Phenomenal!

Rating: 10/10 (10 May 2009)

Director JJ Abrams has outdone himself this time with this new Star Trek reboot/prequel. It simply tells the story of the early days of Captain Kirk and Mr Spock from the Star Trek we all know and love. But the difference between this and the original TV series and movies is that this Star Trek has the privilege of special effect visualization.
The visual effect is astounding! JJ Abrams managed to create something as massive as a planet and the USS Enterprise look so real. It is like we are there. To add to the realism, there are creative uses of lens flare (those lights that are reflected at the screen throughout the movie) that makes it look like the camera is actually out there filming the scenario.
The soundtrack is epic. It has the combination of orchestra and choir which really complement the sequence shown.
I also like the fact that there are several silent scenes showing the outer space. One where the Romulan drilling vessel is attacking the Federation starship. The Federation starship is damaged, a silhouette of a crew member drifting in outer space with explosions and shooting still going on in the background, yet there is no sound. And when Kirk and Sulu dive from the Enterprise to enter Vulcan, there was only silence until after they enter the planet's atmosphere. Usually, a sci-fi film would ignore the fact that sound can't travel in vacuum to make a scene seem cooler. But the fact that Star Trek acknowledges this just adds more to its realism.
Regarding the acting; everyone was great. The star of this movie is, obviously, Chris Pine as James T. Kirk, showing off the character's rebellious and cocky, and ultimately, leadership side. Zachary Quinto playing the iconic Spock was logical. He may not have the same deep and commanding voice Leonard Nimoy has, but the other resemblance of characteristic is undeniable. The rest of the crew -- Zoe Saldana as Uhura, Karl Urban as McCoy, John Cho as Sulu, Anton Yelchin as Chekov, and especially Simon Pegg as the babbling Scotty -- did an appraisable job forming a team that would make Star Trek lasts throughout the ages. And of course Leonard Nimoy himself had no problem taking back the role of the original Spock.
This movie is for everyone. No matter if you're a trekkie, a film-addict or just a casual movie-goer, you will be purely entertained as I did.
The directing is superb. The editing and camera angles are sleek. The storyline and the storytelling itself is very engaging; holding your breath and grabbing your attention in the most mind-numbing sequence, Star Trek is everything a summer blockbuster should be like.