Star Trek (2009) ***1/2

Like many others, when I heard this movie announced I couldn’t believe they would go through with it. Clearly, the franchise had run out of steam, but this? This had me worried. Well, I’m so glad this re-imagining (it’s really not a reboot) was made! It’s fantastic sci-fi fun intertwined with emotion, humor, spectacular action and amazing effects. Sure, it may not have the themes that many of the great episodes had but what is here will make you forget about all that.

The story has you right from the intense beginning thru the inspiring ending. Abrams directs a perfect cast that is guided here by Leonard Nimoy with another effortlessly classic Spock, who even has his own sweet ship! Chris Pine does a fine job in conveying Kirk while not imitating Shatner. He has the swagger, charisma, defiance and resilience that is so iconic but he makes it his own. No one else could’ve played Spock but Zachary Quinto, who really captures the characters struggles as we see him at a time where he hasn’t quite mastered the toll of his heritages yet. It’s refreshing to see Spock and Kirk basically on the same level, dealing with the same destiny issues and connected personally by the vengeful Romulan villain Nero. I really enjoyed Karl Urban as Bones, probably the most of all. He really seemed to capture what a young DeForrest Kelly would have brought to the role. Both he and Simon Pegg brought some enjoyable yet not overdone comedy to the film with great timing. John Cho and Anton Yelchin as Sulu and Chekov were given much more to do here and both showed great excitement in their youthful roles. The best treatment is Zoe Saldana as Uhura, who the writers give much more to do then the series or ever bothered to. We know who these classic character will become but it’s undeniably great to see them work together for the first time.

I don’t need to go into the story anymore than to say it has new beginnings, painful farewells, an under-written villain with a misguided vendetta and the formation of unforgettable friendships. This is a film for everyone and with that being the goal, Abrams and company have surely succeeded! Even if you’re not a fan, this will win you over. I was down with any changes made since it made sense and was expected. I liked how despite those changes there were also some great nods to Trek lore here. It’s hard not to leave looking forward to more adventures with this new/old crew.