I wanted to start this review by saying that I wasn't a Trekker. But then I realized that by acknowledging the fact that "Trekker" is the preferred fan designation, and not "Trekkie," I revealed myself to be more of a Star Trek nerd than I had thought. I have a weird relationship with Star Trek: I've never been able to truly get into it, but because my dad has been a Trekker ever since the first episode of the first series aired, I've seen and enjoyed my fair share of episodes of the original series and The Next Generation.

Why, then, haven't I ever been able to really "get" it? Maybe I've got authority problems. Star Trek was always the bright-eyed, optimistic vision of the future, with Captains Kirk, Picard, and what feels like a gazillion others dedicated to finding new planets and lifeforms. They worked for the Federation. They were the Man. The rough-and-tumble Star Wars, on the other hand, openly went around calling its heroes "rebels." And Firefly, well...they were a buncha filthy criminals. In comparison, the clean and at times seemingly antiseptic world of Star Trek felt false.

Still, the one thing I've always truly loved about Star Trek was its colorful cast of characters, and, whaddaya know, that's the one thing I'm able to truly love about J.J. Abrams' souped-up new film version. Kirk (Chris Pine) is a winningly cocky hotshot, Spock (Zachary Quinto) is the film's surprising emotional center, and Scotty succeeds simply by virtue of being played by Simon Pegg.

The film is that most cherished of franchise entries these days, the fabled reboot, so we get to meet everyone all over again. Kirk's father is killed in the line of duty by a Romulan warship captained by Nero (Eric Bana) just as Kirk is being born. Thus, Kirk grows up as a hard-partying, anti-authoritarian slacker who, after getting beaten up in a bar for seducing the sexy Uhura (Zoe Saldana), is convinced by Captain Christopher Pike (Bruce Greenwood) to sign up for the Starfleet Academy. Three years later, Kirk finds himself aboard the newly built Enterprise, not exactly a hero--he only gets on the ship because his pal Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy (Karl Urban) sneaks him into the sickbay--but well on the way. When the Enterprise comes upon an attack of the planet Vulcan engineered by Nero, Pike gives himself over to the Romulans, leaving unlikely allies Kirk and Spock to save the day.

When the film focuses on the interplay between its characters, it's quite enjoyable. There are several laugh-out-loud scenes that are funnier than anything in an early summer action flick this big and occasionally stupid has the right to be. Pine and Quinto have real chemistry, and if given time, could probably grow into the characters and their relationship as well as William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy did. Quinto in particular is exceptional. Spock is supposed to be a remorselessly logical Vulcan, but his half-human pedigree often forces him to act on impulse. Quinto performs an excellent balancing act, and in the few moments where Spock really lets loose, he shines.

Article Author: Arlo J. Wiley

Arlo J. Wiley is an aspiring filmmaker who has a deep love of movies, music, television, and most other artforms. He is also totally obsessed with Joss Whedon and the Beatles. You kind of need to know that.

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