After Nemesis, Paramount waited a whole seven years to start over. One of the ideas that the great Gene Roddenberry thought about way back when was revisiting Kirk and Spock in their younger years at Starfleet Academy. And while this was not it exactly, Star Trek (2009) was made to start everything over.
Paramount brought in the next Steven Spielberg to helm the franchise’s reboot. J.J. Abrams will tell you that he was more of a Wars fan than a Trek fan. And you can tell. While the film showcased starships with discs and nacelles, there was a bunch more running, shooting, explosions, and lens flare than Trek fans were used to.
We met a different version of The Original Series, created by a fluke in the space-time continuum. This allowed for everything to be a bit different, yet the same. This also happened after the CBS/Viacom split, which made sure that the films would have to be different. More on that here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PM1pvOzn_w
The crew was recast — all except for Leonard Nimoy, who returned as Spock. Funny, the guy who didn’t want to come back to play Spock in the late 70s is back again in the 2000s.
This new take on Trek was well-received (by some) and spawned two sequels.
STARDATE: 2233.04
The film begins with the U.S.S. Kelvin investigating something huge. Turns out that it’s a giant Romulan mining ship, and without warning, it attacked Kelvin with torpedoes. Kelvin responded with phasers, but the warp drive was lost almost immediately.
Yep. That’s how it started. We don’t get names, roles, or even a stardate for some time. That rattled some longtime Trek fans. “It started differently!”
Just as the Kelvin’s captain ordered the evacuation of his ship, a Romulan contacted them, demanding that he meet the Romulan commander on their ship. His refusal would be “unwise.”
As the captain walked off the bridge, he took his first officer with him. “If I’m not back in 15 minutes, evacuate the crew,” he ordered. The first officer agreed.
“Aye captain,” said the first officer. The captain turned to him before the turbolift doors closed.
“You’re captain now, Mr. Kirk.”
The captain arrived on a lower deck. Before the doors opened, the audience saw the shaft of the turbolift exposed, a tube among many tubes. For anyone who knows anything about ocean-going ships, or spacecraft, there’s not a lot of room on either. That was one of the genius moves by Nicholas Meyer in Star Trek II. He made the Enterprise cramped and small, as most naval ships are today. The vast spaces inside the Kelvin made it hard to suspend disbelief.
The captain boarded a shuttlecraft and navigated to the Romulan ship.
Sorry to pause again — but the bay doors on the exterior of the Romulan ship looked just like the ones of V’Ger. I assumed that was a purposeful decision and was meant to be a throwback to the 1979 feature.
As the captain landed and exited the shuttlecraft, he was immediately grabbed by Romulan guards and brought before their commander. The Romulans asked if the captain recognized a Vulcan ship. The captain asked who their commander was, and they told him that they would speak for Captain Nero.
“Then ask Captain Nero,” he said. “What gives him the right to attack a Federation vessel?”
Nero said nothing. He (played by Eric Bana) was bald, with tattoos and whiskers. Kind of like a Romulan version of Voldemort — with a nose.
Nero, played by Eric Bana | Courtesy of Paramount
His assistant asked if the Kelvin’s captain knew the location of Ambassador Spock. The captain said he was not familiar with Spock. The Romulans then asked what the current stardate was. He answered and asked, “where are you from?”
At that question, Nero leaped up and stabbed the captain in the heart with a lance. The crew of the Kelvin, who had been monitoring their captain’s vital signs, knew as soon as he died. They also saw that they were under attack by the Romulan ship.
George Kirk (played by Chris Hemsworth, aka “Thor”), shouted orders and took command during the attack. He called for an evacuation, which included his very pregnant wife. Kirk took command of the Kelvin and realized that autopilot was not an option. He ordered Shuttle 37 (with his wife on board) to leave. Mrs. Kirk gave birth as the shuttle veered away from danger.
A note on the Kelvin: Unlike past Trek ships, which usually had a few places where phasers and torpedoes were launched from, the Kelvin had dozens of small cannons mounted all over the place. This was one of the things that upset the Trekkie diehards — the “Star Warsification” of Trek. But in many ways, this borrowing and modifying has been going on for years and years.
Kirk aimed the Kelvin at the Romulans and spoke to his wife after he heard the cries of a new baby over the radio. Mrs. Kirk suggested that they name the baby after George’s father, “Tiberius.” George said that was the worst, and asked to name him after her father, Jim. Moments later, he died as the Kelvin impacted the Romulan vessel, which we learn later was called the “Narada.”
The scene changes to one more familiar. A young man drove a 200-year-old Chevrolet Corvette through the dry highways of Iowa. His stepdad called to order him to return with the car, but the child hung up the phone. He then turned on the stereo to a Beastie Boys song and drove the car off the side of a cliff.
A police officer, who had been in pursuit, asked the young man his name. The kid, who nearly went over the edge with the car, said: “My name is James Tiberius Kirk.”
“The contrary. Nero’s very presence has altered the flow of history, beginning with the attack on the U.S.S. Kelvin, culminating with the events of today. Therefore creating a new chain of incidents which cannot be anticipated by either party.”
At the same time, on the planet Vulcan, a young Spock was in a classroom of sorts. It looked more like a warehouse of Jacuzzis, but instead of water, the pools were full of display screens. Questions of all types were flying past him, both audio and visual. Spock answered them one after the other.
NOTE: This was not unlike what Spock did at the start of Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home when he had to retrain his mind and memory after it was separated from his body.
When he emerged from his “learning pit,” a group of Vulcan boys began to bully Spock, as he was half human and half Vulcan. He resisted at first until the called Spock’s father, a traitor, and his mother, a “human whore.”
Sarek came to “the office” to pick up his son and immediately started to lecture about emotions and logic. Spock asked Sarek that he asked his son to behave entirely like a Vulcan, while his father married a human. Sarek said it was his duty, as Vulcan ambassador to Earth, to observe human behavior, and marrying his mother was logical.
Sarek told him that he had the power to choose his own destiny. Only Spock could decide.
Years later, we meet a Spock in his 20s, whose mother is doting on him. Spock asked his mother if he should complete the ritual known as Kolinahr, which would help him shed the last of his human emotions. Zackary Quinto now played Spock.
NOTE: This was the same thing Spock was trying to do at the start of ST:TMP. That was where Spock suddenly sensed a presence in the galaxy… V’Ger!
Later, Spock stood before the Vulcan Science Academy, where his worthiness was being judged. They said his record was flawless, except that he also put in an application for Starfleet. They accepted him, despite his “disadvantage” — meaning that he was half-human.
Spock followed up on what precisely the disadvantage was. They replied, “your human mother.” Spock then declined admission. The minister said no Vulcan had ever declined. Spock said that as he was only half Vulcan, their streak is not broken.
Sarek told Spock that he swore to follow the Vulcan way. Spock said he only felt gratitude and told them to “live long and prosper.”
Back in Iowa, we join Uhura at a crowded and noisy bar full of Starfleet cadets, aliens, and others. She ordered some Budweisers and Cardassian sunrises. I wonder how those stack up to Romulan ale. As she ordered, a drunken James T. Kirk wobbled up to the bar. He tried to buy her drinks, but she refused. He was flirting with her in a way that the Shatner version of Kirk never did. Except in that one episode.
Uhura, played by Zoe Saldana, would not tell Kirk her first name. But she did say to him that she was studying xenolinguistics, which is the study of alien language and communications.
Lt. Nyota Uhura, played by Zoe Saldana | Courtesy of Paramount
A large Starfleet cadet walked over and asked Uhura if Kirk was bothering her. She said that he was. Kirk told the cadet to calm down and called him cupcake. They started a massive row in the bar — Kirk versus four cadets. It did not go well.
But just as Kirk, played by Chris Pine, was getting his face pounded on a bar table, Captain Christopher Pike stopped the fight. Pike ordered all Starfleet personnel out of the bar.
When the bar was quiet, Pike told Kirk that he cut his teeth on the Kelvin, under George Kirk’s tutelage. He said Kirk that his father did not believe in a “no-win scenario.”
NOTE: This is exactly what Kirk told Saavik in Star Trek II! Nice!
Pike told Kirk that his spirit was missing from Starfleet and that he was too smart not to be doing something with his life. He told Kirk to enlist in Starfleet and that he could be an officer in four years, and have his own command in eight.
Pike told Kirk that his father was captain for just 12 minutes and saved thousands of lives, including Kirk’s own mother. He challenged Kirk to do the same.
After Pike left, Kirk picked up a salt shaker in the shape of a Starfleet vessel and thought. Later, he rode his motorcycle to the drydock to watch a ship under construction. He then boarded a recruitment shuttle and told Pike that he’d finish the academy in just three, rather than four years.
Spock, played by Zachary Quinto, and Kirk, played by Chris Pine | Courtesy of Paramount
Onboard the shuttle, he sat in an empty seat, which would soon be filled by a Dr. Leonard McCoy (played by Karl Urban). As McCoy sat down, he told Kirk that he would “probably throw up” on him. Kirk said that he thought the shuttlecraft were pretty safe. McCoy disagreed, and rattled off a massive list of things that can happen to a human being while in space.
He then said he lost everything in a recent divorce… all she left him with was his bones. They then both took a swig from McCoy’s tiny flask and introduced themselves.
