Star Trek
Paramount Pictures | Release Date: May 7, 2009 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
82
METASCORE
Universal acclaim based on 46 Critic Reviews
Positive:
43
Mixed:
3
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
The GuardianPeter Bradshaw
This new Star Trek is fast-moving, funny, exciting warp-speed entertainment and, heaven help me, even quite moving - the kind of film that shows that, like it or not, commercial cinema can still deliver a sledgehammer punch. Read full review
100
The Hollywood ReporterRay Bennett
Paced at warp speed with spectacular action sequences rendered brilliantly and with a cast so expert that all the familiar characters are instantly identifiable. Read full review
100
VarietyTodd McCarthy
Blasting onto the screen at warp speed and remaining there for two hours, the new and improved Star Trek will transport fans to sci-fi nirvana. Read full review
100
New York Daily NewsJoe Neumaier
The new Star Trek is more than a coat of paint on a space-age wagon train. It's an exciting, stellar-yet-earthy blast that successfully blends the hip and the classic. Read full review
100
Village VoiceRobert Wilonsky
Not only does this Star Trek proffer smart thrills and slick kicks, but it builds upon the original's history–from its very first pilot episode to Robert Wise's 1979 "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" and beyond–while creating an entirely new future. Read full review
100
Boston GlobeTy Burr
In the pop high it delivers, this is the greatest prequel ever made. Read full review
100
Washington PostAnn Hornaday
This installment has achieved a nearly impossible hat trick. It's a movie that is exegetically correct enough to appease the most hard-core buffs, while opening up the final frontier to a whole new generation of fans who have yet to appreciate Star Trek's ineffable combination of sci-fi action, campy humor and yin-yang philosophical tussle between logic and emotion. Read full review
91
Tampa Bay TimesSteve Persall
The new, vastly improved Star Trek moves at warp speed through a marvelously reinvented sci-fi franchise, reverent to the past and firmly entrenched in the now. Read full review
91
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
The clever and infectious reboot of the amazingly enduring sci-fi classic, director J.J. Abrams crafts an origin myth that avoids any hint of the origin doldrums. That's because he rewires us back into the original Star Trek's primal appeal. Read full review
91
Portland OregonianShawn Levy
Full of life, wit, smarts, thrills and sheer gratifying entertainment that it launches the mind on a stream of merry somersaults. Read full review
90
NPRBob Mondello
It's hard to imagine anyone caring much why we're plunging ahead at warp speed, when the ride is so insanely satisfying. Read full review
90
SlateDana Stevens
Retains the original Star Trek's spirit of optimism, curiosity, and humor. Read full review
90
SalonStephanie Zacharek
An affectionate, exuberant picture that seeks to bring even those who don't know Klingon from Portuguese into the embrace of a pop-culture phenomenon. Read full review
90
The New York TimesManohla Dargis
Isn't just a pleasurable rethink of your geek uncle's favorite science-fiction series. It's also a testament to television's power as mythmaker, as a source for some of the fundamental stories we tell about ourselves, who we are and where we came from. Read full review
90
Wall Street JournalJoe Morgenstern
Star Trek goes back to the legend's roots with a boldness that brings a fatigued franchise back to life. Read full review
89
Austin ChronicleMarc Savlov
It's not necessary to be a longtime fan of the Star Trek universe to appreciate the sheer emotional punch and swagger of this rough and randy Enterprise crew. Read full review
88
New York PostLou Lumenick
Vigorously played as a young man by Chris Pine, Kirk is a brilliant, sports-car driving, bar-brawling rebel who is finally shamed into joining Starfleet Academy. Read full review
88
Philadelphia InquirerCarrie Rickey
The result is more exciting than the last four ST pictures put together, more fun than a barrel of Tribbles, and the most satisfying action-adventure since last year's "Iron Man." Read full review
88
Rolling StonePeter Travers
A burst of pure filmmaking exhilaration that manages to pay homage to the classic 1960s TV series and still boldly go where no man, William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy included, has gone before. Read full review
88
PremierePatrick Parker
We were also glad to see they didn't ignore the humorous elements that made the original so great. Plus, the casting is spot on. Read full review
88
TV Guide MagazineJason Buchanan
It fulfills its promise of rebooting the series while leaving us wanting more, and it does so with style and energy to spare. Now that's an origins tale that truly delivers. Read full review
83
The A.V. ClubKeith Phipps
Gripping action and vulnerable heroes writ large. It boldly goes somewhere different and makes it hard to leave the film not hoping for a return voyage soon. Read full review
80
The TelegraphTim Robey
This is a grand success – perhaps a new populist benchmark in what to do with a flagging franchise, and a witty, light-on-its-feet prequel. Read full review
80
