For new fans it's awesome! for old fans, still awesome, but kind of familiar!

Rating: 8/10 (17 June 2009)

The USS Kelvin is flying through space only to discover an uncharted anomaly. When a gigantic ship appears and attacks the Kelvin it looks curtains for the crew. However under the stewardship of temporary Captain George Kirk, most of the crew aboard are saved, including his wife and new-born son. Years of struggling to come to terms with his father's loss sees James T Kirk rebellious, distrustful and lost, until father figure Captain Christopher Pike dares him to enlist in star fleet and better his father's heroic achievement. Here he meets his best friends Bones McCoy and a young upstart Vulcan called Spock whose officiousness and efficiency are in stark contrast to Kirk's wild abandoned approach to life and to rules.
Thus begins the re-imagining of the Star Trek film series (I hate calling them a franchise...It's not McDonalds!) by J J Abrams. Being the creator of lost one might imagine this would be a convoluted mess of a film, however what comes across in this film is clearly J J's passion for the history and tradition of what the original material was about which has lead to a lot that is praiseworthy about it and just a little that isn't.
First I'm gonna get the negative out of the way. The film does feel a bit familiar. The big ship at the beginning and the music used is very "Star Trek: the motion picture", the Kobyoshi Maru" is very "Star Trek 2" and the whole end with Kirk at the academy is very "Star Trek 4". The whole snow planet thing does feel a bit contrived to bring another character into it, and Nero is no Khan or Chang in terms of great Star Trek villains.
Negatives out of the way lets get onto the positives, and oh boy, the positives! Firstly the script and writing feel great, most of the references and the very few in-jokes work fabulously well. The performances in all the supporting roles, Sulu, Chekov, Scotty and Uhura are exemplary and they all play so well, in a film that could feel heavy or laden due to the complexities of the characters relationships. Now, lets get to the key triumvirate, McCoy, Spock and Kirk. These three performances steer the film along and make us feel like the original crew are still on board that ship. They work so damned well that I almost feel disloyal for enjoying them so much.
And now for the last crew member. The USS Enterprise. In all the good Trek films the Enterprise shots are things of beauty to behold, and this film is no exception. In battle mould, she looks stunning, in Warp drive she looks like an angel surrounded by light, it's so powerful. The direction of the rest of the team by J J is also glorious with the cinematography resembling the stunning photography and lighting used in Die Hard with arcs and halo's aplenty.
This is a great, great, blockbuster and one of the best Star Trek films ever, right up there with the unofficial trilogy of 2, 3 and 4.
May the new Star Trek live long at the cinema and Prosper.