Three years later… the Narada arrives at a spot in which they believe something should be there. But there is nothing. Nero said that they’d continue to wait for the “one who allowed our home to be destroyed” as they had been doing for the last 25 years.
Nero said that he would not kill “him,” but rather, he would “make him watch.” Just then, a small Vulcan ship appeared from inside a wormhole. Nero ordered that his men capture the ship.
“Welcome back, Spock,” said Nero.
Meanwhile, at Starfleet Academy, Kirk and McCoy were talking as they left an academic building. Kirk told Bones that he was going to take “the test” again. McCoy said that he didn’t have time to watch Kirk fail the Kobayashi Maru for the third straight time. As Kirk left, he said that he needed to study.
That meant Kirk was rolling around in a dorm room with a Starfleet Cadet, who happened to be an Orion (remember them, from The Cage) and Uhura’s roommate, named Gaila. Uhura stormed into the room unexpectedly, and Kirk had to hide under the bed. Uhura said that she received and decoded a message from the Klingon, which detailed the destruction of 47 of their ships.
But, Gaila (played by Rachel Nichols) asked Uhura one too many questions about when Uhura would be going back to work. Uhura then realized that there was a man in the room, and told Kirk to leave.
Kirk got up, gathered his clothes, and complimented Uhura on how she was able to translate the message from the Klingons.
The next day, Uhura was talking to Kirk again, except this time, it was on the bridge of a Starfleet testing simulator. It was the Kobayashi Maru test. Again.
NOTE: The simulator room used the same sounds that were in the Kobayashi Maru test, which was featured in Star Trek II.
Kirk arrogantly walked through each challenge of the test and shocked everyone as he easily beat the various layers of the simulation. Kirk hacked the test, and sat in the captain’s chair, eating an apple.
NOTE: In ST:II, Kirk ate an apple as he described to Saavik how he beat the Kobayashi Maru test. Nice throwback/tie in!
The staff running the test were puzzled as to how Kirk beat the unbeatable. Especially Mr. Spock, who was the Kobayashi Maru’s chief architect.
Later, the Commandant of Starfleet Academy, Admiral Richard Barnett, called all cadets and faculty to a special meeting. The commandant, played by Tyler Perry, said Kirk had been accused of cheating on the Kobayashi Maru test.
Kirk asked to face his accuser. Spock rose and testified that Kirk installed a program that changed the conditions of the test. Kirk argued that the test itself was “a cheat,” because Spock programmed it to be unwinnable.
Spock said that Kirk’s argument means that he would not face a no-win scenario. Kirk said that he did not believe in a “no-win scenario.” (Again, Kirk said this in ST:II).
The Vulcan lectured young Kirk, telling him that “you of all people knows that a captain cannot cheat death.” The crowd gasped. Spock told the story of George Kirk’s death. Spock said that the purpose of the test was to inspire fear so that a cadet could learn to overcome that fear and continue his or her assignment.
The commandant interrupted, saying that they had received a distress call from Vulcan. As the bulk of the fleet was in the Laurentian system, he ordered that all cadets report to Hanger One.
After the meeting broke up, Kirk asked McCoy: “Who was that pointy-eared bastard?” McCoy said that he didn’t know, but he liked him.
In Hanger One, the cadets gathered to learn their new assignment. Kirk found that he was on academic suspension, and would not be assigned to a ship at this time. Bones and Kirk said goodbye, and McCoy parted. After walking away a few steps, McCoy went back to Kirk and told him to “come with me.”
Meanwhile, Uhura was angry that she was assigned to the U.S.S. Farragut when she requested the Enterprise. She stormed up to Spock and demanded that he switch the assignment. He agreed.
NOTE: According to Trek lore, Kirk was stationed on the U.S.S. Farragut before ultimately becoming captain aboard the Enterprise. Another clever way to slip in a TOS detail!
McCoy gave Kirk a vaccine for a viral infection of Melvaran mud fleas, which gave him a “flop sweat” and blindness in one eye. McCoy used this to get Kirk on a shuttle bound for the Enterprise.
Onboard, Kirk told McCoy: “I’m gonna throw up on you.”
The shuttle pulled into a spacedock that was more amazing than anything seen in Trek to this point. At its center was a huge glass globe, with six tentacles. Each of these bridges could host 6-7 starships. This globe design must have inspired the Starbase Yorktown, which was featured in Star Trek: Beyond.
It was at this point that audiences got to see the redesigned Enterprise for the first time. It was almost even more sculpted and aerodynamic looking than the Enterprise-D. Almost.
The TOS version of the Enterprise was 948-feet, while the Kelvin version was a whopping 2,379-feet in length. The Enterprise-D was 2,106-feet. Why?
According to internet legend, J.J. Abrams wanted to have George Kirk look as heroic as possible. The easy way to do that was to have a ton of shuttlecraft escaping from the Kelvin at the start of the film. But wait — The Making of Star Trek states that the TOS Enterprise could only house six shuttlecraft. The easy way to fix the problem of only six shuttlecraft escaping from the maelstrom was to make all Federation ships about 2.5 times more massive.
Also, word was that J.J. wanted the Enterprise to share the same massive scale and grandeur that the Imperial Star Destroyers did in that other series of films. So, maybe it was a little of both.
Bruce Greenwood as Captain Christopher Pike. Courtesy of Paramount
Anyhow, Spock reported to the bridge where Pike gave an excellent little pep talk. He then ordered the ship to “punch it,” which was what Han Solo always said onboard his ship. So for Pike to say it… was just a shame. Pike should have said “hit it” as he does on Star Trek: Discovery.
Hikaru Sulu, the newly installed helmsman, couldn’t get the Enterprise to jump to warp. After a few tense moments, Spock told Sulu to try the external inertial dampeners, which worked, and they were off.
John Cho as Hikaru Sulu. Courtesy of Paramount
Meanwhile, McCoy walked Kirk down to the sickbay, which looked more like a 21st Century hospital room. The TOS sickbay looked way more futuristic than this take.
On the bridge, Pike asked the navigator: “Russian whiskey, what’s your name?”
“Ensign Chekov. Pavel Andreievich, sir.”
The late Anton Viktorovich Yelchin, who was born in St. Petersburg, Russia, played Chekov in this film series.
The audience is treated to a funny scene where Chekov’s English is a bit rough, and he struggled to get the computer to authenticate his voice. Once he does, he relays a ship-wide message about the Enterprise’s current mission.
Chekov’s message went like this — there’s a lightning storm in space, and Vulcan is now the ship is en route to assist. Apparently, there was seismic activity on Vulcan too. No big deal.
Anton Yelchin as Pavel Chekov. Courtesy of Paramount
From sickbay, Kirk heard this announcement and went wild. He realized that his fingers had swollen to look like sausages, and he bolted out of his bed. He said that he needed to stop the ship, as they were flying into a trap. McCoy ran after him, saying that he was not well.
Kirk found Uhura and asked her about the Klingon transmission she intercepted. While McCoy gave him multiple shots for a series of hilarious ailments, he was able to get Uhura to confirm that the Klingons said that the Romulans were responsible for the attack.
On Vulcan, Spock’s mother walked out onto her back patio to see a fiery beam plow into the planet’s surface. In orbit, the Narada was responsible for the drilling.
Kirk ran onto the bridge, yelling for Pike to stop the ship. Pike and Spock argued with him, as he explained that this scenario was exactly like the one in which his father died 25 years ago. Uhura told Pike that Kirk was correct on the 47 Klingon ships getting destroyed part of the story.
Spock thought it all made sense. Pike told the crew to scan the area for any transmissions in Romulan. The communications officer admitted that he could not discern between Romulan and Vulcan. Pike replaced him with Uhura.
The crew reported that the Enterprise had lost all contact with the Federation armada. Pike called for red alert and shields to be raised. When they dropped out of warp, the Enterprise appeared in the middle of a dozen wrecked starships.
The Narada fired on the Enterprise almost immediately. Sulu said the shields were down to 32% after just one volley. Spock said that communications were being jammed by a “high-energy pulse device,” which was in the Vulcan atmosphere.
As the Narada crew was about to fire on and destroy the Enterprise, Nero ordered them to stop. He realized that Spock was on that ship. He then hailed the Enterprise and asked for Pike to visit the Narada. Nero called Spock out by name, and said that they hadn’t met “yet.” He told Spock that he wanted Spock to see something.
Pike rose from his chair to head to the shuttle bay. Kirk and Spock told him that Nero would kill him if he went to the Narada. Pike said that he was aware, but ordered Kirk, Sulu and Engineer Olsen to “space jump” and disable the Narada’s beam. He put Spock in charge as acting captain and elevated Kirk to first officer. If all else failed, Pike ordered, the Enterprise would fall back and rendezvous with the rest of the fleet in the Laurentian system. Spock assumed that Pike was joking when he placed Kirk as second in command. Pike said that this was no prank and that Spock was now in charge.
On the Narada, the Romulans readied the “Red Matter,” which was a maroon orb suspended in a chamber. We never get to understand what precisely the Red Matter is, other than its destructive power. They used a syringe to pull out the Red Matter and insert a torpedo-like device.
Spock sat down in the captain’s chair on the bridge and contacted sickbay, where McCoy was now in charge, as the original ship’s doctor had been killed.
