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The original series of Star Trek fired my childish imagination in the early 70's, seeding and nurturing an enduring love for science-fiction. Despite this I approached the screening of the latest movie episode in the saga with trepidation - could anything meaningful be added by going where so many had gone before?

My first fear was that it would suffer the same fate as Star Wars I - The Phantom Menace. This relied far too heavily on the fan base, special effects and forced humour. However, five minutes into Star Trek I began to relax - the opening scenes set a fantastic tone, brilliantly mixing fan nostalgia with tense action and there was plenty to keep the audience guessing; veteran fan and Star Trek newbie alike.

My next fear was that Star Trek - The Academy Years (as I had mentally subtitled it) would degenerate into something resembling High School Musical and Sky High, with perhaps some Harry Potter thrown in - packed with hormonally charged classroom scenes. I don't like to give away too much of the story in a review, but suffice to say this movie still leaves plenty of scope for someone to make 'The Academy Years'.

My final fear was that despite amazing special effects, the remixing of classic dialogue ("Why you green-blooded...!"), and the sheer joy of seeing USS Enterprise in action once again, the movie would be shacked by a predictable plot, like too many of its predecessors. And to be fair it this outing has the usual elements of poor sci-fi - a semi-maniacal villain intent on doing lots of damage with an almost plausible motive, and in possession of a ridiculously dangerous new technology.

Despite being handicapped by these cornerstones of formulaic plotting the movie snatches success from the waiting jaws of mediocre. The story contains enough surprises to escape being labelled predictable, and combined with the clever referencing of 40 years of Star Trek history, the whole becomes greater than the sum of its parts.

But it might not be until sometime after leaving the cinema that the full impact of what's actually happened sinks it. Again, not wanting to spoil the plot, but at the end of the movie Leonard Nimoy speaks those defining words opened so many episodes, and they are more true than they have been in a long, long time.

This is a fantastic movie and its greatest success is that the Star Trek universe looks set to live long prosper.

Star Trek (2009) directed by JJ Abrams. Starring Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Leonard Nimoy, and Eric Bana.

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