finally, a frontier

Rating: 9/10 (18 May 2009)

Before I drone on about the highly impressive special effects or the interesting storyline, I must give a special mention to the performances of the new cast to the Enterprise. Chris Pine makes Kirk his own, retaining the womanising overconfident captain (to be) that Shatner before him built up, but also managing to make him fresh and new. The much waited for "Kobiashi Maru test" scene sees Pine doing a good impression of Shatner's Kirk though, complete with stilted dialogue. Zachary Quinto has Spock completely nailed, even early on when he is still between being Human and Vulcan. Karl Urban though has to be my favourite, after seeing his performance as "Bones" I can imagine no-one else in the role (Dammit Jim i'm a doctor man, not an actor) DeForest Kelly would be proud. His performance doesn't seem like a simple impression either, he simply is... Dr McCoy. Anton Yelchin is fine as Chekov (Didn't join the original crew until the second season I believe) giving a somewhat sincere yet funny performance ("Wictor Wictor" not "Victor Victor"). Zoe Saldana is a sexy Uhura and a fine tribute to Nichele Nichols, but who finally gets the kiss with Spock that Nichols' Uhura was supposed to get in the 60's.Sulu has never been so exciting as John Cho's edition, well not since the Undiscovered Country anyway. Simon Pegg's Scotty is highly amusing (I am still curious as to what true Scot James Macavoy would have done with the part) and as with all the cast, they all confidently make the roles their own. Eric Bana's Nero is what Nemesis' Shinzon should have been, but both have been underwritten, I think a bit more time should have been donated for more nasty fun with Nero... perhaps taunting Captain Pike or the crew of the enterprise (think of the memorable taunting in Wrath of Khan and Undiscovered Country).
J.J. Abrahms has successfully dragged Trek into the 21st century, with the excellent casting all-round, cutting edge special effects, witty dialogue and interesting and exciting plot.
Right from the start as the camera pans from the hull of the USS Kelvin we are treated to so much eye candy that our ocular areas may suffer from diabetes, but yet they don't feel superficial or time- filling as they melt in with the live action seamlessly. Never since Spocks death have I felt emotional in a Trek movie since the apparent death of Spock than with the birth of Kirk.. a highly memorable moment.
The dialogue as mentioned while witty is never overly so and is reserved as intentional dialogue, and every character gets their turn. Between Chekov's accent troubles, Kirk's confidence, Scotty's wide eyed freshness, Sulu's chosen hand-to-hand combat skill and even Spock's love life. The humour is spot on and gels perfectly with the plot and never seems forced.
The plot itself is as you've probably read by now, is loosely about time-travel (not a new plot device in a trek movie, but is integral to the whole reboot thing). The main story is about Nero's revenge for the destruction of his beloved home planet of Romulus with blame squarely place on Ambassador Spock and the federation's shoulders, where it goes from there I will leave for you to find out yourselves.
Nimoy's return as Spock (Which I have saved for last), is also integral to the reboot, showing us that nothing will EVER be the same again.