On the shuttlecraft, Kirk asked Olsen if he had the charges. Olsen said that he did and that he couldn’t wait to “kick some Roluman ass.” Kirk asked Sulu what his combat training was, and Sulu told him: “fencing.” This was awesome, as it was an unambiguous call-back to TOS episode, “The Naked Time,” where Sulu runs wild on the Enterprise with a sword.
In a pretty cool scene, Kirk, Sulu, and Olsen were sucked out of the rear of the shuttlecraft, and dove headword into Vulcan’s atmosphere. This reminded me of the Australian skydiver, Felix Baumgartner, who jumped from a balloon over New Mexico from 24 miles up back in 2012. Baumgartner didn’t have to destroy a space-drill, but stay alive by not spinning. Was the “Red Bull Stratos” project inspired by Star Trek? Maybe!
Chekov monitored their descent to the drill base and called out how close they were getting. Sulu and Kirk made it, but Olsen did not. He pulled his chute too late and burned up in the beam. He was wearing red. This was another fantastic call back to TOS, where many of the red security officers from the Enterprise would wind up dead.
In a pretty nice action scene, Sulu wound up fighting a Romulan with his sword (which flipped out from a small handle), while Kirk fought another. They eventually beat their opponents and destroyed the platform and the drill itself.
Kirk and Sulu watched the Romulan device launch into the giant hole, which was created by the drill. Chekov calculated that the Romulans’ device would create a black hole inside the core of Vulcan, which would cause the planet to implode. Spock ordered Uhura to alert the Vulcan government to evacuate the planet, as he prepared to beam down and rescue his parents. Spock said they would not be able to beam them out because they would be in the Katric ark, which was carved into stone and underground.
The Romulans retracted the drill, and as they did, Sulu fell. Kirk jumped off as the Enterprise transporter crew was telling them not to move. Kirk grabbed Sulu in mid-air, and Chekov ran from the bridge to the transporter room manually ensure that they would be beamed aboard. As Sulu and Kirk walked off the transporter pad, Spock walked onto it and beamed to the surface of Vulcan.
Spock arrived at the Katric ark and ran through the corridors as it all started to crumble. As Spock, Sarek, and a few other Vulcans were beamed up successfully, Spock’s mother did not make it. The Enterprise escaped as Vulcan crumbled into itself.
Afterward, Spock put and entry into the logs, reporting that Pike is considered a hostage of the “war criminal known as Nero.” Spock thought that out of the six billion who lived on Vulcan, less than 10,000 survived the attack.
Uhura followed Spock into a turbolift and told him that she was “so sorry” and kissed him. She asked him what he needed, and as if he were holding back tears, he told Uhura that he required everyone to “continue performing admirably.” She said, “OK” and kissed him again. That was that.
The Spock/Uhura relationship was a pleasant surprise in the J. J. reboot series. For a change, Kirk was not the one who got the girl.
Uhura and Spock’s relationship was a nice surprise in the reboot. Courtesy of Paramount
Meanwhile, on the Narada, Nero asked Pike for the subspace frequencies for Starfleet’s border protection grids, “specifically, those surrounding Earth.”
Nero explained to Pike that, from his time (the future), the Federation sat back and watched Romulus be destroyed. Pike argued that Romulus was fine, but Nero disagreed, saying that he saw the planet as it was destroyed. He said that he’d been planning his revenge for 25 years, which was to destroy the Federation so Romulus would be safe.
Nero told Pike that he would give him the codes, and he picked up a centaurian slug (which was juuuust like the Ceti eel from Wrath of Khan). Instead of the ear canal, these slugs went into Pike’s mouth.
On the Enterprise, Spock, Kirk, and the rest of the bridge crew tried to figure out Nero’s next move. Spock said that because of their ability to create a black hole, they might have the ability to make a tunnel in space-time. McCoy yelled at Spock, suggesting that the acting captain was implying that these Romulans were from the future.
Spock said: “If you eliminate the impossible, then whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.” This was nice because, in TOS lore, Spock (on his human side) was supposed to be distantly related to Earth’s most famous detective — Sherlock Holmes. This relationship was referenced in The Undiscovered Country.
Kirk suggested that they disable the Narada and rescue Pike. Spock said that was not illogical, due to the advanced tech possessed by the Romulans. Each idea Kirk threw out, Spock shot down. He eventually told Kirk that the ship must rendezvous with the rest of the fleet instead. Kirk argued that the logical thing was to do things that cannot be predicted and that Nero would not foresee.
Spock countered and laid out the argument for the Kelvin timeline at the same time.
“You’re assuming that Nero knows how things are predicted to unfold,” Spock said.
“The contrary. Nero’s very presence has altered the flow of history, beginning with the attack on the U.S.S. Kelvin, culminating with the events of today. Therefore creating a new chain of incidents which cannot be anticipated by either party.”
“An alternate reality?” asked Uhura.
“Precisely,” answered Spock.
Kirk began to argue against rejoining the fleet. He started yelling at Spock, who sat in the captain’s chair. Spock called for security to escort him out. Kirk wrestled his way away from the guards, and Spock used a neck pinch to subdue him.
“Get him off this ship,” Spock ordered. The Enterprise ejected an escape pod into the icy world of Delta Vega. Kirk found himself on a glacier, with a small duffle bag of gear.
Kirk soon was in the sights of a furry snow creature, which was at full gallop. Just before the beast caught the human, a red scorpion-like monster jumped in and attacked the furry one.
Even when I saw this film in the theater, I thought the red monster looked out of place. He had no fur or blubber to keep him warm, and the red was entirely unlike his surroundings. That creature did not fit the scene and would have been more at home in a Star Wars prequel.
Kirk scurried away into a tunnel, where the creature caught him. But just before Kirk was eaten, a humanoid walked up with a torch and waved the monster away. It turns out this person was old man Spock, from the future of a now different timeline. Leonard Nimoy coming back to play Spock, was a cool shocker that made the film work and tie the TOS and TOS films to the Kelvin reboot series.
“James T. Kirk,” said Spock. “How did you find me?”
Kirk was confused.
“I have been, and always shall be your friend,” he said. “I am Spock.”
“Bullshit,” said Kirk.
Around a fire in the frozen cave, Kirk explained that present-day Spock hated him, and that was Spock who deserted him on the planet. Rather than beating around the bush, Spock mind-melded with Kirk.
Ambassador Spock played by Leonard Nimoy. Courtesy of Paramount
“129 years from now, a star will explode, and threaten to destroy the galaxy,” said Spock. “That was where I’m from, Jim. The future. A star went to supernova. I promised the Romulans that I would save their planet.
“We outfitted our fastest ship. Using red matter, I would create a black hole, which would absorb the exploding star. I was en route when the unthinkable happened. The supernova destroyed Romulus.
“I had little time. I had to extract the red matter and shoot it into the supernova. As I began my return trip, I was intercepted. He called himself ‘Nero.’ In my attempt to escape, both of us were pulled into the black hole. Nero went through first. He was the first to arrive.”
The audience saw the Narada emerge from the black hole and attack and destroy the U.S.S. Kelvin.
“Nero and his crew spent the next 25 years awaiting my arrival,” remembered Spock. “But what was years for Nero, was only seconds for me. I went through the black hole … Nero was waiting for me. He held me responsible for the loss of his world.
“He captured my vessel and spared my life for one reason. So that I would know his pain, he beamed me here so that I could observe his vengeance. As he was helpless to save his planet, I would be helpless to save mine.
“Billions of lives lost because of me, Jim. Because I failed.”
After the mind-meld ended, Kirk was out of breath and almost in tears. Spock apologized, saying that emotions to transfer during the process. Kirk asked if Spock did “feel.” Spock said he did. Kirk noted that Spock arriving at this time changed everything.
Spock said that they would journey to a Starfleet outpost not far from where they were. Kirk asked, in Spock’s time, if he knew his father. Spock said that he did, and he lived to see Kirk become captain of the Enterprise.
“A ship we must return you to as soon as possible,” said Spock.
On the Enterprise, as the ship entered the Laurentian system, Spock took McCoy aside to thank him for siding with the acting captain. McCoy spoke freely and asked Spock if he was “out of his Vulcan mind” by sending Kirk away.
McCoy said that Kirk was like a prized stallion left at the stable. Spock said that was “curious” as a stallion must first be broken before it can reach its potential.
Spock and Kirk arrived at the outpost and met Keenser, a small alien member of Starfleet, who said little. Keenser led them to Montgomery “Scotty” Scott, in this timeline, played by Simon Pegg.
Mr. Spock was amazed to see Scotty. He immediately asked Scotty if he was the one who created the theory of “trans-warp beaming.” Scotty said that he was and that he got in trouble for testing the hypothesis on Admiral Archer’s prized beagle (a Star Trek: Enterprise reference).
Kirk asked where the dog was. Scotty said he didn’t know, but he did feel guilty for losing it.
Spock told Scotty that the theory did work. Scotty said that if it did work, then he would know about it. Spock noted that Scott didn’t know about it because he hadn’t discovered it yet — which is almost exactly what Scotty said about the guy who he gave the formula to for Transparent Aluminum in Star T:IV – The Voyage Home.
Scotty asked if Spock was from the future and if they still had sandwiches there.
