Fun but it doesn't excel.

Rating: 7/10 (21 December 2009)

Star Trek isn't a bad film, it is rather fun to watch but it lacks a more gritty realism I was half expecting. Instead Abrams aims for a more tongue-in-cheek affair aiming to please both the older and newer Star Trek fans.
All the cast is very good and Chris Pine has a natural aura of likability. However, does he have to be so anti-establishment? The known crew of the Enterprise come together rather too willingly and matter of factly and whilst we have tension between Kirk and Spock the rest of the crew are just swept in to the fold without due friction.
The film has a lot of action, special effects and although the story is rather smart in its black-hole, time travel plot it frustrates on its most prominent point. Why is Nero so embittered by Spock, we never really get a plausible explanation except he couldn't save Nero's planet and thus Nero's wife was killed, is that enough to harbor such vengeance?
Star Trek for me was a fun, tongue-in-cheek film that doesn't take itself too seriously. I can appreciate Abrams directorial position on this and the tight-rope he would of been on to please both the old and new fans. However, for me Star Trek lacked an impact or a particular wow factor to make this a totally successful revitalisation