Star Trek is back. And it's awesome!

Rating: 9/10 (1 July 2009)

Saw this ages ago, sorry it's taken me so long to get a review up, but I've been doing my final exams (yay, I'm a graduand!). Anyway, I really enjoyed this film, it may lack the brains of traditional Trek, but it remained extremely entertaining nevertheless. I should point out foremost that while I am a fan of Sci-Fi, and of the original Star Trek, I'm not really a Trekkie, and have very little interest in The Next Generation. I got into the Original Series very recently. It was on late night BBC 2 last year and I got into watching it while pulling all night essay stints. I found it entertaining, liked the plots and the characters and found it vastly preferable to what I've seen of the bloated, moralistic and, frankly, boring subsequent series. I am not however, a purist (I am not an anorak on it as I am on classic "Doctor Who" for example) so can only comment in the loosest terms in regards to how a fan would receive it. If I had to guess though, I'd say that, a few quibbles aside, the fan should love this as much as a newcomer.
That really is the strength of this film. JJ Abrams somehow manages to strike a perfect balance between catering for the fans, and catering for blockbuster audiences who just want to see massive spaceships blowing stuff up. And he delivers with a vengeance, creating what is both an adrenaline fuelled action adventure and also a geeky nostalgia trip for those of us who have seen the classic series.
The plot is fairly simple prequel fare, following Jim Kirk from no good punk, through the Federation academy, to ensign under Christopher Pike and finally, the man thrust into command of the enterprise against the threat of a deranged Romulan's insidious plans to destroy the Federation. However, Abrams knows exactly what he is doing and, unlike the tepid "Wolverine", really fleshes out well known characters, rather than just delivering more of the same. He also cleverly adds a dimension of time-travel to the plot, meaning that on the sequels he can do whatever he likes without pissing off continuity nerds, its smart and somehow, doesn't feel like a cheat.
By far the most impressive aspect of the film is the cast. The acting talent on display here is terrific, balancing the difficult task of capturing the soul of the well known characters and fleshing them out, without falling into the trap of merely impersonating the original actors. They succeed admirably: Chris Pine captures Kirk's cockiness and Zachary Quinto is great as the hotheaded younger Spock, but the most plaudits must go to Karl Urban as Bones, who is so good, you'd swear they cloned DeForrest Kelly. The supporting cast is also very effective, with Bruce Greenwood's Captain Pike the standout, adding earthy notes and depth to a character previously relegated to a horrible accident on the TV show.
Visually the film is stunning, taking a leaf out of Star Wars book and hosting massive chaotic space battles, yet remaining much darker in tone. We are actually worried about these characters and care about them winning, especially after the unhinged Nero .... ah, well that would be telling.
Overall, the film is fast paced, witty and exciting, and I can honestly say it's one of the few films I've seen where everyone, male or female, old or young, walked out with a huge grin on their face. Take your friends or your family and you'll have an awesome time.