A Much-Needed Reboot to a Beloved Series

Rating: 10/10 (9 May 2009)

I've been a fan of Star Trek for about 22 years now, ever since I'd seen STIV:TVH. I merely liked the movies and classic episodes I'd seen up until then; with STIV, I became intellectually engaged and began to catch repeats of classic episodes whenever they came on.
I remained an avid fan through TNG and I liked DS9 quite a bit. I fell away from my fervor after the first season of VOY. Not that it wasn't likable, but grown-up life had come to need more of my attention, and there seemed to be too much Trek for me to keep up with. I did watch the movies as they came out, and caught a few early episodes of ENT.
Having said that, I don't understand the negative reaction I've seen from fans here. Some here seem to think that this movie invalidates everything we saw in the in the episodes and movies. I can't believe die-hard Trekkies (or Trekkers, if you prefer--the distinction is lost on me) are unable to grasp the concept of alternate time-lines. Everything that we saw happen in Universe Prime (which is what I guess we're to call the original universe, since Leonard Nimoy's character is Spock Prime) still happened in that time-line; a new time-line was created with Nero's time-travel. Alternate time-lines/universes/earths have been a staple of Star Trek since the original series (see "Mirror, Mirror", "Bread and Circuses", and "Miri" for examples).
Others have complained about this Star Trek not having a soul. Maybe this is because it didn't veer into the preachiness that previous installations indulged in. I have to ask, is there anything left to preach? Trekkies have already heard Trek's message. In this new movie, the message is there, but it's transmitted more through the actions than the words: In Spock's withdrawn petition to the Vulcan Academy of Sciences due to the racist attitudes of its board, in the replete examples we see of different races working together, and in the challenge by Pike to Kirk to become something better than he was.
The destruction of Vulcan and the death of Amanda Grayson were both shocking and heart-wrenching, but they also sent a clear message: this new Trek is not safe. Unexpected things are likely to occur. This in itself is a much-needed transfusion for the Trek franchise; as one of it's producers recently noted, "Star Trek choked on its own continuity." Now that the Universe Prime continuity has been "archived," it will be exciting to see where the franchise goes next.
I loved the cast. Pine's Kirk was brash and reckless, exactly what one would expect of him. Quinto's Spock was incredible, and Karl Urban nailed the attitudes and cadences of Dr. McCoy. I wish we'd seen more of Sulu and Chekov, but I understand the limitations of a two-hour movie, and I'm sure they'll be developed more in the sequels. Overall, a truly great film that sets the stage for telling bolder Star Trek stories than have ever been told before.