A different, but great take on the Star Trek concept

Rating: 9/10 (11 May 2009)

Based on the trailers and all the talk prior to the release of this movie, I already knew that this Star Trek would be different than others and that I had to change my expectations accordingly and watch this movie as a slight different take on Star Trek as we knew it.
I did and I was not disappointed. One person here said it was Star Trek on steroids and I totally agree. The pace is faster, action scenes are more intense, Ships and battles have a more greatness about them and most characters seem a bit more natural instead of utopian.
While older Star Trek movies often seemed like a rather lengthy episode and seemed that they were filled with obsolete scenes just to make it long enough to call it a motion picture, this new Star Trek gives you the satisfaction of watching an action-packed movie which doesn't allow you to fall asleep of boredom.
Special Effects are absolutely stunning. Go see them for yourself.
The acting is quite good. The three main characters (Spock, Kirk & bones) are very convincing and well cast. I especially enjoyed Karl Urban as Bones. Simon Pegg also did a good job on Scotty. I found him to be very amusing. Only Chekov and Sulu didn't really impress me (I never liked Sulu anyway), but they only played a minor part in the movie.
The movie has some downsides however: - Due to the fast pace of the movie, some characters are introduced too fast to get really acquainted with them. - Villain (Eric Bana as 'Nero') is pretty generic. Although I like Eric Bana and he believe he did a decent job with the means he had. I think this character lacks some needed depth.
And of course there are some issues concerning the old star trek universe and this new (Chekov, who actually was still a little kid in the old star trek time-line) and the general discussion why such a reboot was necessary.
But if you let all those things go, then Star Trek XI is a great movie.
It's like comparing Peter Jackson's the Lord of the Rings to the original book by Tolkien. If you see the original as holy, then the new take will disappoint you and leave you frustrated, but if you see them as 2 different takes on the same story/concept, then you'll find them equally enjoyable.
I like both LOTR's as I learned to separate one from the other and enjoy the good things of both and now I am doing the same with Star Trek.
This movie has rekindled the Trekkie in me and I am looking forward to a sequel