Time Out LondonTom Huddleston
The overall impression is one of unbridled enthusiasm on the part of the film’s makers, both for its predecessors and for the brave new universe Abrams and his crew are exploring. Read full review
80
Total FilmAubrey Day
Buoyant, buffed and with the promise of even better to come, this is the freshest Trek in decades. Read full review
80
Arizona RepublicBill Goodykoontz
The movie is fun, it's smart and there's plenty of action. There are enough knowing nods to old-school fans to satisfy them, but the nods don't get in the way. In fact - and a feel for this kind of thing is what makes Abrams so good - they're perfect, nice accents that won't slow down the uninitiated. Read full review
80
EmpireColin Kennedy
Odd-number curse be gone. The most exhilarating Trek to date marks a new future for Kirk and co. If this can boldly go on to seek out ideas to match its speed and style, a franchise is reborn. Read full review
80
New York Magazine (Vulture)David Edelstein
Abrams and his writers (Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman) have come up with a way to make you dig the souped-up new scenery while pining for the familiar--a good thing. Read full review
80
TimeMary Pols
It's a real family film, relatively light on the violence and funny without being overly crude; it even has some touching moments. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesKenneth Turan
Though it has its over-caffeinated aspects and its missteps, this Star Trek has in general bridged the gap between the old and the new with alacrity and purpose. Read full review
80
Film ThreatPete Vonder Haar
Star Trek is pretty damn enjoyable. By resetting the franchise to what is essentially Year One, Abrams has the luxury of...gently reshaping the core characters. Read full review
75
The Seattle TimesJeff Shannon
This is easily the best “Trek” movie since “Khan,” giving the rebooted franchise ample reason to proceed at warp speed. Read full review
75
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
Ultimately, when the end credits roll, we're left with the sense that Star Trek represents a good beginning. As a film tasked with getting all the characters together, re-booting a timeline, and finding a way to return a veteran actor to his beloved role, Star Trek works. Read full review
75
Chicago TribuneMichael Phillips
Breathlessly paced bordering on manic, but propulsively entertaining. Read full review
75
Miami HeraldRene Rodriguez
There is considerable fun in discovering the hows and whys the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise came together, and each member has at least one moment in the spotlight, including the esteemed helmsman Sulu. Read full review
75
USA TodayClaudia Puig
When it comes to sheer spectacle, Star Trek, as re-imagined by J.J. Abrams, delivers. Read full review
75
Baltimore SunMichael Sragow
What makes this movie ultra-contemporary is the way Abrams has re-imagined Spock and Kirk as a team of rivals. Read full review
75
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Liam Lacey
Smart and youthful, with a well-balanced package of humour, romance, crisp action and character-based drama, Star Trek gives popcorn movies a good name. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalle
At its best, the effect is like seeing life panoramically, past and future, simultaneous and magnificent. Read full review
75
Christian Science MonitorPeter Rainer
The young cast is mostly callow and TV-bland and the special effects don't quite seem worth that hefty price tag, but overall this is a presentable addition to the franchise. Read full review
70
New Orleans Times-PicayuneMike Scott
It's one heck of a fun ride, a pure popcorn spectacle that doesn't require a knowledge of the Star Trek mythology to make it enjoyable. Read full review
63
Slant MagazineBill Weber
Like the original cast’s best movie, The Wrath of Khan, this Star Trek essentially turns out to be a war film, with the occasional philosophical timeout to discuss love, friendship, and duty until the next bone-crunching fistfight or multi-weapon rumble with the Romulans. But Bana’s villain lacks the wit and corny majesty of Ricardo Montalban’s. Read full review
63
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
The movie deals with narrative housekeeping. Perhaps the next one will engage these characters in a more challenging and devious story, one more about testing their personalities than re-establishing them. In the meantime, you want space opera, you got it. Read full review
60
L.A. WeeklyScott Foundas
The visual effects are predictably excellent -- sometimes, in the case of a three-man free fall through space, unexpectedly lyrical -- but most of the movie's dramatic conflicts feel strictly pro forma. Read full review
60
The New YorkerAnthony Lane
This new Star Trek is nonsense, no question ("Prepare the red matter!"), but at least it's not boggy nonsense, the way most of the other movies were, and it powers along, unheeding of its own absurdity, with a drive and a confidence that the producers of the original TV series might have smiled upon. Read full review
50
Chicago ReaderJ.R. Jones
A relatively mindless thrill ride that would have made the old NBC execs grin from ear to ear. Read full review
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