Cooler in every Aspect

Rating: 8/10 (10 May 2013)

As a non Star Trek fan, i might say i found the film staying as far as possible from that universe, without spoiling all the joy to the followers.J.J. Abrams has a way of doing this and i'm sure he'll do it again with Star Wars, although it is a little strange for one person to be doing probably the most iconic sci-fi movies for two of the most devoted fractions of fan groups, despite the fact they don't like each other-the hardcore fans especially-not one bit.
So, on with the film-i must confess i found the first film to be nothing special.Yes, some special effects thrown into it were indeed, spectacular, but the story itself was quite linear and straightforward.No intensity, no tension, only technicalities and quite the strange unit to be honest.It definitely had more for the fans, since it was basically an origins story, and that bugged me as well, because all i wanted was action, clever twists, some wit in the mix, and last, but not least-a great villain (which, albeit an A-lister, Eric Bana sadly isn't).
But for god's sake-Benedict Cumberbatch is!
The story was quite interesting, more than the first time for sure, some clever writing was involved and finally we get to see Kirk (Pine) and Spock (Quinto) actually act, you know-with real emotions and tears in their eyes.This time the action was more and even more impressive, some of the scenes were real space opera, a poetry of Kubrickan proportions.The tie-ins, as one friend, who's quite the Trekkie said, were quite a few, but this time around more delicately added and that also put a smile on my face.I recommend it to everyone and anyone who loves a good space adventure, even if he/she is not a fan of the series-because of that sole reason alone.
Now, the script is more elaborate, more twists are involved and, ahem, John Harrison (Cumberbatch) is probably the best written villain of recent memory.Worthy of a mention are his scene-stealing appearances on the Enterprise as he was locked on the ship.Sherlock just makes acting look a child's play.
The film itself is darker as promised, and i will see it again, because so much is happening at once, because it has it's flaws (everyone are superhuman, for instance, jumping back and forth through outer space looks like i can do it tied-handed and blindfolded).But it's moral dilemmas are overwhelming, and some moments are, in that respect, quite unforgettable and special.And for a film who wants to achieve much, greatness even, i believe this is the most important part indeed.It is a)-special, b)- harder to forget and c)just look at Cumberbatch, seriously, look at him.They say good actors are those, who can stay stone cold in one scene, and weep in the next-but he does both things.At once.In a single shot.And also i cannot say i remember anything from Kirk and Spock's first outing back in 2009.Only the technicalities on their ship pre-flight, the multinational flight squad, Anton Yelchin speaking weird (he does it again, but not as irritating) and some scene with a giant fire ray coming over from a planet (which i think , no disrespect, was destroyed- it even might've been Spock's planet, but it made no difference whatsoever, because i was not feeling it, because they were not feeling it).That's all can remember.
But now they do, it all looks better emotional-wise and i'm grateful to all of the cast for that.
Because of that, this time around, i won't be having the trouble remembering at all!
An almost great, independent (from the old-school Star Trek universe) and original film.
My rate 8.2/10