planet completely collapses into nothingness (we later hear that only ten thousand of the six billion inhabitants managed to escape).
When Pike won't give up important details, Nero has a "slug" (a large, insect-like creature that we hear will wrap around his brain) put into his mouth to make him talk.
Kirk hits two guards who've been told to remove him from the bridge, but Spock then does a Vulcan neck pinch on Kirk, rendering him unconsciousness.
Kirk regains consciousness only to discover he's on nearly deserted ice planet with a Federation outpost a distance away. He starts hiking there, only to have a huge mammal-like carnivore chase after him. Just when it appears it's going to get him, a monstrous, insect-like monster erupts from the ground and snags that other creature, killing it. Its huge, multi-fold mouth is then right at him, and he flees, falling down a steep embankment, with the creature then falling down the same. It then continues the chase, with Kirk racing into a cave, only to have the monster blast through part of that, grabbing Kirk by the foot. He seems doomed until a figure uses a torch to drive the monster away.
Scotty falls many feet and lands hard on the floor after being released from some large tubing through which he's being transported in some sort of liquid.
Having been informed what to do by older Spock, Kirk eggs on and baits younger Spock into a fight. Spock punches him many times and easily blocks Kirk's blows, followed by choking him until he realizes what he's doing and stops.
Spock and Kirk end up beamed into the center of Nero's ship and thus immediately must battle various Romulans, exchanging phaser fire. Various Romulans are hit and wounded or killed, but there's no blood. One then sneaks up behind Spock, but Kirk shoots that one as well.
One of Nero's men hits Kirk, followed by Nero picking up and throwing Kirk before repeatedly punching him. He then starts choking him until interrupted by other news. After seeing Nero do the same thing, Kirk jumps a long distance from one platform down to another, but dangles off the edge of the latter. A Romulan there then grabs Kirk and picks him up by the throat. Kirk, however, grabs that Romulan's gun and shoots him dead, sending his body falling away and Kirk again briefly dangling from the edge. Trying to find Nero, he shoots another Romulan after encountering him. Kirk then frees Pike who grabs that gun and shoots yet another Romulan who's come up behind Kirk.
Spock flies a small ship inside Nero's ship, blasting it with laser shots, and then does the same to the massive and long drill, destroying it, all while shots are fired at him. Spock eventually crashes his ship into the bigger ship, resulting in a huge explosion, but he's been transported out just in time. The Enterprise then fires on Nero's ship that's destroyed and sucked into a black hole.

Reviewed May 2, 2009 / Posted May 7, 2009

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