To boldly go....

Rating: 9/10 (10 May 2009)

I like Hollywood's current idea of rebooting rotting franchises. Christopher Nolan has done a masterful job of injecting Batman with some life. Daniel Craig has given us new reasons to root for James Bond. J.J. Abrams has now given us a fresh look at the Star Trek universe. As a fan of Alias, Lost and his work on Mission: Impossible 3 I was excited to see what Abrams would do for Star Trek. I can sum it up in one simple word, "wow!"
This fresh look at Star Trek is just what the fans needed after Nemesis left a bitter taste in our mouths. A youthful and talented cast boldly takes Star Trek to a place where no other movie dared to go. I think this movie is exactly what Roddenberry would have created in the 1960s had the technology and money been available.
The movie was brilliantly acted by a new young cast. Zachary Quinto as Spock is by far the highlight of the film. Quinto's previous work as Sylar on "Heroes" has prepared him very well for the role of an almost emotionless character of Spock. Chris Pine is fantastic as Kirk (and he even looks like a young William Shatner). Zoe Saldana is great as Uhura, John Cho is awesome as Sulu, Karl Urban was hilarious as Leonard 'Bones' McCoy and Simon Pegg was very memorable as Montgomery Scott (despite the least amount of screen time). The cast works very well together due to a brilliant script and amazing direction.
The story itself is well written. I particularly like the movie because it allows the writers and director to take the Enterprise crew on new directions in later installments of this new franchise. Star Trek has always forced us to believe in fantasy and this new Star Trek is exactly that - fantastic.
The camera work in the movie is stunning. There is a breathtaking moment the first time the camera zooms on the Enterprise NCC-1701 on the hull of the ship. The space scenes are breathtaking in both their scope and visuals. I will admit that the use of lens flares is a bit overdone, but I was able to ignore it as there is a lot of other stuff to be focusing on anyway.
The movie is just over 2 hours long and after it was over I was disappointed simply because I could have watched 2 hours more. Abrams has created a new fantastic universe to enjoy. With the infusion of new cast and direction, I personally cannot wait until the next installment comes out in a few years (I'm guessing).
As Spock states in the movie, "Thrusters full ahead."
Amazing movie.
9.5/10