Liked it a lot!...

Rating: 9/10 (11 May 2013)

There is a welcome return for all of the favourites from the first film; Spok (Zachary Quinto), Bones (Karl Urban), who I think is brilliant in this part by the way, Nyota Uhura (Zoe Saldana), Scotty (Simon Pegg), Chekov (Anton Yelchin) and Sulu (John Cho). Plus we have the addition of Admiral Marcus's daughter, Dr. Carol Marcus (Alice Eve), who manages to bluff her way onto the ship. Everyone did a great job, although I wasn't too sure about Scotty's accent, with Benedict Cumberbatch, Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto and Peter Weller taking top honours (for me anyway).
Beautifully shot with much of the trademark lens flaring that is becoming synonymous with the films of J.J. Abrams. It really doesn't bother me as much as it seems to others. I'm really glad I saw it on the big screen (in 2D by the way) because it's one of those that definitely benefits from it. I can't imagine it having anything like the impact on a small screen. It's an epic plot that draws on elements from earlier iterations of these characters but totally turned on its head. I enjoyed it a very much and I'm already looking forward to the next one!
SteelMonster's verdict: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
My score: 8.6/10
You can find an expanded version of this review on my blog: Thoughts of a SteelMonster.