Successful! (Much to our surprise)

Rating: 9/10 (15 May 2009)

I'm an amateur writer, and for me, every sentence of your prose has to have meaning and interest (i.e. no padding). Now translate that to the movies, and in particular; this one.
The energy of this film is quite evident - something emotional/dramatic/plotinal (I made that word up) is always happening in this film - so if your attention span is short, then go and watch re-runs of ghost whisperer or something.
(Spoilers, sort of - Star Trek knowledge is a prerequisite) Now, we have 2 Kirk's, Captain Pike and 2 Spock's in this film - and if you are like me, you will look back to "Enterprise" and think time travel is a disaster. Thankfully, only 1 time incursion happens, and saves all the endless "what if?" balls you'll get if this was a series. It's also quite well explained. We do understand that reality from the 'normal' Star Trek universe (e.g DS9,Voyager) has been sent off on a tangent after a singular event - the (paradoxical) destruction of Vulcan.
(MAJOR spoilers - please watch movie before reading this unless you are so poor you must sustain yourself by sucking dew from rags - in which case, did you get my £50?, and how are you reading this?) So, Vulcan is destroyed? Only 10,000 Vulcan's left?! Vulcan colonies? Hmm.. It makes me wonder how cornered Vulcan's would react... But anyway...
Well, back to the film. I was wary of a new Star Trek film, but off the top of my head, Scottie, Kirk, Spock, Sulu and Uhura were all perfectly reinvented, and at least to me they all had an extra dimension added to their characters and they felt a lot more 'real' than the original series characters did. But then, the original series only lasted 3 seasons! Even 'Enterprise' out-did that! Maybe they are correcting a character building wrong.
I actually spent 3/4 of the movie telling my (wonderful & beautiful) wife about all the references to previous Star Trek movies/episodes - but had to stop when she threatened to impale me on a cinema hotdog. She also didn't know why Spock & Uhura being an item is unlikely. Bearing in mind that Kirk and Uhura had the first interracial kiss, I guess this is the first interracial-interspecies kiss. Another first for Trek! Since Americans feel obligated to acknowledge other nations, I was glad to see Scotty portrayed by Simon Pegg - I found him quite fitting (others not), and.. Um.. The Russian Guy (whose name I cannot bloody spell) was supreme, and must come back! (Please post his name and help make him famous) I also heard some rumblings that there were no Arabs on the crew of the Enterprise, but to be fair; it is set in the future.
(I'm going to burn for that one - Admin, please take that comment out if it causes offence!) Overall, I adored this movie, loved the new actors and new portrayals - and the only thing that could rain on this parade is the possibility that they won't follow through with more movies or a BG style mini series.
Way to go guys! P.S.
I've seen there is a cam version of this film on 'torrent' (i.e. Pirate bay and the like), but I would urge anyone to see this on the big screen first for quality of experience. And, if you have it in you to respect someone's work, at least buy it later on, because this is an excellent piece of work! (This rule should not apply to the makers of 'Epic Movie' - pirate their stuff to buggery before they destroy the industry by aiming at the 'pseudo-parental-wallets' of 10 year olds!!!)