A word about Star Trek

I'm not a Trekker and get quite offended if people think I am. The only allegiance I have to anything "Star" is to Star Wars, okay. But even so I was quite looking forward to seeing the rebooted Star Trek in the brand new movie.

I was blown away.

This is simply one of the best prequels/remakes I have ever seen.

It captured perfectly the essence of the old TV show that I used to watch on BBC2 while waiting for Dad to come home and for us to have tea. Gone was the po-faced seriousness of the Next Generation and other droning follow-on TV shows. In was the irreverence, the humour, the liveliness, the action that I remembered, only this time dressed up the nines in a big budget special effects extravaganza that only got a bit stupid in one bit - when Kirk is chased by a monster.

Two things stand out. Firstly, if you're going to recast iconic characters, then do it with people who look a bit like them, sound a bit like them and can act a lot like them. Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto and Karl Urban simply were Kirk, Spock and "Bones". It was spooky. (Although if one more person tells me they keep seeing Sylar from Heroes when they see Spock I think I'll snap. Not everyone watches Heroes.)

Secondly, don't bin off everything that's gone before. And they haven't. Director JJ Abrams et al have cleverly reworked the Star Trek mythos to open up the possibility of boldly going to new worlds all over again in an altered reality that doesn't negate what has happened, but allows for it to be retold. And, Spock calmly uses the Vulcan neck grip. Clever references like that permeate the script, humorously and smartly.

So, in conclusion...
I went to this with two avid Star Trek fans who were equally blown away. The mark of true directorial genius in a situation like this is to keep the keenies interested without offending them, and to win new converts. I am definitely the latter. JJ Abrams, I never thought I'd say this, but at this rate I'm going to be a Trekker.

Jongudmund's rating: 10/10 I defy you not to enjoy it!