"I like this ship! It's exciting!" I couldn't say it better Scotty. Star Trek is brilliant fun. It's visually stunning, the characters are young, amusing and vibrant, a great contrast to the increasingly cardboard characters we've seen in sci-fi films (and shows) in recent years. The story is interesting and just complex enough to make you think, not just stare at the screen and go 'ooh, pretty' or 'ooh, explosion'.

The casting in the film is brilliant. Zachary Quinto steals most every scene he's in, as Spock, while Chris Pine has that some cocky and clever charm that we first saw in Kirk. I was amused by the constant familiar faces that cropped up in smaller roles. Winona Ryder was cringe worthy but it's more about past associations then her actual performance. As a long time 'Home and Away' fan, I loved seeing Chris Hemsworth as a heroic Kirk senior and there was even a familiar face in 'House's' Jennifer Morrison.

The film is full of great action sequences, awesome space ships and truly funny scenes. I am a 'Star Trek' fan but my experience of humour in the series was only smirking moments at best but during this film I laughed out loud a number of times.

I guess my only complaint for the film is that I would have liked to have seen some stronger female leads. Zoe Saldana was gorgeous as Uhura but spent most of her time rolling her eyes at Kirk's advances or, well, that's a spoiler. Why can't the girls have some kick butt action sequences too?

All in all, the two hours of the film rolled by far too quickly. I went grocery shopping after the film and strolled around the aisles in a space adventure haze. I think in the end all I managed to get was apples and chocolate...

Going by the offerings so far, if you only see one film this year, make it 'Star Trek'.

Live Long and Prosper.

Review #2 by Amanda Bruce

I am not exactly what you would call a “Trekkie.” I have seen a few episodes of the original series, but I grew up watching “The Next Generation” and “Voyager” because my family members were fans. I have a healthy appreciation for anything that sets its story in outer space, partly because of my undying love for “Star Wars,” so I went in to this movie thinking that I would enjoy it, but not be familiar enough to really “get it.” I was wrong. You do not have to be an expert on the series to understand what is going on. As long as you have heard of “Star Trek” you should be able to recognize some of the more famous characters. And it is a great movie to boot.

Not only does it have action sequences for you to marvel at, but it has a great storyline. The script is fantastic, mixing in hilarious one liners to help diffuse more stressful situations. It also has impeccable casting. Zachary Quinto and Chris Pine nail the roles of Spock and Kirk. I really cannot imagine trying to reboot the franchise with anyone else on the starship now that I have seen those two act together. Fans of J. J. Abrams (the man helming the film) will also recognize the voice of his good luck charm Greg Grunberg at one point in the film, a fun little Easter Egg. (Greg Grunberg has made appearances in every single one of Abrams’s successful projects, but was not available for filming, so just his voice was recorded for one scene.) Even Jennifer Morrison’s short scene at the start of the film was able to bring tears to my eyes, and she is only in the film for a few minutes. It was just that good.

I only have one bone to pick with the film. Uhura. Like I said, I am not as familiar with the original series as I am with some of the later incarnations, but I thought she was supposed to be the exception to the rule that follows the women of the series around. To my knowledge, she is the only rock solid female member of the crew in the original series, and she is not one of the Captain’s many girls. Zoe Saldana is a fantastic actress. In my opinion, she pulls off any role she is given, and she did a great job at making me believe that her character was strong and smart. Uhura is pretty funny as she spurns the advances of James T. Kirk, not wanting to be another conquest. Then, the writers go and turn her into another swooning female, but over a different character. I was a little disappointed. I was really hoping she would be able to break free from that mold.

Even with my slight disappointment over the turn Uhura takes in the film, I still loved every other minute of it. It definitely deserves to be ranked among the best summer blockbusters. So, take a leap into the final frontier and go where no one has gone before. You’ll be in for the ride of your life.

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