Keenser and Scotty, a funny duo. But many Trek diehards did not care for Keenser. Courtesy of Paramount
They boarded an old shuttlecraft, where Spock got to work on the formulation for “trans-warp beaming.” Scotty said that he wasn’t sure if he believed their story, and even if he did, trans-warp beaming was like:
“Trying to hit a bullet, with a smaller bullet, wilts wearing a blindfold riding a horse.” Once Spock was done, Scotty looked at the formula and was amazed.
Spock told Kirk that he would not be coming with him. Kirk said that the other Spock would not believe this story. Spock said that “under no circumstances” could Kelvin Spock know about “Prime Spock.” He made Kirk promise not to tell.
He told Kirk that in order to defeat Nero, Kirk must take control of the Enterprise. Kirk asked how. Spock recommended Starfleet Regulation 619, which states that any command officer who is emotionally compromised must resign his command.
“I just lost my planet,” said Spock. “I am emotionally compromised. What you must do is get me to show it.”
Before Kirk and Scotty beamed away, Spock told them to “live long and prosper.”
Kirk appeared in the engineering area, while Scotty materialized in a series of water-filled tubes. After some wacky chases around the ship’s filtration system, Kirk was able to free Mr. Scott.
On the bridge, Spock saw that Kirk and Scotty were running loose on the ship. He sent security to bring them back up to the bridge. Spock ordered Kirk to tell him how he was able to beam onto the ship at warp speed. Kirk refused to say.
Spock then turned to Scotty and ordered him to tell how they got onto the ship at warp. Kirk told him not to. Scotty said that he did not want to take sides.
Kirk stepped into Spock’s face and started challenging Spock’s emotional soundness after all that had happened. With each question, Spock grew angrier and angrier. He eventually attacked Kirk and began to strangle him on one of the control panels. Sarek had to tell Spock to back down.
Spock resigned his command.
As everyone stood around silent while Spock and Sarek left the bridge, Scotty shouted: “I like this ship! It’s exciting!”
McCoy grumbled that they had no captain and no first officer. But as Kirk sat down in the big chair, Sulu said that Pike mad Kirk the first officer. Uhura said that she hoped Kirk knew what he was doing.
Kirk made a ship-wide announcement updating them on what just happened with Spock, and the new plan to pursue the Romulans.
On the transporter pad, Sarek told Spock to speak openly. Spock said that he was conflicted like when he was a child. Sarek said Spock would always be a child of two worlds. Sarek said he was grateful for that, “and for you.” Spock said that he felt an anger that he could not control against the one who took his mother’s life.
Sarek told him that his mother would say not to try to control that anger. Sarek also told Spock the answer to a question about his mother asked long ago: “I married her because I loved her.”
On the bridge, Chekov figured out that Nero would pass Saturn. He proposed dropping out of warp behind one of Saturn’s moons, like Titan, the ship would be relatively invisible. Before Nero started to use the drill, they could beam aboard the Narada to free Pike and disable the ship.
The U.S.S. Enterprise, according to J.J. Courtesy of Paramount
Spock appeared on the again and said that the plan would work. Spock said that he wanted to beam over and steal the black hold device and free Pike. Kirk said he would go along as well. Spock said that he would cite regulation against this sort of thing, but he knew that Kirk would ignore it.
Meanwhile, the Narada put into orbit above Earth, and Nero deployed the drill over the San Francisco Harbor.
Near Saturn, Sulu and Chekov maneuvered the Enterprise successful from out of warp to behind Titan. This may have been the most significant visual scene for any Enterprise or Enterprise-A for any movie or television entry.
Before Kirk and Spock beamed over, Kirk ordered Sulu to attack at any moment if he though the Enterprise had the tactical advantage. Kirk returned to the transporter pad to see Spock and Uhura kanoodling. Scotty beamed them over to what he thought was the cargo bay.
Scotty was wrong. Instead, they beamed over onto what looked like the command bridge. And they were surrounded by Romulans. While this was an eventful and action-packed scene, the sound of the disruptors and phaser blasts was distracting. They sounded like BBs hitting off a thin piece of aluminum. The phasers also switched from red to blue, which we’re left to assume was ‘kill’ and ‘stun’ settings.
Spock melded with a Romulan who was knocked out and learned the location of both the black hole device and Captain Pike.
Nero activated the drill and cut Kirk and Spock off from the outside, but the boys manage to fight through and find Ambassador Spock’s ship. As young Spock entered, the ship’s computer recognized him as the elder Spock, and its systems activated. As the computer welcomed Ambassador Spock, Kirk moved on and muttered, “Wow… that’s weird.”
In the background, an ethereal version of a theme composed for Wrath of Khan played. Yes, it was the perfect time for another callback, even an audio version.
Spock figured out that this ship was from the future, and confronted Kirk, asking if he had been keeping information from him. Kirk asked if he could fly the vessel; Spock said that he thought that he already had. Spock then called Kirk “Jim,” as he rattled off the statistical likelihood of the mission’s failure. Spock asked Kirk to tell Uhura … something, which he was unable to finish, as Kirk interrupted to tell him that the plan would work.
As Spock piloted the ship away, the scene changed to show Kirk lurking around the catwalks of the Narada. Kirk rose and aimed his phaser at Nero and ordered him to disable the drill. Just as he did, a Romulan put the butt of a rifle into the side of his head. Kirk tumbled off the ledge and onto a catwalk below.
You know… who designed the Narada? What kind of engineer would make a dangerous mining ship full of catwalks and ledges and all of that stuff? I realize that this was for dramatic effect, but was there any function behind the madness? The Narada was a massive contrast to the designs we saw in Star Trek: Nemesis. I don’t think that’s a bad thing either.
Nero told Kirk that he knew Kirk’s face from Earth’s history (sweet). Then he started beating the tar out of Kirk.
Meanwhile, Spock piloted his ship outside of the Narada and went after the drill.
Nero started to strangle Kirk and tell him that Kirk would not go on to live the great life that he had lived in the other reality. Kirk gets choked a lot in this movie, doesn’t he?
Spock destroyed the links, which connected the drill to the Narada. Thanks to that, the Romulans announced what Spock did over their ships’ internal speakers, and Nero stopped trying to strangle Kirk. He leaped from one catwalk to another and contacted Spock directly.
As Nero said that he should have killed Spock, the Vulcan told Nero that he was confiscating the ship (called the Jellyfish, by the way). Spock ordered Nero to surrender. In his rage, Nero ordered torpedoes on Spock, even though his guys were trying to remind him about that Red Matter.
Spock warped away, and the Narada followed.
Inside, Kirk jumped away Nero’s henchman, who later caught him. This Romulan held Kirk up and CHOKED HIM. He also told Kirk that his species was “weaker than” he expected. While he was reveling in humanity’s weakness, Kirk grabbed his disruptor and killed him.
When Spock dropped out of warp, the Narada followed suit. Spock turned and headed straight toward the Narada, which was great because Nero shot a whole mess of torpedoes at him.
Just before Spock was hit, the Enterprise jumped into action. Using all of those itty-bitty phaser turrets, the Enterprise destroyed the torpedoes so that Spock could continue with his collision course.
Back inside the Narada, Kirk found Pike and released him. At the same moment, when the Jellyfish smashed into the Narada, the Enterprise beamed Kirk, Pike, and Spock to safety.
After the impact with the Narada, the millions of globs Red Matter, finally able to do as it wants, congeal into one form and implode into a black hole. Kirk hailed the Narada from the Enterprise bridge, and for the first time, called himself “Captain James T. Kirk of the U.S.S. Enterprise.”
Kirk offered to help rescue their crew. Spock balked, but Kirk told him it was logical to assist, as it may curry favor with the Romulans. Nero said that he’d rather “suffer the end of Romulus a thousand times… I would rather die in agony than accept assistance from you!”
“You got it,” snapped Kirk.
He ordered phasers and to fire “everything we’ve got.” Sulu was happy to comply. They fired on the Narada and watched it crumble under the weight of the singularity.
This was the part I thought strayed the furthest from Gene Roddenberry’s vision. If an enemy refused help, that was one thing, but to shoot them while they were being flushed down a cosmic toilet… that does not seem to gentlemanly.
Anyhow, after the Narada imploded, the black hole started to pull the Enterprise into the void. This situation, solves the oft wondered by sci fans who hate math — can a ship, with the ability to exceed the speed of light escape from a black hole? The black hole is so powerful that not even light can escape from its clutches. But the Enterprise can go faster than the speed of light as it warps time and space.
It can be dizzying.
Scotty told Kirk that he was “givin’ her all she’s got, captain,” but it wasn’t enough. The ship was caught in a gravity well, but Scotty thought that if they ejected the warp core(s) and detonated it (them), the explosion might push the ship free.
They did it, and it worked. A lot of relieved glances were exchanged on the bridge after that. Whew!
Back on Earth, Spock wandered around a hangar bay, when he saw a relative. “Father,” he called out. But the old Vulcan turned around and said:
“I am not our father.”
Prime Spock explained to Kelvin Spock that they could not ignore each other. He also told the young Spock that much would be accomplished in a friendship with Kirk.
