Illogical fun

Rating: Null/10 (23 May 2009)

I'm a sci-fi fan and I was a teenager during the broadcasting of the original "Star Trek" television series in 1966-1969, so I devotedly attended showings of the six films featuring the original cast even though most of these movies took themselves far too seriously and the actors became increasingly geriatric. I missed out on the next generation both on the small and big screens, but the chance to see James T Kirk and the original crew back in action was too tempting to miss, especially when I knew that J J Abrams - who has entertained and utterly confused me with the television series "Lost" - would be helming this 11th film in the franchise.
I was not disappointed. From the very beginning, this is a work with pacing and panache (plus humour and in jokes) that makes it stand part from the early movies. The (approximate) timescale of this back story version is from Kirk's birth to his assumption of command of the USS Enterprise, but we're in the hands of Abrams so we are subjected to both time travel and alternative universes. This is both a strength and a weakness - on the one hand, it enables the director and scriptwriters to be faithful to the Star Trek canon and characters while re-imaging the whole franchise but, on the other hand, the plot is confusing and - as Spock himself would surely be the first to point out - completely illogical.
So suspend logical and enjoy the ride in what is a visual treat with terrific sets and special effects and fine performances from Chris Pine as Kirk and Zachary Quinto as Spock (good to see him as a good guy after "Heroes") and cameo appearances from Leonard Nimoy (playing the original Spock) and much-missed Winona Ryder (as Spock's mother).