Filmmakers now have the technology available to bring some of those amazing gadgets and technologies in the Star Trek universe to full life. The effects are pretty spectacular here, from the simple view of the Enterprise firing into "warp speed" to the full-on space battles between it and the enemy Romulan ship. With a budget of $150 million you expect something pretty damn spectacular to look at, and Star Trek is most certainly that.
The differences between this incarnation and the previous ones (particularly the original series) continue on through the portrayals of the characters (which are household names even to those who are not fans). With the exception of a wildly miscast Winona Ryder as Spock's mother (why they just didn't get an older actress I don't know), every member of the cast play their parts brilliantly. Pine is charismatic, charming, and enjoyably rebellious as Captain Kirk (an iffy casting choice at first but he proves himself), Seldana is sweet yet tough as Uhura, Cho is a focused and "get the job done" type of guy as Sulu, Yelchin is surprisingly effective as the heavily-accented Chekov, and the same goes for Pegg as Scotty, whose comic relief in the film is wholly welcome. But the highlight of the film is without a doubt Quinto as the new Spock. He plays the role to absolute perfection — not only does he look the part, even before the make-up effect of the pointy ears and shaped eyebrows, but he nails the mannerisms and the emotionally distant nature that the character needs to have. His role as Sylar on the TV show Heroes leads you to think that he would be typecast as that type of villainous character, but he proves with his portrayal of Spock that he is anything but prime for that sort of typecasting.
A very important thing in a film like this is a great villain. Bana is the one to fill that spot here, and he's one of the film's highlights along with Quinto. Similar to Cillian Murphy as The Scarecrow in Batman Begins, Bana's Romulan Nero is prominent and effective enough but at the same time he doesn't take the limelight away from other things, particularly the characters aboard the Enterprise. Bana is almost unrecognisable in the Romulan get-up, which is all the more important for us to invest ourselves in him as the character instead of the just seeing the actor. He's not going to be remembered as one of the all-time cinematic villains, but he's effective and then some.
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