Excellent reinterpretation of the old story

Rating: 9/10 (3 November 2009)

The new Star Trek gets a 9/10 from me, a confirmed sci-fi geek, for sheer entertainment and interest value - a rollicking good story - solid linking to its heritage and great sci-fi.
No expense seems to have been spared to make this the most visually stunning Star Trek ever. CGI really helps provided a solid story is in place, as it was here. The idea of creating a planet-destroying black-hole by releasing a tiny quantity of "red matter" at its core was intriguing. The actual sequence took 14 seconds - I would have liked it to take slightly longer, maybe as much as 30, and to have been viewed in close-up or with flashes of those experiencing it.
There are some nitpicks: Checkov is able to lock onto two bodies falling at terminal velocity (maybe 200 km/hr) and successfully beam them back, yet he lost Spock's mother when the cliff under her crumbled, despite him having a lock on her to begin with. When Scotty rushes to eject the core, instead of the usual dilithium-core engine room, he enters something resembling an oil refinery area.
I personally liked the younger, slimmer Uhura. And at last, we see a Star Trek man going down on an attractive female, though quite green and apparently not human. Much better than Jonathan Frakes reveling in holographic, harp-playing ladies - does the man have no testosterone?? One day we might even get to see an extended love scene..
This Star Trek is very different from the previous movies - which can get a bit staid - or even the TV series. Purists may weep, but what would they prefer, a "strict" adherence to the past and a slow death from lack of patronage? It's broken out of a mainly SF geek appeal and widened the latter to a much broader, and especially younger, audience. Its youthful pitch and pace, if maintained, will ensure the franchise survives for decades to come.