Star Trek (2009) Director: J.J Abrams

Hollywood doesn't produce truly great blockbuster action films anymore. Discuss. If you look at Transformers, Green Lantern, Wolverine, etc..., these films on the whole are let downs. And let's not even talk about the A-Team, I'm still really upset about that one. So J.J Abrams' Star Trek came as a great surprise to me. IT'S FANTASTIC! It's fast paced. It's got a great story. It's got emotion. It's one hell of a wonderful adventure and journey. It's space thrills a go-go.

Sure, it borrows heavily from Star Wars and Superman but that's kind of what makes it so good. A homage to the old greats, the use of a proper storyline mixed with the pain of losing loved ones and family is refreshing to see amongst such contemporary trot. It's about bonding. Together-ness. Love - and opens with a gigantic space fight and the traumatic birth of the 'new' James T.Kirk. We then follow Kirk in his rebellious childhood, before going over to the Vulcan home of 'new' Spock and his upbringing. And what do you know - Winona Ryder is Spock's Mum!

We move onto Starfleet Academy where Kirk - now all grown-up and in the form of Chris Pine - is all bravado, balls and fond of drinking and E.T lovemaking. He's the Maverick of the gang; he plays by his own rules, he's dangerous, he's a thrusting young whippersnapper. Commander Spock (Zachary Quinto),on the other hand, is reserved, calm, methodical and seemingly emotionless. They hate each other. Kirk's journey into a leader and a man, and the mutual respect and friendship between the two, is the crux to this movie.

The film looks absolutely glorious with huggggeeee production values - it must have been amazeballs on the big screen. The first sight of the USS Enterprise is electric and the intergalactic fights go right back to the glory days of the Millennium Falcon under attack. The villain of the film is Eric Bana's Captain Nero who pisses everyone right off; his spaceship is all pointy and threatening and he has a habit of inviting people onto his ship, then bumping them off. You wouldn't want to go on his hosting episode of Come Dine With Me. Bana though is suitably fearsome and a masterful villain to battle against.

The lead characters all fit well; Pine is comical and engaging as Kirk, Quinto a fantastic Spock proving talent outside Sylar in Heroes. Also great is Simon Pegg's Scotty, who gets some of the best lines in the film. And there's a great surprise - a big, big surprise - when Kirk lands on an ice planet. It made me want to cry with joy!

"Live Long and Prosper" is such a lovely phrase and there's life in this franchise yet. This is only just the beginning of boldly going...
4/5