As usual, be forewarned, HERE BE SPOILERS!!

The fact that’s I’ve seen Star Trek twice this week has to attest for how awesome the movie is. But awesome is not the same as perfect, not by a long shot. However as reboots go, this is without a doubt one of the best. Indeed all my friends and work mates seem to have seen the film at least twice if not more and, in an age where cinema seats cost upwards of £7, that really says something.

The story basically goes like this. The USS Kelvin is investigating a ‘lightning storm in space’ (in reality a singularity) when they are attached by a truly scary looking and massive ship called the Narada, a Romulan mining vessel from the future.  After their captain is murdered by the ship’s captain, a tattooed rather-human looking Romulan named Nero (Eric Bana), First Officer George Kirk take command and evacuates the ship, choosing to stay in order to depend the shuttles from attack. Obviously his wife is not particularly happy, especially as she’s just gone into labour and little James T Kirk is born mere seconds before his dad meets his maker.

The bulk of the film – bar a quick scene involving Mini Kirk driving a car off a cliff – takes place on Kirk’s first mission. The Narada has once again reappeared and is attacking Vulcan. Suspended for cheating on the Kobayashi Maru, Kirk (Chris Pine) sneaks on board thanks to the ‘help’ of Dr. McCoy (Karl Urban) and he soon finds himself at odds with Acting Captain Spock (Zachary Quinto). Indeed after Vulcan is destroyed by Nero using ‘red matter‘, Spock gets so pissed off that he maroons Kirk on the ice world of Delta Vega where he meets ‘our’ Spock (Leonard Nimoy) and later Montgomery Scott (Simon Pegg) and his little friend.

 I think the reason I like the film so much is that it’s not just a ‘these other films never happened’ reboot, rather it acknowledges both the films and the TV series by including a cameo from Nimoy and passes the baton to a new cast under the guise of a parallel universe where the Star Trek franchise  never happened. I love the actors, each of whom is distinct in the role while paying homage to their predecessors, from Quinto’s Spock to Anton Yelchin’s Chekov (complete with w’s) and Urban’s McCoy whose portrayal is so close to the original McCoy, you just have to close your eyes and you can hear the late DeForest Kelley.

Nero himself is the classic villain, even if you’re not quite sure of his motivations (unless you read the lead-in comic). Yes his wife and kid died but why not go back and warn Romulus huh? Why do these guys always go bad and do the stupid thing. Bana plays Nero excellently and there’s something distinctly unnerving about the way he address Captain Pike (Bruce Greenwood) as ‘Christopher’ that has to be seen to be believed. Pike, by the way, has the film’s best catchphrase and is a likeable fellow, I’m so glad he doesn’t follow in the footsteps of his parallel self.

The special effects are awesome from the opening blinding lens flare and the rush of pure terror as the camera follows a screaming woman sucked into the silent vacuum of space to the ending credits (which are oddly Superman Returnseque and very pretty). The Enterprise itself is in keeping with classic Trek but has a clean, ultra futuristic modenr edge and touch screens! Very cool. But this being a film there’s also product placement and I’m oddly reassured by the presence of Nokia, Budweiser and Slushos in the future. 

While packed with amazing visuals and pesky lens flares, the film feels incredibly well made, even if the whole red matter aspect of the plot feels like another rabbit’s foot. A mere device for making time travel a possibility but the thing is, you just don’t care! It doesn’t matter what red matter is or how a mining rig can prevent and entire planet from transporting to safely to radioing for aid. There’s so much going on that the rational nitpicking part of your brain shuts down, leaving Star Trek to become a delicious, forbidden pleasure.  The characterisation is excellent and all the cast get their time in the limelight, although I’m not completely sure if the Uhura/Spock subplot is sweet and endearing or oddly disturbing. While Scotty arrives late in the film (and Simon Pegg doesn’t get anywhere near enough lines), his presence is vital to the plot and anything with Simon Pegg in it is bound to get a thumbs up from me.

I admit the destruction of Vulcan (a planet which has always intrigued me) was a huge shock to the Star Trek universe. Almost on a par with saying ‘aw hell, let’s just go destroy Earth’. At the same time, this just proves how different this new franchise will be from it’s predecessors (I would love a TV series based off the back of this film – and demand a sequel). Yet it’s not without it’s humour, from Kirk constantly sitting in the captain’s chair (much to Spock’s ire) to the odd reference to the other Star Trek series, including ‘Admiral’ Archer‘s beloved dog who got misplaced in a transporter accident. And for all fans of the original series, there’s even a poor redshirt who has a somewhat familiar English accent and ends up living up to the colour of his uniform. Sometimes the film did feel a little excessive, no more so than when McCoy is trying to counter Kirk’s various reactions to drugs by stabbing him in the carotid artery. Ouch. Also, the hand thing … we just didn’t need to see that.

All in all, it’s an awesome film and I cannot wait to get my hands on the Blu Ray release. It’s so rare to have a film this hyped that is actually not a disappointment, indeed it’s a rare gem that deserves to be treasured and watched repeatedly. So, what are you waiting for, people? Go see it now!