Young Spock said that he would resign from Starfleet and help rebuild the Vulcan race. Old Spock said that ‘Spock’ could be in two places at once. Prime Spock noted that he’d found a planet to plant a Vulcan colony and begin anew. He told his younger self to set logic aside and do what feels right.
Back at the Academy, Admiral Barnett commended Kirk and gave him a medal. He was ordered by Barnett to relieve Pike on the Enterprise. They rolled out Pike (on a wheelchair — yes!), who accepted Kirk as the new commander of the ship. Pike said that Kirk’s father would be proud.
The story ended with Kirk walking onto the bridge of his new ship. He was in command yellow at last. All was well. Scotty reported that the dilithium chambers were charged, and then he yelled at Keenser. Spock arrived on time and offered himself as the first officer. Kirk accepted.
As the Enterprise warped off into the depths of the galaxy, it was Leonard Nimoy’s voice who recited the familiar words … “to boldly go where no one has gone before.”
TREK REPORT SUPPLEMENTAL:
I enjoyed this movie. It was fun. It injected life into the franchise after a low point (Nemesis). It may have bent the rules in which Trek would be interpreted, but I was okay with it. In the end, with Kirk in his command uniform, and Spock at the science station — I wanted more!
I loved all the references and call-backs to the previous shows and movies. I enjoyed how they created an alternate timeline so they could do what they wanted with characters and stories. They got to have their cake and eat it too.
And I didn’t mind the lens flares.
RATING: 4 out of 5
CREDITS
Directed by J. J. Abrams
Written by Roberto Orci & Alex Kurtzman
Based upon “Star Trek” created by Gene Roddenberry
Produced by J. J. Abrams
Produced by Damon Lindelof
Executive Producer … Bryan Burk
Executive Producer … Jeffrey Chernov
Executive Producers … Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman
Director of Photography … Dan Mindel, A.S.C.
Production Designer … Scott Chambliss
Edited by Mary Jo Markey, A.C.E., Maryann Bradon, A.C.E.
Costume Designer … Michael Kaplan
Music by … Michael Giacchino
Visual Effects Supervisor … Roger Guyett
Visual Effects Producer … Shari Hanson
Co-Producer … David Witz
Associate Producer … David Baronoff
Casting by April Webster, C.S.A. & Alyssa Weisberg, C.S.A.
Unit Production Manager … David Witz
Unit Production Manager … Jeffrey Chernov
Unit Production Manager … Stratton P. Leopold
First Assistant Director … Tommy Gormley
Second Assistant Director … Thomas Harper
Second Assistant Director … David E. Waters
Second Assistant Director … Heather Grierson
CAST
Kirk … Chris Pine
Spock … Zachary Quinto
Spock Prime … Leonard Nimoy
Nero … Eric Bana
Pike … Bruce Greenwood
Bones … Karl Urban
Uhura … Zoe Saldana
Scotty … Simon Pegg
Sulu … John Cho
Chekov … Anton Yelchin
Sarek … Ben Cross
Amanda Grayson … Winona Ryder
George Kirk … Chris Hemsworth
Winona Kirk … Jennifer Morrison
Gaila … Rachel Nichols
Captain Robau … Faran Tahir
Ayel … Clifton Collins, Jr.
Officer Pitts … Antonio Elias
Tactical Officer … Sean Gerace Elvin
Crew Member … andy Pausch
Kelvin Engineer … Tim Griffin
Kelvin Helmsman … Freda Foh Shen
Kelvin Alien … Katarzyna Kowalczyk
Romulan Helmsman … Jason Brooks
Kelvin Doctor … Sonita Henry
Medical Technicians … Kelvin Yu, Marta Martin
Kelvin Crew Members … Tavarus Conley, Jeff Castle
Med Evac Pilot … Billy Brown
Young James T. Kirk …Jimmy Bennett
Stepdad … Greg Grunberg
Johnny … Spencer Daniels
Iowa Cop … Jeremy Fitzgerald
Vulcan Students … Zoe Cherndv, Max Chernov
Young Spock … Jacob Kogan
Vulcan Bullies … James Henrie, Colby Paul, Cody Kldp
Vulcan Council Members … Akiva Goldsman, Anna Katarina
Long Face Bar Alien … Douglas Tait
Lew The Bartender … Tony Guma
Barflies … Gerald W. Abrams, James Mcgrath. Jr.
Burly Cadets … Jason Matthew Smith, Marcus Young
Shipyard Worker … Robert Clendenin
Flight Officer … Darlena Tejeiro
Test Administrators … Reggie Lee, Jeffrey Byron
Simulator Tactical Officer … Jonathan Dixon
Admiral Richard Barnett … Tyler Perry
Admiral James Komack … Ben Binswanger
College Council Stenographer … Margot Farley
Barracks Leader … Paul Mcgillion
Barracks Officer … Lisa Vidal
Shuttle Officer … Alex Nevil
Cadet Aliens … Kimberly Arland, Sufe M. Bradshaw, Jeff Chase
Enterprise Crew Members … Charlie Haugk, Nana Hill, Michael Saglimbeni, John Blackman, Jack Millard, Shaela Luter, Sabrina Morris, Michelle Parylak
Enterprise Communications Officer … Oz Perkins
Hannity … Manda Foreman
Romulan Tactical Officer … Michael Berry, Jr.
Romulan Communications Officer … Lucia Rijker
Romulan Commander … Pasha Lynchnikoff
Romulan Crew Members … Matthew Beisner, Neville Page, Jesper Inglis
Chief Engineer Olson … Greg Ellis
Transport Chief … Marlene Forte
Vulcan Elders … Leonard O. Turner, Mark Bramhall, Ronald F. Hoiseck, Irene Roseen, Jeff O’haco
Nero’s Wife … Scottie Thompson
Keenser … Deep Roy
Starfleet Computer … Majel Barrett Roddenberry
Stunt Coordinator … Joey Box
Fight Choreographer … Robert Alonzo
STUNTS
Ilram Choi
Craig Jensen
Kimberly Murphy
Jon Braver
Christina Weathersby
Marcus Young
Mike Massa
Courtney Munch
Paul Lacovara
Dan Plum
Jim Palmer
Dennis Keiffer
Zach Duhame
Steve Blalock
Susan Purkhiser
Mark Chadwick
Daniel Arrias
Kofi Yiadom
Edward Perez
Dorenda Moore
Rob Mars
Heidi Moneymaker
Peter Epstein
Michael Mlikatis
Dennis Scott
Victor Paguia
Chris Palermo
Jade Quon
Brian Oerly
Mike Gunther
Mike Snyder
Austin Priester
Ben Bray
Chris Torres
Joe Quinto
Sala Baker
Damion Poitier
Ilm Visual Effects Supervisor … Russell Earl
Ilm Animation Supervisor … Paul Kavanagh
Ilm Visual Effects Producers … Jeff Olson Jill Brooks
CREW
Post Production Supervisor … Debbi Bossi
Production Supervisor … Deb Schwab
Production Auditor … Kathleen A. Petty
Supervising Art Director … Keith P. Cunningham
Art Directors … Curt Beech • Dennis Bradford • Luke Freeborn • Beat Frutiger • Gary Kosko
Assistant Art Director … Aaron Haye
Concept Artists … Ryan Church • James Clyne
Concept Illustrators … John Eaves • Paul Ozzimo
Graphic Designer … Clint Schultz
Odel Maker … Jeff Frost
Set Designers
C. Scott Baker
Joseph Hiura
Anne Porter
Kevin Cross
Billy Hunter
andrew Reeder
andrea Dopaso
Dawn Brown Manser
Jane Wuu
Scott Herbertson
Harry Otto
Art Department Coordinator … Christine Ydungstrom
Art Department Researchers … Max Daly • Amy Lamendola
Storyboard Artist … Richard Bennett
Delta Vega Creatures, Romulans, Insect and Aliens Designed By Neville Page
Set Decorator … Karen Manthey
Assistant Decorator … Amanda Moss Serino
Leadperson … Scott Bobbitt
Set Decoration Buyer … Sara Gardner-Gail
On-Set Dresser … Hector M. Gonzalez
Set Dressers
Courtney J. andersen
Chris Larsen
Robert Sica
Richard andrade
Greg Lynch
Ronald Sica
Antonio andraus
Merdyce Mcclaran
Ryan Steffen
Marcus Aurelius Epps
Eric Ramirez
Set Decorating Coordinator … Darlene Salinas
Script Supervisor … Dawn Gilliam
Camera Operator / Steadicam … Colin anderson
First Assistant Photographer … John T. Connor
Second Assistant Photographer … Jesse Roth
B Camera Operator … Phil Carr-Forester
B First Assistant Photographers … Wally Sweeterman • Brad Peterman
B Second Assistant Photographer … Matt F. Kennedy
Scorpio Head Operator … Greg J. Schmidt
Technocrane Operator … Brian Mcpherson
Film Loader … Craig M. Bauer
Sound Mixer … Peter J. Devlin
Boom Operator … Michael Piotrowski
Utility Sound … David Fiske
Video Assist … Raymond Daniel P. Moore • Peter Taylor
First Assistant Editors … Julian Smirke • Lucyna Wojciechowski
Assistant Editor … Kerry J. Blackman
Visual Effects Editor … Martin Allan Kloner
Visual Effects Assistant Editor … Elana Livneh Lessem
Post Production Coordinator … Daniela Catherine Ovi
Chief Lighting Technician … Christopher Prampin
Assistant Chief Lighting … Chris Weigand
Technician Electricians … Jimmy Ellis • Jimmy Harritos Daniel P. Hawking • Duane Katz Douglas Kieffer • Billy Streit • Hootly Weedn
Dimmer Operators … David Slodki • Joshua Thatcher • Bryan Booth
Chief Rigging Electrician … John Manocchia
Assistant Rigging Electrician … Edward J. Cox
Rigging Electricians
Richard M. Burkus, Jr.
