This franchise needed a serious re-boot and it got one. . .

For fans and newbies, this was a satisfying sci-fi adventure. . .characters that were meant to flesh-out the pasts and beginnings of Star Trek characters many know by name. . .

Great concept - "How did they meet?/What were they like at the Academy?" There are hits and misses. (Hit - Kirk always gets the hot green-skinned alien chicks. Miss - Beastie Boys "Sabatoge"? What the f#ck?) Big Hit was the placement of the Kobayashi Maru. .. Kirk's famous solution to a true intellectual quandary.

The young Spock and Kirk obviously steal the show. . .but take one star off for the obligatory time-travel nonsense that seem to plague Star Trek movies as convenient plot devices.

All in all, solid entertainment.

By far the best movie I have ever seen in my life.

Before I describe what I think about this movie I think it best to explain a few things first. Yes, I'm a complete and utter geek and enjoyed watching various Star Trek TV series and movies over the years. I've never really seen many episodes of the original series, just odds and ends, and what I saw I didn't really think much too.

I grew up watching The Next Generation and I thoroughly enjoyed watching the finest crew in Starfleet each week exploring the alpha/beta quadrants. I even watched most episodes of DS9, and all of Voyager and Enterprise.

Of the movies the only one's I haven't seen are 1 and 5. Before now I'd have said First Contact was the best of the Star Trek films to date. It featured the Borg, timetravel, and a reasonable amount of action. Excellent.

I went into Star Trek having heard all from quite a few people who had really enjoyed it, some of who didn't even like Star Trek before then. So I went in to the film feeling hopeful that it would be a good film, yet I was fairly sure it couldn't beat First Contact.

I was wrong, totally and unequivocally wrong. From the very beginning of the film JJ Abrahms throws you straight into the action and to the story. Not only has JJ managed to reboot an ailing franchise but he has also been able to achieve it in a way that is not only faithful to the original, but suggests that due to time travel this "alternative reality" has become the "canon" timeline. There are many small parts of the film which are nods to what has come before also, such as a few references to the Wrath of Kahn, Sulu's fencing, and Captain Pike in a wheel chair to name a few.

If you watch it as a science fiction movie or as a Star Trek movie you will be totally impressed and blown away at the amazing job that has been performed by JJ, the cast and the crew. The only possible negative I can think of to throw in here is that they do seem to be overly keen with their lens flares.

If you've not seen this film already, and you're a science fiction or Star Trek fan then go and watch it now; you will not be disappointed.

Best of the series.

Coming from a non-Trekkie, this movie was actually pretty good. You don't have to be a Star Trek fanatic to understand the plotline nor the characters.

SYNOPSIS: George Kirk was captain of the USS Kelvin for all of fifteen minutes when he evacuated the ship to save the crew (including his wife and soon-to-be born kid) from a highly advanced and curiously shaped Romulan ship. During his last few minutes alive, he and his wife christen their newborn son: James Tiberius Kirk.

Kirk grows up to be an arrogant risktaking type (who listens to Beastie Boys . . . . think about that one for a sec, because in that day and age I guess it'd be considered "classical"), but is somehow swept up into Starfleet because for some reason Captain Christopher Pike ( . . . I'm hoping that's a name that was around for a while in the series, because there's an author out there with the same name that writes what appears to be bad teen horror novels) seems to believe that being a good captain is genetic.

Long story short: Kirk finds himself with the same guys who killed his father about 25 years ago, and finds that the "pointy-eared bastard" (Spock) that he doesn't get along with has a link to them, too (though he doesn't know it yet), and he weasels his way into the Captain's seat in order to save the day.

PROS: I don't really watch much Star Trek, so it was nice that I could follow the movie without knowing too much about the characters already. Good amounts of action, stuff blows up, and for the most part Kirk manages to keep his pants on (though you get a brief look at how he might have gotten his first case of extraterrestrial VD). The casting was done pretty well.

CONS: None really to speak of, except for the rabid fans.

OTHER: 1) Ignore the time travel issues. It's fiction. There's going to be paradox issues. It's just a movie. Move on. 2) I'm going to be kind of mean here, but it's necessary: I thought going like a week after opening would remove the issue of having to deal with the Trekkies. I was clearly mistaken. Throughout the movie, I had to deal with the guy who kicked the back of my chair and loudly clapped and giggled like (and, forgive me for being insensitive, but) a fat chick who is getting pie. STFU already. We all get it, he said "I'm a _____, not a _____, dammit". We know you feel a personal link to the characters, and it's honestly kind of sad.

OVERALL: Good to watch, but I'd try to avoid the fans. Try going for an early mantinee.

Star Trek was enjoyable and a great example of action science fiction.

I've loved the original series since I was a small boy. While I haven't kept up with every iteration of television product derived from Gene Roddenberry's original vision, I've seen the ten or so movies that periodically come out from the franchise and have come to expect the same thing: mostly bloated, inferior films.

Except for the one with the late Ricardo Montalban, and the Next Generation movie with the Borg, they've mostly been somewhat enjoyable but ridiculously thin -- ie what you'd expect to happen when you stretch a 44-minute TV series out to make to a feature-length movie.

This was different. The usual elements from the other films are there (Earth is threatened, the warp drives canna take any more, you green blooded bastard etc etc) but the fresh approach that the strong young actors brought to the roles, and the odd fun of a good origin tale, made the film a lot more enjoyable than just another romp through Star Fleet.

They even packaged the story in a way that keeps the "Star Trek Universe consistent" for the klingon-speaking, starfleet-conference-attending Biggest Fans out there.

Plus, one of those sexy green alien ladies! Five stars.

Star Trek was very, very good, but not perfect.

The movie starts with a bang. The opening scene is intense and gripping, and probably about as well done as it could have been. The appropriate heartstrings are pulled, the bad guys defined, and the context set - all in about 10 gut wrenching minutes.

I also enjoyed the look at Kirk's early days as a drunk, underachieving townie. The Beastie Boys' sabotage scene was badass.

The peripheral characters were all pretty much perfect - Scotty got to say his famous line a couple of times, Sulu was appropriately competent and subdued, Uhura was a bit hotter than I remembered (which I have no problem with), and Bones was awesome.

As for the Spock and Kirk, both did a good job capturing the essence of the characters while still bringing something new to the table.

So why no five stars? I felt there was just a tad too much comic relief - nothing really matched the intensity of the opening scene, because the tension kept getting diffused by comedy. And also felt that some of the plot twists were unnecessary - but I guess important as a way to work Leonard Nimoy in.

Overall this is a very good movie, and definitely worth seeing on the big screen.