Good Popcorn Entertainment

Rating: 6/10 (7 May 2009)

This is a very well made and sufficiently well-conceived film that it is disappointing that its downfalls (which only come to you in retrospect) are actually as large as they are.
It's a very enjoyable film - most casual moviegoers will come in and leave feeling like their money was spent well. However, anyone who wants a well rounded film experience, including a great plot, won't necessarily feel that way. And while many of the hard core fans will accept the (SPOILERS start here) alternate reality/time traveling story line, the writers took a very easy way out with these plot devices - it is something which has been done in any number of sci-fi franchise (perhaps with the lone exception of the Star Wars movies) from Star Gate to Star Trek, the plot reminded me of a combination of several episodes of Voyager ("Relativity" and, more particularly, "Year of Hell"). The other problem with the movie is the choices they made, both involving the same character - the destruction of his home world and his relationship with a fellow crew member.
Another complaint I have with the movie is some of the cast. While good actors, Cho and Seldana do nothing with their parts as Sulu and Uhura. On the other hand, Urban is very good as McCoy and Quinto is an adequate (albeit more illogical than necessary) Spock, but both Pegg's very brief, late entry as Mr. Scott and particularly Anton Yelchin excellent Chekov. Pine does a very good job of making a very well known pop icon his own. On the other hand, one of the essentially problems with the film is why Kirk gets the full on hero worship at the end when it was Chekov and Scott who made the success of the trip possible and Spock himself who saved Planet Earth. Another failure in the script is that Uhura and Sulu really had nothing (and did nothing) to contribute. It's also a very charming, witty script although someone who is only a casual audience member or even a sometime fan will not get some of the in-jokes.
The high grade is for the fact that the movie is a very good form of entertainment and hopefully some of these issues will be resolved in the already planned sequels. I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt in the hopes they will try harder in the plot.