Gomidas Demerjian
John Gutierrez
Richard Maldonado
Joel A. Ruiz
Craig Campbell
Brad Thomas Emmons Iii
Steve Hastings
Marc Marino
Stephen Saunders
James M. Cox
Sean Emmons
Ken Longsalla
Victor Mendoza
Anthony Van Dyk
John Jack Davies
Earl D. Gayer
Dickinson Luke
David H. Neale
Fixtures Foreperson … Al Demayo
Fixtures Sub Foreperson … Mike Visencio
Fixtures Technicians … Jesse Mather • Tim Speed • Phil Hardt
First Company Grip … Tom Gibson
Second Company Grip … Jason Talbert
Dolly Grip Operators … Larry Sweet • Michael Wahl
Grips
Bob Nice Arredondo
Acob Funk
Michael Salamone
Jack Chouchanian
Joseph Macaluso
Don Domino
Tommy Donald
Philippe 0. Meyer
David Salamone
Sean Slattery
First Company Rigging Grip … Rick Rader
Second Company Rigging Grip … Hilary Klym
Rigging Grips
Danny andres
Albert F. Bagley
James Degeeter
Jared Dewitt
Ted Eachus
Adam Erler
Jason W. Erler
William Gilleran
Jaime Heintz
Rick Johnson
George Kallimanis
Gary Louzon
Philip Noble
Nolan Pratt
Rick N. Pratt
Ignacio Woolfolk
Property Master … Russell Bobbitt
Assistant Property Master … Jim Stubblefield
Props … Earl V. Thielen • Stephen Mccumby • Eric Spencer Kagan
Prop Manufacturing Supervisor … Jeff Ogg
Propmaker Foreperson … Jeff Khachadoorian
Propmakers
Robert Raineri
Brian Barnhart
Darryl B. Dodson
Jack Jennings
Paul J. Preshaw Ii
Jason Rosene
Brian Thoman
Paul 0. Wright
Special Effects Supervisor … Burt Dalton
Special Effects Shop Operations Supervisor … Dale Ettema
Special Effects Set Supervisor … William Aldridge
Special Effects Shop Foreperson … David F. Greene
Special Effects Senior Technician … Albert Delgado
Special Effects Forepersons
Terry P. Chapman
Danny Cangemi
Jeff Jarvis
Steve Cremin
Greg Curtis
David P. Kelsey
Clay Pinney
Special Effects Technicians
Arnold Peterson
Jay Bartus
Jon Djanrelian
Jim Jolley
Jesse Orozco
Jonathan Tang
Doug Calli
Jeremiah Cooke
Eric Dressor
Joseph Judd
Eff Pepiot
Rich Ratliff
Curtis Decker
Dennis E. Drozdokiski
Edward Kennedy
Bryan Phillips
Tony Vandeneccker
Supervising Lcation Manager … Becky Brake
Assistant Location Managers
Kyle Oliver
Kathy Mccurdy, Lmga
Scott Trimble
Rob Swenson
Brooks Bonstin
Shelly Spinks
Steve Woroniecki
Gavin Glennon
Costume Supervisor … Linda Matthews
Assistant Costume Designer … Stacy Caballero
Key Costumers … Leslie Sungail • Hilary Niederer
Key Set Costumer … Lisa Doyle
Costumers … Cerrie Yoko Arakari • Adrienne Greshock • Bega Metzner • Amelia Burhman • Bernadine Morgan
Set Costumers … Myron Baker • Shell! Nishino • Sue Crosby
Additional Costumers … Brenda M. Ware • Mustapha Mis
Specialty Costume Supervisor … Stacia Lang
Specialty Costumers
Bill Traetta
Joseph Richard Collins
Kacy Treadway
Deborah Ambrosino
Valfor D’ambershay
David R. Roesler
Kerry Deco
Maurice Polinski
Bethan Land
Dyers / Agers … Phyllis Thurber • Moffitt Ada Akaji • Leticia Sandoval
Manufacturing Foreperson … Natasha Paczkowski
Cutter / Fitters … Dodson Elliott • Nina Badrak • Leslie Miller
Table Persons … Esther B. Lopez • Van Hua • Seda Tufenkjian
Drapers
Varsenik Antonyan
Hermine Keossian V
Arsenik Kdrkhmazyan
Madline Hana
Mary Jegalian
Elizabet Markosyan
Fahima Atrouni
Hasmig Karagiosian
Antonina Crib
Karine Avakyan
Assistants To Costume Department … Taylor Marie Cornell • Samantha Johnston
Costume Illustrators … Brian Valenzuela • Phillip Boutte, Jr.
Akeup Department Head … Mindy Hall
Key Makeup … Artist Debra S. Coleman
Makeup Artists … Kimberly Felix • Burke • Dave Snyder
Hair Department Head … Terrell Baliel
Key Hairstylist … Lana Heying
Hairstylists … Jason Orion Green • Jules Holdren
Vulcans and Romulans Created By Joel Harlow
Aliens Designed and Created Sy Barney Burman
Makeup Effects Artists … Richard Alonzo • Mark Garbarino • Dave Dupuis
Makeup Artists
Richard Redlefsen
Ron Pipes
Rian Sipe
Jamie Kelman
Rebecca Alling
Jay Wejebe
Greg Funk
andrew Clement
Bonita Dehaven
Ned Neidhardt
Ken Neiderbaumer
Margaret Prentice
Marianna Elias
Makeup Effects Technician … Steve Buscaino • Robert Freitas • Scott Gamble
Casting Assistants … Bonita G. Deneen • Simone Chavoor
Background Casting Coordinator … Maryellen Aviano
Background Casting Associate … Carla Lewis
Assistants To Mr. Abrams … Nicole Phillips • Matthew Pitts
Assistant To Mr. Lindelof … Noreen O’toole
Assistants To Mr. Burk … Leigh Kittay • Adam Gaines
Assistant To Mr. Chernov … Erin M. Davis
Assistants To Mr. Orci & Mr. Kurtzman … Alex Katsnelson • Tim Jones
Production Coordinator Assistant … Carol Keith
Production Coordinators … J. Elizabeth Ingram • John Steckert
Production Secretary … Katherine Taylor
Dga Trainees … Lauren Pasternack • Nicole Trestonabranian
Researcher … Sean Gerace
Production Assistants
Cheryl andryco
Nathan A. Aronson
Alex Betuel
Joe Clary
Dan B. Cone
Michael P. Cone
Barry Curtis
Simon England
Felisha Grice
J. Hanna
Micheal Edward King
Max Lavet
Cory Bennett Lewis
Sebastian Mallola
Cory Mcneill
John Tyler Ott
Jill K. Perno
Melanie Petrushkin
William F. Reed
Steve Rosdlio
Yan Rdundy
Zach L. Smith
Helga Wool-Smith
First Assistant Accountant … Kelley L. Baker
Second Assistant Accountants … Joseph Borrelli • Kristy Gomez • Diana P. Mejia Dijana Camaj • Robin Nicole Williams
Construction Accountant … Sandra J. White
Payroll Accountants … Debi West • Maggie Martin
Accounting Assistants … Mike Suh • Carrie A.F. Carnevale
Unit Publicist … Gabriela Gutentag
Still Photographer … Zade Rosenthal
Medics … Kim Thio • Michael Head Mike Mckean • Chris Whitaker
Re•Recording Mixers … Paul Massey • Anna Behlmer • andy Nelson • David Giammarco
Supervising Sound Editors … Mark Stoeckinger • Alan Rankin, M.P.S.E.
Special Sound Effects and Montage … Ben Burtt
Sound Designers
Ann Scibelli, M.P.S.E.
Im Walston, M.P.S.E.
Harry Cohen, M.P.S.E.
Scott Gershin
Geoff Rubay
Adr Supervisor … Kerry Williams
Dialogue Supervisor … Daniel Irwin, M.P.S.E.
Foley Supervisor … Thomas Small, M.P.S.E.
