Review of Star Trek (2009) by Nikki W — 11 Dec 2016

I grew up in a trekkie family. In the age-old question of Star Wars versus Star Trek, I'm firmly in the Star Trek camp. As a kid I always wanted to watch 'the one with the whales' - commonly known as 4 The Voyage Home. So when it was announced that Star Trek was getting a reboot I was sceptical (I'm also not a massive fan of reboots, which didn't help either). Thankfully, this didn't disappoint.

They start off with the extremely convenient plot point of a time travelling Romulan leading us to multiple timelines. This helps eradicate any fandom issues, giving the writers a clean slate. Smart.

Even with a separate timeline, the main fan worry was probably the casting of a new Spock. Zachary Quinto is amazing. He really was built to play this role. Stepping in to such big shoes had to be overwhelming and nerve-wracking but he doesn't just pull this off, he embodies Spock. Chris Pine plays Kirk well, he's brash and cocky, smart-mouthed and suave. The rest of the supporting cast, Saldana, Urban (especially), Pegg, Yelchin and Cho also step into their roles and execute them with great aplomb.

The story is good here, the early years of the Enterprise crew that we all know well. The dialogue is fast-paced, full of in-jokes and references for the die-hard fans. The CGI is good, it had to be. The villain (Bana) is good and I didn't even recognise him on first or second viewing.

A strong start to the rebooted series of films.