Worth Full-Price, Matinee or Rental: Matinee. Unless you are a hardcore 'Star Trek' fan or Trekkie (sp?), then a matinee is perfect for this film, which would be best served watching on the big screen if you're planning to see it at all. BUt if you are the former type of fan, then pay full price and wear your pointed ears and costumes and sit far away from me.
Will I Own It On DVD: Doubtful. I'd watch this one more time, especially on Blu Ray where the movie would look absolutely amazing, but that volume viewing is not worth the money spent to buy a copy. 
1) I am a 'Star Trek' marketing representatives wet dream. I've never seen a full episode of the TV show nor have I seen an entire movie during the last 20 years, but I still bought a ticket to watch J.J. Abrams take on the franchise this weekend. That being said, my opinion of the film is from a complete outsider's perspective, so I'm sure I missed any number of nitpicky issues with the new film which will likely rile up 'Star Trek' purists.
2) For my money, Abrams did an excellent job crafting a compellingly entertaining movie that is economical in its running time (about 2 hours) and utilizes a fine cast and sharp visuals to create a summer popcorn movie that delivers on its mission to provide a healthy dose of escapism.
3) It's also refreshing to get a somewhat optimistic take on the future versus the streak of extremely glum fare like 'Watchmen' and 'The Dark Knight' and many others in recent years (as well as the forthcoming 'Terminator: Salvation')who present worlds where nobody has any amount of fun and where everybody talks with growly voices to show just how little fun they are having among the scum that populate these wastelands. 
4) A large part of the success of this new 'Star Trek' rests on the cast, which is uniformly likable. There are a few weaker links (John Cho), but the pivotal roles of Captain Kirk (Chris Pine) and Spock (John Quinto) both deliver extremely well. My favorite crew member, however, was the ship's resident doctor - Bones (Karl Urban) - whose droll observations help immensesly. Finally, Eric Bana makes for formidable villian, an essential quality to any movie of this genre. 
5) All in all, I liked but didn't love 'Star Trek.' As I mentioned, the lore is lost on me, but I found this movie to be entertaining throughout despite some time-travel plot contrivances that bog down near the middle of the film. But overrall, if you can accept this reboot where it appears that a group of college sophmores have stolen their parent's spaceship and are out saving the universe, then 'Star Trek' succeeds very well in its mission to provide a good time.
-BDS
Nice review. I'm no "Trekkie", but it's a shame you never saw the original series because there are references sprinkled throughout which caused the audience to chuckle. My sister and I used to do the Vulcan mind meld and/or Vulcan grip on each other. lol
Maybe you can catch some episodes on a lazy Sunday on Sci Fi or something. ha
I've seen MOST of the original series, but I'll probably skip this movie until one lazy Sunday afternoon in 2010 when I'm too hungover to get off the couch.
Jlee - Thanks, and I read some articles that said it was respectful of the series & put in things throughout for those fans, which was a smart idea. And I bet the Vulcan grip would be a pretty cool trick to master. Ha.
Heff - Then you should watch this sometime as you could do a lot worse for a 2 hour movie even without William Shatner.
I thought this movie was great fun, I'd see it again. Be interesting to see how it fares in the overall summer box office, as meny people have either seen this multiple times or want to ..... already! Agree that this is a nice strong start to the summer movie season.
I've got a Trekkie in my house and I grew up on the original episodes... on TV. FIRST RUN.
So while The Mister will be seeing this at the Imax Theater, I'll be staying home. I know this will end up in our home as part of the collection and I'll see it then.
BTW;
"But if you are the former type of fan, then pay full price and wear your pointed ears and costumes and sit far away from me."
bwahahahaha - no kidding. (and my mister doesn't wear costumes or goes to conventions.)
The word verification is "prevesin" which sounds a lot like some fancy drug to cure some disease doctors want me to have. It looks to me like subliminal advertising has found it's way into the word verification.
As for the post itself, I'm not a fan of Star Trek but I do hold a special amount of respect for the original series and films. I dislike the fact that somebody in this world actually thought "Hey, Star Trek is a movie that could be remade." Seriously, what's next? A remake of Star Wars? The series and films were just fine and did not need to be updated, reinvisioned or any other Hollywood buzzword for ripped off!
I am boycotting this film because it is a completely unnecessary film.
Everything that needed to be said and done was done perfectly in a 22 minute episode of Futurama. (Well, with the exception of a good "Dammit Jim" line, but DeForest Kelley had passed away years before the show and was unable to appear.
I would fall under your category of "Star Trek marketing director's wet dream" because I've never seen an entire episode either, BUT, I'm not going to see this one either. At least not while it's in theaters.
Linda – You’re right about repeat business as I read estimates this would pull in close to $200 million domestically. We’ll see. Once was enough for me in the theaters. As you mentioned, it was just a lot of fun & that is enough for me this time of year (if it’s well-done & not lazy).
Boxer – You might want to see this thing in Imax as that would probably be very cool. I debated about whether to do that same thing, but in the end, it was too much of a hassle and as I mentioned, I’m not a Trekkie, so it was the regular theater for me. I’m sure Mr. Boxer will have an excellent time, and I’m glad to hear there are no costumes involved because if there were I could totally understand your reluctance to watch it in a theater. Ha.
WIGSF – IT does sound like something to be advertised on TV with about a minute and a half disclaimer on potential side effects. I doubt ‘Star Wars’ will ever get remade simply because George Lucas has a tight grip on control of that one. And this isn’t a remake of any of the films as it starts earlier than the movies/series (I think) to show origins. But I’ve never seen ‘Futurama’ so you could be right on the summation.
Native Minnow – I figure there are a lot of us since the campaign was essentially ‘this ain’t your fathers Star Trek’ . . . And if you ever want to see this one, then the big screen would be better than small because of sound, set pieces & large visuals.
As someone who is more toward the middle of the spectrum than you are (I adore the original series ~ my first crushes were on Kirk and Scotty), haven't watched an episode in probably 20 years but could probably still quote them if I had to, I will tell you that "a group of college sophmores have stolen their parent's spaceship and are out saving the universe," makes it sound as if you have watched from the beginning. That is a delightful explanation of what the show seemed to be when Shatner and Nimoy were at the helm, as well. I'm looking forward to seeing this one.
Things I would rather do than watch the new Star Trec flick;
Play in traffic, give my dog a bath, herd cats, change a flat tire, work later than normal, shuck ears of corn, sit through a spongebob marathon.
I am sure there are tons of other things I'd rather do, but I can't think of much right now.
In this new version, they're using the Model K-22 phaser which EVERYONE knows wasn't developed until Kirk was in 40s. Where's the historical accuracy?
I am outraged!
I've never seen a single episode nor have I watched any films of that genre including Star Wars. The nearest I ever got was watching Dr Smith in Lost in Space (one of my all time favourites from childhood). That being said and in spite of your wonderful review I think I will go play in the traffic with kmwthay.
Bostonpobble - I didn't realize that was the same vibe as the series . . . thanks. And in yr. case, then you should definitely go pick this one up on the big screen, although I would probably still recommend matinee prices.
Kmwthay - Ha. If that's the case, then even matinee prices would be far too much to pay . . . but I still wouldn't do any of your list over seeing this movie as you could always just take a nap during the feature. Ha.
Geek - Exactly. I knew there were so many items like the Phasers & others that would outrage a man with yr. acute attention to detail. Ha. It makes total sense.
Romany Angel - I was in the same boat, and I understand yr. wanting to play in traffic or anything else as my wife essentially felt the same way & I didn't drag her to this one. I'm not a Sci-Fan nut either, but I did enjoy the movie.