Dialogue Editor … Laura Harris
First Assistant … Victor Ray Ennis
Sound Editor … Paul Flinchbaugh • Branden Spencer
Assistant Sound Editors … David Barbee • Ben Wilkins
Sound Editors … Mark Ormandy • Charlie Campagna
Foley Artists … Sarah Monat • Robin Harlan
Foley Mixer … Randy Singer
Adr Mixers … Bob Baron • Robert Deschaine, Cas • Charleen Richards-Steeves
Adr Voice Casting … Caitlin Mckenna
Rerecorded At … 20Th Century Fox
Recordists … Tim Gomillion • Dennis Rogers • Matt Patterson
Re-Recording Engineers … Bill Stein • Paul Pavelka
Music Editor … Stephen M. Davis
Assistant Music Editor … Alex Levy
Music Orchestrated and Conducted By … Tim Simonec
Additional Orchestrations By
Michael Giacchino
Peter Bdyer
Richard Bronskill
Jack Hayes
Larry Kenton
Chad Setter
Chris Tilton
Music Preparation … Booker White
Orchestra Contractor … Reggie Wilson
Vocal Contractor … Bobbi Page
Music Recorded and Mixed By … Dan Wallin
Music Score Coordinator … andrea Datzman
Music Recorded and Mixed At … Streisand Scoring Stage • Sony Pictures Studio
Additional Music Mixed At … Eastwood Scoring Stage • Warner Bros. Studio
Music Consultant … George Drakoulias
Live Environment Design By 00011
Lead Creative … W. Kent Demaine
Senior Developer … David August
Concept Artist … Jorge Almeida
3D Artist … Paul Luna
24 Frame Video Playback By Cygnet Video
Ideo Playback Producer … Cindy Jones
24 Frame Supervising Engineer … Monte Swann
24 Frame Playback Engineer … Alfred Ainsworth
24 Frame Graphics Engineer … Todd Fullerton
24 Frame Playback Operators … Jared A. Rosen • Arin Artounian
Caterer … For Stars Catering
Craft Service … Michael Kehoe • Chris Sweeney • Mary M. King
Construction Coordinator … Sebastian Milito
Eneral Foreperson … Dixwell Stillman
Construction Buyer … Tony Wright
Propmaker Forepersons
Jim Henry
Dale Gordon
Casey Morgan
Steven M. Pacheco
Sasha Madzar
Scott Mizagaites
Jim Roach
Richard W. Rose
Propmakers
Charles Blackwell
David Brenner
Lucky Hoerner
Anthony R. Imperato
David H. Mcklveen
Edward A. Price
Mark A. Annis
Stephen Getz
Anthony Centonze
Mark Joyce
Jeffrey J. Valdez
William Mccarley
Tony Chavez
Sergey A. Mazurov
Bobby L. Vaughn
Desmond P. O’regan
Chief Labor Foreperson … Johnny Barbera
Tool Person … Mark Magraudy
Labor Forepersons … Mark Martucci • Glenn V. Braun • Lonnie Haspel
Lead Sculptor … John Marshall
Sculptor … Leo Rijn
Paint Supervisor … Bruce G. Smith
Paint Forepersons … Robert Papegaay • Robert Campbell • Scott P. Shordon • Toby Swinehart
Production Painters … Sean Sult • Michael W. Volz
Onset Painter … andy Flores
Plaster Supervisor … Jared Trepepi
Plaster Forepersons … Brian Richard Fernandez • Matthew Fuchs
Chief Greensperson … Jeff Brown
Greens Foreperson … Bryan A. Mcbrien
Greensperson … Tommy Safron
Bruce Giddens
Lynn Garrido
Lee Ford Parker
Jane Kilkenny
Jamie Levin
Gilbert Draper
Jesse Gabriel Horowitz
Walter S. Polan
Michael Meade
Ed Sussman
Ince Borgese
David Gallion
Anthony Mcnamara
Terry King
Salvador Ruiz
Alex Rekrut
Lucinda A. Foy
Transportation Coordinator … Tommy Tancharcien
Transportation Captain … Tom Whelpley
Transportation Co•Captain … Richard Maynes
Ransportation Dispatcher … Lindsay Dougherty
Picture Car Coordinator … Tim Woods
Second Unit Director … Roger Guyett
Second Unit
Unit Production Manager … Thomas Harper
Director Of Photography … Robert Bruce Mccleery
Stunt Coordinator … Terry Jackson
Production Coordinator … Vickie M. Hsieh
Assistant Production Coordinator … Julie Fay Ashborn
Production Accountant … David M. Atkinson
Payroll Accountant … Elizabeth Probst
First Assistant Directors … Hal Olofsson • Danny Green
Second Assistant Director … David Berke
Second Second Assistant Director … Stephen P. Del Prete
Camera Operator / Steadicam … andrew Rowlands
First Assistant Photographer … Serge Rxtedi Nofield
Second Assistant Photographer … Brandon M. Cox
8 Camera Operator … Dale Myrand
B First Assistant Photographer … Dan Ming
B Second Assistant Photographers … John R. Woodward • Chris Garcia
Film Loader … anders Yarbrough
Key Set Costumer … Steven Constancio
Set Costumers … David Perrone • Gilbert Zamorano
First Company Grip … Alexander Cruz
Second Company Grip … Arnold Pena
Dolly Grip Operator … Sean Devine
Grips … Alex Gage • Josh Kuykendall • Anthony Mollicone • Rico Priem • George Kallimanis • Anthony T. Marra Ii
Property Master Assistant … Stephen Mccumby
Property Master … Joseph Bergman
Script Supervisor … Nicole Rubio
Chief Lighting Technician … Adam Harrison
Assistant Chief Lighting Technicians … Morty Peterson • Troy D. Webb
Electricians … Jerry Gregoricka • Anthony Gudino • Jose 0. Harb, Jr. • Kyle Kovacs • Jonathan Wiener
Sound Mixer … Phillip W. Palmer, Cas
Boom Operator … Patrick Martens
Video Assist … Tom Loewy • Jim Harling
Caterer … Gala Catering
Craft Service … Peter Chase
Production Assistants … Aaron C. Fitzgerald • Cosmos Kiindarius • Gerard A. Facchini • Ken C. Wu • William Batsel • andrew Will
Aerial Coordinator / Pilot … Cliff Fleming
Aerial Ground Coordinator … Cory Fleming
Aerial Director Of Photography … David B. Nowell, Abc
Underwater Director Of Photography … Pete Romano
Romulan and Vulcan Language Consultant … Marc Okrand
Science Consultant … Carolyn Porco
Bad Robot Visual Effects Consultant … Brandon Fayette
Visual Effects Coordinator … Tom Elder Groebe
Assistant To The Visual Effects Department … Clayton M. Lyons
Visual Effects & Animation
By
Industrial Light & Magic
A Lucasfilm Ltd. Company
San Francisco, California
Associate Visual Effects Supervisor … Eddie Pasquarello
Digital Production Supervisor … Michael Dicomo
Cg Supervisors … Joakim Arnesson • Thomas Fejes • Hilmar Koch • Nigel Sumner
Visual Effects Art Director … Alex Jaeger
Digital Matte Supervisor … Chris Stoski
Digital Model Supervisors … Bruce Holcomb • Giovanni Nakpil
Viewpaint Supervisor … Ron Woodall
Creature Supervisors … James Tooley • Karin Cooper
Layout Supervisor … Terry Chostner
Roto and Paint Supervisor … Beth D’amato
Sequence Supervisors
Richard Bluff
Matt Brumit
Grady Cofer
Brian Connor
Jay Cooper
Raul Essig
Leandro Estebecorena
Conny Fauser
Gerald Gutschmidt
Jeff Grebe
Jen Howard
Polly Ing
Cyrus Jam
Katrin Klaiber
Francois Lambert
Tory Mercer
Mark Nettleton
Daniel Pearson
Jason Rosson
Greg Salter
Damian Steel
Chad Taylor
Todd Vaziri
John Walker
David Weitzberg
Animation Sequence Leads … Steve Aplin • Derrick Carlin • Colin Benoit
Senior Production Manager … Jessica Teach
Production Manager … Lisa Todd
Visual Effects Editor … Greg Hyman
Additional Visual Effects Art Direction … Yanick Dusseault
Concept Artists … Warren Fu • Jerome Moo • David Yee
Digital Artists
Dan Akers Al Bailey Chris Bayz Matthew Blackwell Amanda Braggs Michaela Calanchini-Carter Mark Casey Cheah Chin Chi Michael Cordova Kalene Dunsmoor Simon Fillat Christian Foucher Tau Gerber David Gottlieb Tyler Ham Jeff Hatchel David Hirschfield Ryan Hopkins Danny Janevski Michael Kennen Matt Krentz John Legrande
Jon Alexander Katharine Baird Kevin Bell Jeremy Bloch Steve Braggs Owen Calouro Lanny Cermak Peter Chesloff Christopher Crowell Selwyn Eddy Iii Shine Fitzner David Fuhrer Angela Giannoni Bryant Griffin Craig Hammack Wendy Hendrickson David Hisanaga Christopher Horvath Patrick Jarvis Drew Klausner Marshall Krasser Melissa Lin
Okan Ataman Christopher Balog Jill Berger Aron Sonar James Brown Marshall Candland Kien Geay Chan Paul Churchill Peter Demarest Katharine Evans Jason Fleming Robb Gardner Timothy Gibbons David Gutman Giles Hancock Neil Herzinger Sherry Hitch David Howe Jeff A. Johnson Susan Klausner Kimberly Lashbrook Noll Linsangan
