Star Trek

The intro blows you away both emotionally and in terms of special effects. Abrams combines eye candy with the inexorability of fate with masterly skill. Nero’s passage through the wormhole is appropriately monstrous (thanks to the marvelously designed ship) and destructive. Since I had the chance to look at the comic book preceding it, the second part of the story and the storyline around the red matter and preventing the destruction of the galaxy are all more than familiar. For me, Nero isn’t such an incomprehensible character. And Eric Bana moreover imprinted incredible charisma into him. In fact, I thought it was rather a shame the movie didn’t focus on him more. But this is all made up for with storyline about young Kirk, who is really cool in Pine’s delivery. That loud-mouth, constantly spouting snappy lines is just about right opposite Quint’s “rebel" Spock and these two (along with the superb space battles) are the powerhouses of the movie. And for me, time travel has a special aura and I just have to give the full five. Abrams proves that he seriously has skills like nobody else (I hope he proves this again tomorrow during the finale of season five of Lost) and I’m pleased that he was chosen to bring us King’s fantastic saga, Dark Tower. (13/05/2009)

"Is there a doctor here? I need urgent help for a die-hard Star Trek fan!" said a guy two rows above me after the film was over. I understood what he meant. I wasn't expecting anything soulful from Orci and Kurtzman, but if Abrams wasn’t this good at his craft, the rest of the people in the movie theater would certainly not have enjoyed it as much. He traded the naivety of this space saga for an unbelievable barrage of catchphrases, action, and visual orgies, which he endowed with so much warp that I literally suffered on the way home in a speeding carriage. The perfect casting and the amazing work by the ILM guys are just the icing on the cake. This was two hours of pleasure. (12/05/2009)

Several hundred flashes, a tattooed Bana and two Spocks. JJ began this nicely from scratch and not only did he manage to breathe life into a long-dead legend, he also resuscitated the half-forgotten space opera genre as a whole. Abrams and Giacchino get the adrenalin pumping, the wonderfully cast (while criminally unexploited) crew bristles with charisma, but the stupidity of the screenplay (however much it might be intentional) trips everybody up like at an ice-hockey match. And I haven’t yet got over how the nearer it gets to the end, the more it slips into the classic Star Trek template, but it does wear a technical cloak that is very impressive in view of the year this was made. Yes, although it’s logical that in the end it assumes the form that we know so well, but from that moment on it stopped being at all interesting. (09/05/2009)

J. J. Abrams took a female Star Trek, a male Star Wars, put the two together in the same pen for a while, and then scented what was born with commerce, taught it how to walk, played with it a little more to appeal to ST, SW, and to all the fans who know neither.... And he threw it to the masses. He couldn't have done anything better. Five stars! (07/05/2009)

Thank you, Mr. Abrams. I left the cinema trembling, as if something forgotten from my childhood had awakened in me - probably the hours and hours spent reading the books and watching all possible versions of the series. For a man who has nothing to do with the saga, Abrams has shown an admirable level of empathy and the ability to revive exactly the parts that Star Trek needs. The chemistry of the characters, the humor, the tension and all those spectacular journeys through time – cosmic poetry, in which there is a bit of children's naivety, of science, and a good portion of adventure. It's all coated in the flawless visual tinsel that's so fashionable today. It all works well together, it looks great, and for the future, it promises that Star Trek may be entering a golden age. The sweet exclusivity will probably not be there anymore, but to hell with it, the shiny tinsel looks good, action alternates with the action, the characters develop beautifully and the story is exactly as corny as it should be. I personally found everything in this film that had made me a fan of James T. Kirk and his crew. And I think that anyone who doesn't mind proper sci-fi lemonade will find something to like. Star Trek is cool, and as much as I don't like cool stuff, I fell in love with this one. (22/04/2009)