A near perfect cast saves the day.

Rating: 8/10 (10 May 2009)

When I first saw stills from this movie, I grudgingly admitted that the physical resemblance of the new cast to the original was strong, for the most part, but there is so much more that would be required to make this work. I honestly feared the worst from what I came to think of as "Tiger Beat Trek." So I can happily say that I was pleased, relieved one might way, when I saw the final product. Again, the cast for the most part nails it and goes beyond nailing it. In some cases, such as Karl Urban's take on Sylvester McCoy, the impersonation, the channeling if you will, is astonishing. Let's be clear on this. Urban steals every scene he is in. He doesn't have to but he could have carried the entire movie. He deserves some kind of award for his work here. I would have been happy enough to have watched "Bones McCoy: Space Doctor, part I" as I was to see "Star Trek: The Reboot."
The guys who do Kirk and Spock and Scotty are very good too.
So while the script I found to be confused and noisy in many places, is serviceable enough and gets the job done it was not worthy of the opportunity that had been given. The effects and sets are perfect, but with a little more work, a good film could have been a great one. With a cast this good, surely someone must have thought at some point: these guys are fantastic. Let's dump this pseudo-science, black hole, time travel stuff and really give them something to work with. And maybe in the second movie, they will. I have confidence there will be a second movie.
It was disappointing to have them riff on the the old series (which was as much fun to watch as it must have been to do) and fail to go beyond it. The original series was a mixed bag, to be sure, but it worked astonishingly well when they had good writers (and they certainly did the first season and for some of the second -- not so much the third, however). Good writing can triumph over anything, which is why fans of the original series can go back again and again to episodes like "City on the Edge of Forever," and "Amok Time." However, the greatest effects and production values in the world would never be able to salvage "Spock's Brain." When you have one of the best ensemble casts going, get a script that is worthy of them.
And I don't mean all that boring philosophical stuff. The original series wasn't really about anything so much as it was about this wonderful cast that Roddenberry with his great gifts as a producer had assembled, and would never be able to equal again. Star Trek is family, as another Gene, Siskel, noted. Perhaps, like a family real reunion, it is great when it happens that every one is looking and feeling good and holds promise for years of good times to come.
Keep the promise. All that I ask is that next time boldly go where few writers have gone before, to real feeling and depth and story, letting the work of Harlan Ellison be our guide, instead of roping in one more set of writers who don't quite know what to do when an incredible opportunity is handed them.