Trang Bach Daniel Bayona Jason Billington Daniel Bornstein Kela Cabrales Tami Carter Kai Chang Michael Conte Eran Dinour Dan Feinstein Tim Fortenberry Grantland Gears Bill Gilman Christian Haley David Hanks Shawn Hillier Zain Homer Jiri Jacknowitz Stephen Kennedy Justin Kosnikowski Asier Hernaez Lavina Michael Logan
Jennifer Mackenzie Dev Mannemela Patrik Marek David Marsh Tia Marshall Marcel Martinez Didier Mathieu Kevin May Regan Mcgee Vicky Mccann Scott Mease Joseph Metten Christopher James Miller Jack Mongovan Carlos Monzon Katie Morris Michelle Motta Betsy Mueller Timothy Mueller Melissa Mullin Brett Northcutt Ben O’brien
Saro Orfali Akira Orikasa Kevin Page Scott Palleiko Frank Losasso Petterson Phil Pham Zoltan Pogonyi Jason Porter Pedro Pozo Scott Prior Ricardo Ramos Satish Ratakonda Michael Rich Anthony Rispoli Shane Roberts Matthew Robinson Elsa Rodriguez Barry Safley Jeff Saltzman Sean Schur Frederick Schmidt Eric Schweickert
Misty Segura Paul Sharpe Amy Shepard John Sigurdson Ken Sjogren Ryan Smith Sam Stewart Russ Sueyoshi David Sullivan andre Surya Jeff Sutherland Masahiko Tani Stephanie Taubert Alan Travis Alex Tropiec Yusei Uesugi Lee Uren Bruce Vecchitto David Washburn Talmage Watson Ronnie Williams, Jr. Dan Wheaton John Whisnant
Jeff Wozniak Mark Youngren Dean Yurke Rita Zimmerman
Animators
Michael Somgat C. Michael Easton Jean•Denis Haas Geoff Hemphill Makoto Kcyama Chris Mitchell Erik Mdrgansen Marla Newall Rick O’connor Steve Rawlins Greg Towner Delid Tramontozzi Chi Chung Tee Tim Waddy andy Wong
Digital Models and Simulation
Ken Bailey Leigh Barbier Tim Brakensiek Bradford De Caussin Brian Clark Rene Garcia Maurizio Giglioli Bridget Goodman John Goodson Greg Jonkajtys Greg Killmaster Robert Kosai Jean•Claude Langer Scott May James Orara Brian Paik Steve Savers Renita Taylor Howie Weed
Associate Production Managers … Katherine Farrar • Dale Taylor • Chrysta Burton
Production Coordinators … Stacy Bissell • Joseph Bell • Hui Ling Chang Melanie Cussac • Cheng Peishan
Production Support
Matt Baume Terran Benveniste Cathleen Carden Marilyn Chan Benjamin Chua Jennifer Coronado Rachel Galbraith George Gambetta John Giang Larry Hoki Christine Loo Alejandro Melendez David Owen Erik Pampel N I K Ita Patel andrew Russell Michael Sanders Marc! Velando
Technical Support
Sean Bittinger Peter Bogatsky Leah Brooks Chantell Brown Brian Cantwell Jayesh Dalal Jason Griger Maura Hogan Mark Kayfez Charlie Ledogar Brian Mcgraw Kaz Mori Elona Musha Selma Sabera Toh Zijing
Research & Development … Tommy Burnette • andre Mallone • Dan Piponi • Jeff Smith • Jennifer Suter • Vivek Verma
Ilm Executive Producer Ilm Senior Staff … Gretchen Libby Chrissie England • Lynwen Brennan • Miles Perkins • Janet Lewin • Vicki Dobbs Beck • Curt Miyashiro
Additional Visual Effects By … Digital Domain, Venice, Ca
Visual Effects Supervisor … Kelly Port
Visual Effects Producer … Julian Levi
Digital Effects Supervisor … Darren M. Poe
Computer Graphics Supervisor … Paul George Palop
Compositing Supervisor … Lou Fedora Digital
Production Manager … Michelle Jacobs
Animation Lead … Erik Gamache
Cg Effects Animators … Steve Avoujageli • Erik Zimmermann
Character Look Development Lead … Charles Abdu Aad
Character Set-Up Lead … Richard Grandy
Character Set-Up Artist … George Saavedra
Cg Modeling Lead … Melanie Okamura
Cg Modeling Artists … Bj Christian • Raul Dominguez • David S. Sanchez
Cg Lighting Artists … Bernard Obieta Ceguerra, P.E. • Shaun Comly • Kevin Sears
3D Integration Lead … David Niednagel
3D Integration Artists … Shelley Larocca Cdurte • Alfredo Ramirez
Digital Cdmposmng Lead … Ted andre
Digital Compositors
Dan Cobbett
Aruna Inversin
Olivier R Sarda
Steven Fagerquist
Joe Farrell
Jeff Kim
Aul Kulikowski
Craig A. Simms
Florian Strobl
Scott Gastellu
Mike Ocoboc
Digital Matte Painter … Vanessa Cheung
Digital Texture Painters … Cathy Morin • Ben Neall
Digital Rotoscope / Paint Lead … Viviana Kim
Digital Rotdscdpe / Paint Artist … Ian A. Harris
Digital Plate Restoration … Janice Barlow Collier
Visual Effects Editor … Kevin Laneave
Assistant Visual Effects Editor … Francisco Ramirez
Color Grader … Christopher Savides
Visual Effects Production Coordinator … Bron Barry
Digital Coordinators … Meagan Condito • Brian Holligan
Digital Production Administrator … Navjit Singh Gill
Visual Effects Accountant … Antonio Freire
Isual Effects Production Assistant … Shelby M. Ellis
Executive In Charge Of Production … Terry Clotiaux
Additional Visual Effects By … Svengali Fx
Visual Effects Supervisor … Stefano Trivelli
Visual Effects Executive Producer … Jamie Venable
Visual Effects Producer … Eric Withee
Matte Artists … Rocco Gioffre • Michele Moen
Digital Compositors … Nabil Schiantarelli • Jan Chilliers• Lawrence Littleton
Lead Cg Artist … Marcus Levere
Cg Modelor … Steve Norton
Roto Artists … Junko Schurgardt • Laura Murillo
Additional Visual Effects By … Lola Vfx
Visual Effects Supervisor … Edson Williams
Visual Effects Producer … Thomas Nittmann
Visual Effects Associate Producer … Ryan Zuttermeister
Inferno Artists … Brian Nugent • Sean Wallitsch • Casey Allen • Trent Claus • Chris Ingersoll • Clark Parkhurst
Digital Matte Painter … Mat Gilson
Previsualization By … Persistence Of Vision Digital Entertainment
Senior Previsualization Supervisor … David Dozdretz
Previsualization Supervisor Lead … Brian J. Pohl
Previsualization Artist … Chad Hofteig
Previsualization Artists
Kevin Aguirre
Jason Hall
andre Taft
Simon Halpern
Seth Cobb
Robert Rossoff
Patrick Rodriguez
Ben Nelson
Brian Magner
My Vatanakul
Additional Previsualization By … The Third Floor
Previsualization Supervisor … Nicholas Markel
Revisualization Artists … Austin Bonang • Dorian Bustamante • Eric Carney • Albert Cheng • Mark Nelson
Additional Special Effects Photography and Miniatures By … Kerner Optical
Digital Intermediate Provided By … Company 3
Executive Producer For Company 3 / Colorist … Stefan Sonnenfeld
Digital Intermediate Producer … Nick Monton
On-Line Editor … Rob Doolittle
Digital Intermediate Assist … J. Cody Baker
Company 3 Producer … Missy Papageorge
Digital Intermediate Account Executive … Jackie Lee
Digital Intermediate Technologist … Mike Chiado
Processing and Electronic Dailies By … Fotokem
Laboratory Dailies Supervisor … Mark Van Horne
Video Dailies Colorist Dailies … Greg Curry
Film Timer … Don Capoferri
Fotokem Post Coordinator … Katherine Kane
Deluxe Color Timer … Jim Passon
Negative Management … Mary Nelson-Fraser
Main Title Designed By … andrew Kramer
End Titles & Opticals By … Pacific Title and Art Studio
Digital Editing Systems Provided By … Digital Vortechs
Font Consultant … Richard Massey
Produced In Association With Mavrocine Pictures
Mind Meld Sdundscape St Mark Mangini and Mark Binder
Soundtrack Album On Varese Sarabande
Theme From “Star Trek” Tv Series Written By Alexander Courage & Gene Roddenberry
“Sabotage”
Written By Michael Diamond, Adam Hdrovitz & Adam Nathaniel Yauch
Performed By Beastie Boys
Courtesy Of Capitol Records
Under License From Emi Film & Television Music
“Josh Greenstein”
Written & Performed By Cyrano Jones
Courtesy Of Bad Robot Music and Video Llc
“Awasoruk Jam”
Written and Performed By Cyrano Jones
Courtesy Of Bad Robot Music and Video Llc
“Future Blues”
Written & Performed By Doyle Bramhall Ii
Courtesy Of Doyle Bramhall Ii By Arrangement With Bug
The Producers Would Like To Thank The Following
Anheuser-Busch Inc.
Kern County Film Commission
Long Beach Generating Plant, Llc
Vasquez Rocks Los Angeles County Park
Alaska Department Of Natural Resource
LA County Department Of Sanitation
Cal State University Of Northridge
City Of San Francisco
JLG
Film LA
Cal Pine Pastoria Facility
City Of Long Beach
Utah Bureau Of Land Management
Tejon Ranch Company
Rock Of Ages, Vermont
American Legion Hollywood Post 43
Volvo
Siemens Medical