Fresh look and clever soundtrack!

Rating: 8/10 (14 May 2009)

A fresh look with plenty of homages to the classics. I was also pleased to find that the songs "Sabotage" by the Beastie Boys and "Bulldozer" by Kongcrete were used tastefully in the movie, making tongue-in-cheek reference to factoids that only trekkies could appreciate. Several of the deathless "Star Trek" phrases are still in position here ("Beam me up!" "Set phasers to stun!"), along with winking nods to the original series' endearingly cheesy effects (the whirly "transporter beam" looks as silly as ever). And the writers, Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman (who previously collaborated with Abrams on "Mission: Impossible III"), have come up with a head-achingly clever plot device that effectively vaporizes nearly 40 years of earlier "Trek" lore (six TV series and 10 previous movies), and takes the never-ending story back to square one, where it can begin spawning a fresh generation of sequels.