An excellent reboot sure to breed a new generation of final frontier explorers.

Rating: 10/10 (20 May 2009)

I've been a bit of a Star Trek fan since I was a kid, in part because it was the closest thing to a Star Wars TV show that I had at the time. I learned about it sometime after Star Wars obviously and I've seen episodes from just about every series, though I never did end up watching them religiously for some reason. I'm sure people who've seen the series from its roots have a much deeper understanding of the series than I could hope to achieve, but I've been fascinated by the worlds Star Trek had to offer for many years.
Then there are the movies and the recent years. I've actually seen every Star Trek movie made, even the fifth one that's loathed by many (I saw it when I was a kid FYI, so I don't remember the flaws it had that well). I hadn't seen every episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, but I did see enough to be able to tell you that Star Trek Nemesis, that was made back in 2002, was a really disappointing way to end the series. Then there's the TV show "Enterprise" which served as the ultimate prequel to the rest of the shows. Apparently it got lower ratings than I thought it did, but it apparently didn't win over many fans, even to the point of where afterwards the Star Trek brand just disappeared for the most part.
Now we're here in 2009 with a new movie simply titled "Star Trek". This movie is intended to be a reboot of the said franchise by going back to the roots that made Star Trek what it was, and offering a totally new origin story for the classic 1966 series. This much is certain, after 7 years of all but losing its credibility, this was a "do or die" scenario for the series. This would either be the final nail in the coffin, or the kick in the rear that it needed to get back on course. What I'm really, really, pleased to say, is that J.J. Abrams chose to give the series the later option. I say that's a good thing because J.J. has set up a universe for a promising new beginning with the movie. I'll give you the bare bones of what the story is like, the movie begins with a bang, the USS Kelvin is under attack from a Romulan mining vessel. In this scene, the crew is escaping, while George Kirk is ordered to see everyone off, including his pregnant wife. In their last few moments over a telecom chat, they decide to name him after Winona's father, James. After the escape scene and the destruction of the Kelvin, we're treated to seeing James getting himself in Juvinile Detention when he drives a car off of a cliff and manages to jump out at the last minute... He's pretty young at this point too... About 8 I'd guess.
We also get to see the iconic Spock grow up with his "disability" as a half-Vulcan, causing him to reject his membership at the Vulcan Science Academy, thus leaving him only the option of joining Starfleet Command on Earth. What ensues afterwards is a space opera involving the old cast of characters reincarnated to appeal to the new generation. We even get a guest visit from Captain Christopher Pike (Bruce Greenwood) of pre-series establishment fame. Not only are the characters likable, but the storytelling is epic, the humor allows for camp sessions but remains consistent just like in the previous shows, there's even a huge nod to the original series at a point in the movie, and the casting is very well done to boot.
I wasn't too worried about Zachary Quinto since even though I've only seen one episode of "Heroes," I knew the show itself was very well casted. What really had me staying observant though was Chris Pine as James, since if you look at his bibliography he's a pretty new actor, his first movie being Princess Diaries 2: The Royal Engagement, and stared only in romantic comedies afterwards. Not only does Chris Pine work as the new Kirk, but the rest of the cast with their trademark personality traits are here as well. Checkov has the accent and he can beam up people, Sulu is Asian and is the pilot, it's basically all the same from the original show, the only real difference being that Pike is the Captain while Kirk is under service to the Enterprise.
If you're familiar with Star Trek's storytelling, you'd know that it can be campy, epic, and provoking at the same time like the Star Wars movies. Star Trek pulls this off very well, there are serious moments that the crew encounters at times and sometimes they pull off a little tongue and cheekiness, but it's not done in heartfelt situations that don't call for it.
Star Trek is a very welcome addition to the summer line up considering the last sci-fi movie that had me as enticed as I was Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, and it's been four years already. That's too long for me since I can't name many other space operas off the top of my head besides Serenity and The Fifth Element. I can only hope the movie does well in theaters and the end result is sequels.
So overall say, "See it!" Star Trek (2009) is a very complete movie that offers a new future for the classic franchise. It has a wide amount of appeal and not much to complain about. Let's hope that with this movie in place that new entries to the series are made based off of it.