Finally! A Star Trek MOVIE!!!

Rating: 9/10 (20 May 2009)

11th time is a charm as they say.
Now I'm not putting down the other ten Star Trek "movies", they're good. A few of them are really good. But I was always bothered by the fact that, while they were more of a production than the TV episodes, they seem to have been produced with restraint. Perhaps it was an effort to maintain the feel of the beloved TV show, or perhaps the studio just didn't have enough faith in Star Trek to amplify the budget. Regardless, I see Star Treks 1-10 as films that missed the point of exactly what they were. When you make a movie based on a popular TV show, step up the game! Make it a true event.
Finally, Star Trek got the budget it deserves and the treatment it deserves. This movie is a fun ride. I wasn't around for the original TV series (but was a TNG fan), and can completely understand that some fans will be upset with some of the drastic changes to the plot, but if you consider Star Trek's problematic grip its always had on a mainstream audience, you'll have to accept them. The formula behind Trek was perfectly fine for its fans. This movie just trims some of the scientific and political fat while relying on all the great characters and humor to create a refreshing view of everything else Star Trek always had that most people took for granted.
Now the cast of this movie lacks the charisma of the original, but then they did have 30 years to perfect that. Also, Star Trek was generally a mystery show, and this film is undeniably an action movie with very little mystery included. I wonder if the next project will be truer to those roots, or if they will stick to what works for the box office. I'll be very interested to see how they do in the future. (really not meant as a pun, but I guess it works)