The film follows James T. Kirk (Chris Pine) and Spock (Zachary Quinto) aboard the USS Enterprise as they combat Nero (Eric Bana), a Romulan from their future who threatens the United Federation of Planets.

Star Trek was heavily promoted in the months preceding its release; pre-release screenings for the film premiered in select cities around the world, including Austin, Sydney, and Calgary.

[56] Star Trek fan and Carnegie Mellon University professor Randy Pausch (who died on July 25, 2008) cameoed as a Kelvin crew member, and has a line of dialogue.

[57] Majel Barrett, the widow of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry, reprised her role as the voice of the Enterprise's computer, which she completed two weeks before her death on December 18, 2008.

[8] He added that he loved the focus on exploration in Star Trek and the idea of the Prime Directive, which forbids Starfleet from interfering in the development of primitive worlds; but that, because of the budgetary limitations of the original series, it had "never had the resources to actually show the adventure".

[80] Abrams noted that, during filming, he had been nervous "with all these tattooed faces and pointy ears, bizarre weaponry and Romulan linguists, with dialogue about 'Neutral Zones' and 'Starfleet' [but] I knew this would work, because the script Alex and Bob wrote was so emotional and so relatable.

[85] Orci noted while the time travel story allowed them to alter some backstory elements such as Kirk's first encounter with the Romulans, they could not use it as a crutch to change everything and tried to approach the film as a prequel as much as possible.

[81] There was a scene involving Kirk meeting Carol Marcus (who is revealed as the mother of his son in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan) as a child, but it was dropped because the film needed more time to introduce the core characters.

[80] Star Wars permeated in the way they wrote the action sequences,[82] while Burk noted Kirk and Spock's initially cold relationship mirrors how "Han Solo wasn't friends with anyone when they started on their journey.

Chambliss worked with a large group of concept illustrators, including James Clyne, Ryan Church, creature designer Neville Page, and Star Trek veteran John Eaves.

Bobbitt brought the original prop to the set, but the actors found it too large to carry when filming action scenes, so technical advisor Doug Brody redesigned it to be smaller.

[100] Production designer Scott Chambliss maintained the layout of the original bridge, but aesthetically altered it with brighter colors to reflect the optimism of Star Trek.

At the director's behest, more railings were added to the bridge to make it look safer,[8] and the set was built on gimbals so its rocking motions when the ship accelerates and is attacked were more realistic.

[115] Orci and Kurtzman were able to stay on set without strikebreaking because they were also executive producers on the film; they could "make funny eyes and faces at the actors whenever they had a problem with the line and sort of nod when they had something better".

[77] Other scenes cut out explained that the teenage Kirk stole his stepfather's antique car because he had forced him to clean it before an auction; and that the Orion he seduced at the Academy worked in the operations division.

[136] The voices of the 1960s played over the trailer were intended to link the film to the present day; John F. Kennedy in particular was chosen because of similarities with the character of James T. Kirk and because he is seen to have "kicked off" the Space Race.

"[90] Promotional partners on the film include Nokia, Verizon Wireless, Esurance, Kellogg's, Burger King and Intel Corporation, as well as various companies specializing in home decorating, apparel, jewelry, gift items and "Tiberius", "Pon Farr" and "Red Shirt" fragrances.

[143] Master Replicas,[144] Mattel, Hasbro and Fundex Games will promote the film[needs update] via playing cards, Monopoly, UNO, Scrabble, Magic 8 Ball, Hot Wheels, Tyco R/C, 20Q, Scene It?

[149] A surprise public screening was held on April 6, 2009, at the Alamo Drafthouse theater in Austin, Texas, hosted by writers Robert Orci, Alex Kurtzman, and producer Damon Lindelof.

[151] For almost two years, the town of Vulcan, Alberta had campaigned to have the film premiere there, but because it had no theater, Paramount arranged instead a lottery where 300 winning residents would be taken to a prerelease screening in Calgary.

[160] Star Trek ended its United States theatrical run on October 1, 2009, with a box office total of $257,730,019, which places it as the seventh highest-grossing film for 2009 behind The Hangover.

[162] While foreign grosses represent only 31% of the total box office receipts, executives of Paramount were happy with the international sales, as Star Trek historically was a movie franchise that never has been a big draw overseas.

The website's consensus reads: "Star Trek reignites a classic franchise with action, humor, a strong story, and brilliant visuals, and will please traditional Trekkies and new fans alike.

[167] Burr praised the character development in the film, opining that "emotionally, Star Trek hits every one of its marks, functioning as a family reunion that extends across decades, entertainment mediums, even blurring the line between audience and show.

[170] Slate's Dana Stevens felt that the film was "a gift to those of us who loved the original series, that brainy, wonky, idealistic body of work that aired to almost no commercial success between 1966–69 and has since become a science fiction archetype and object of cult adoration".

Robey resumed: "It's the main event, dramatically speaking, but there's always something more thumpingly urgent to command their attention, whether it's a Vulcan distress signal or the continuing rampages of those pesky Romulans.

"[167] Similarly, The Guardian writer Peter Bradshaw expressed: "The story of Kirk and Spock is brought thrillingly back to life by a new first generation: Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto, who give inspired, utterly unselfconscious and lovable performances, with power, passion and some cracking comic timing.

Club gave the film a 'B+' grade, and asserted that it was "a reconsideration of what constitutes Star Trek, one that deemphasizes heady concepts and plainly stated humanist virtues in favor of breathless action punctuated by bursts of emotion.

[176] Similarly, Marc Bain of Newsweek opined: "The latest film version of Star Trek [...] is more brawn than brain, and it largely jettisons complicated ethical conundrums in favor of action sequences and special effects.

The film was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack Album for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media, but was beaten out by Up, also composed by Michael Giacchino.