Let the games begin

Rating: 8/10 (5 July 2013)

Okay, I'm not a Trekkie, so I can't go into depth about the Romulans, the Klingons, yada yada. I will leave that for the die-hard fans who either loved or hated this film.
"Star Trek," from 2009, shows us the young Kirk and Spock, along with Bones, Chekov, Ahura, etc. It starts out with James Kirk Sr. meeting his death in space but managing to get his pregnant wife off the ship; then it shows us the wild child James Jr., and then later as a student, coming up against Spock before they even board ship.
I have to say, I really enjoyed this story, as the fleet fights a Romulan time traveler, who is creating black holes to destroy the Federation planets, one by one. I think Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, and the rest of the cast do an excellent job as the younger versions of the characters from the '60s TV series, with Quinto especially as a standout. And it was a kick to see Leonard Nimoy as the old Spock as well.
I feel there was an attempt to remain faithful to the '67 series, with Bruce Greenwood as Christopher Pike, and Mrs. Roddenberry, Majel Barrett, doing a voice-over.
J.J. Abrams is smart in this and the next film to focus on the relationship between Kirk and Spock. He continually brings both films back to it; in this film, it's an unsteady pairing that evolves over time.
The special effects are spectacular - you wouldn't expect anything less from a big Hollywood film.
Star Trek is a very successful franchise, much more successful, I feel, than Star Wars once the first big three films were done.