PLOT

In 2259, Captain James T. Kirk is removed from command of the starship USS Enterprise for violating the Prime Directive after exposing the ship to the primitive inhabitants of the planet Nibiru in order to save them, and Spock, from a cataclysmic volcanic eruption. Admiral Christopher Pike is reinstated as commanding officer with Kirk demoted to first officer. Spock is transferred to another ship. Shortly after, Starfleet officer Thomas Harewood, sent by Commander John Harrison, bombs a Section 31 installation in London. During an emergency meeting on the situation, Harrison uses a ship to ambush and kill Pike and other senior officers, before transporting to Kronos, homeworld of the hostile Klingons.

Admiral Alexander Marcus reinstates Kirk and Spock to Enterprise with orders to kill Harrison using a new long range stealth torpedo. Chief Engineer Montgomery Scott objects to allowing untested torpedoes on board without knowing their specifications; when he is overruled, he resigns. Kirk assigns Pavel Chekov to replace Scotty. En route to Kronos, Enterprise's warp capabilities become disabled. Kirk leads a team with Spock and Uhura to the planet, where they are ambushed by Klingon patrols. Harrison appears and kills the Klingons. Harrison surrenders when he learns the precise number of torpedoes on board Enterprise.

Dr. Leonard McCoy and Marcus's daughter, Dr. Carol Marcus, open a torpedo at Harrison's urging, revealing the torpedoes contain cryonically-frozen humans. Harrison is taken to Enterprise's brig, where he reveals his true identity as Khan Noonien Singh, a genetically engineered superhuman, awoken by Admiral Marcus from centuries of sleep and forced to develop advanced weapons. Khan reveals that Marcus sabotaged Enterprise's warp drive, intending for the Klingons to destroy the ship after it fired on Kronos, sparking war with the Klingon Empire. Khan also gives Kirk a set of coordinates, which Kirk asks Scott to investigate. Scott discovers the coordinates lead to a covert Starfleet facility.

Enterprise is intercepted by a much larger Starfleet warship, USS Vengeance, commanded by Admiral Marcus. Marcus demands that Kirk deliver Khan, but Enterprise flees to Earth to expose him. After Vengeance disables Enterprise near the Moon, Carol reveals her presence aboard Enterprise to stop the attack. Marcus forcibly transports Carol to Vengeance before ordering Enterprise's destruction. Vengeance loses power after being sabotaged by Scott, who infiltrated the ship. With transporters down, Kirk and Khan, with the latter's knowledge of the warship's design, space-jump to Vengeance. Khan overpowers Kirk, Scott, and Carol, kills Marcus, and takes control of Vengeance.

Khan demands that Spock return his frozen crew in exchange for the Enterprise officers. Spock complies, but he and McCoy surreptitiously remove Khan's frozen crew from the torpedoes. Spock detonates the warheads, crippling the ship. With both starships caught in Earth's gravity, they plummet toward the surface. Kirk enters Enterprise's radioactive reactor chamber to realign the warp core, sacrificing himself to save the ship.

Khan crashes Vengeance into downtown San Francisco in an attempt to destroy Starfleet headquarters, while McCoy discovers that Khan's blood has regenerative properties that may save Kirk. Spock pursues Khan through the city and the two engage in hand-to-hand combat. Uhura beams down and stuns Khan. Spock prepares to kill Khan, but Uhura stops him, explaining he's their only chance to save the Captain. Khan's blood revives Kirk and Khan is sealed in his cryogenic pod and stored with his compatriots. One year later, Kirk speaks at Enterprise's re-dedication ceremony. The Enterprise crew embarks on a five-year exploratory mission.

CAST

Chris Pine as Captain James T. Kirk

Zachary Quinto as Commander Spock,

Leonard Nimoy has a cameo appearance as Spock Prime.

Karl Urban as Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy

Zoe Saldana as Lieutenant Nyota Uhura

Simon Pegg as Lieutenant Commander Montgomery "Scotty" Scott

John Cho as Lieutenant Hikaru Sulu

Benedict Cumberbatch as Khan

Anton Yelchin as Ensign Pavel Chekov

Bruce Greenwood as Admiral Christopher Pike

Peter Weller as Starfleet Fleet Admiral Alexander Marcus

Alice Eve as Dr. Carol Marcus,

Noel Clarke as Thomas Harewood

Nazneen Contractor as Rima Harewood

Additional members of the Enterprise crew include Amanda Foreman as Ensign Brackett, Jay Scully as Lieutenant Chapin, Jonathan Dixon as Ensign Froman, Aisha Hinds as Navigation Officer Darwin, and Joseph Gatt as Science Officer 0718. Deep Roy and Jason Matthew Smith reprise their roles as Keenser and Hendorff from the first film. Anjini Taneja Azhar, Nolan North, and Sean Blakemore also appear in the film, with Azhar as Lucille Harewood, the terminally ill daughter of Thomas Harewood; North portraying a Vengeance helmsman; and Blakemore playing a Klingon. Heather Langenkamp portrays Moto.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

the twelfth installment in the Star Trek franchise and the sequel to the 2009 film Star Trek, as the second in a rebooted film series