An extraordinary spectacle, visually stunning, otherwise uninspiring for a Star Trek virgin

Rating: 8/10 (19 June 2011)

There seems to be a disparity in reception of this film between hard- core Star Trek fans. Half seems to think it's an incredibly faithful adaptation with fantastic action and lovable characters, the other half seem to think this works as a guidebook on 'Star-Trek-for-dummies', with writing and intellect far below the standard they have seen previously in the Star Trek series. I, however, have never seen Star Trek, nor have I held any interest in it, but I can honestly say that this film impressed me.
The setting was intriguing, the vulcans were extremely interesting and the characters were fun and likable. But lord almighty is this film beautiful. Everything from the Enterprise to the giant enemy space look absolutely astonishing, Star Trek boasts battles of epic proportions and (no other way to say it) badass aliens that look really cool. The direction and soundtrack are appropriate for the scale; action is reminiscent of the early Star Wars films, though seriously upgraded, orchestrated with booming percussion and high violin that might as well classify as space pornography.
The film however is not without fault; the writing, while good for an action film, may disappoint some fans looking for the intricate complexity of the science fiction, and didn't really draw me in all that much compared with the aesthetic. And while the characters are fun, I didn't really sympathise with any of them too much, though Spok especially seemed to possess an extremely deep and interesting race and back story that kind of got glossed over in the grand scheme of shooty space action. I was a bit disappointed myself; the Vulcans seemed fascinating and I would've liked to learn more about them, but we are only given the bare bones. I think, to me, none of the characters acted in a human way, which put me off somewhat, but that might be the entire point of an grandeur space opera, people go about things in a completely different manner. I just didn't see any real weakness in the characters that made me think them human. Spok briefly shows a crack in composure, but the entire nature of the vulcan people is to be calculating and logical, so he remains blank throughout the rest of the film.
The villains in this also perplexed me slightly, we are merely told of their motives and then they just pop up now and then, whenever they feel like it, it seems. Villains become better when we know more about them; it offers a kind of moral conflict in our minds when we sympathise with immoral motives. This isn't true of all villains (Dark Knight's Joker), but then the acting needs to be excellent and 3 dimensional, which it isn't here.
Any complaints I have are personal gripes, and even with them I can still highly recommend Star Trek, regardless of your Trek disposition.