STAR TREK (directed by J.J. Abrams) - REVIEW

By the time the iconic Trek monologue with it's promise of exploring strange, new worlds and boldly going where no one has gone before arrives, J.J. Abrams has accomplished the impossible; he has reinvigorated the series with a fresh perspective, without ignoring or slighting what has come before.

Abrams uses a favorite Trek staple of time travel to establish an alternate timeline where his version takes place. Without a need for spoilers or an unncessary plot synopsis, the movie delivers in a way that most "event" movies haven't in a very long time.

It's fun.

Now, keep in mind, Abrams and his creative entourage (including screenwriters Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci and producer Damon Lidelof) have not reinvented the wheel. It's still Trek; but it's fresher and more accessible than it's been in decades.

Abrams has declared that he was never a Trekkie, and planned to "Star Wars-fy" Trek, and in some ways he has; the action is faster and more intense, the "call to adventure" for Kirk isn't a far stretch from Joseph Campbell's treatise on mythology, and unfortunately, one of the characters has an alien sidekick that was not part of the original incarnation.

The performances are all impressive, with Chris Pine taking on the swagger, devil-may-care attitude of James Tiberius Kirk, truly channeling the best of Shatner, while never resorting to an impression. Zachary Quinto creates a Spock we haven't seen before; his struggle between his Vulcan and human sides help define him and his actions. Karl Urban captures DeForest Kelley's Dr. Leonard McCoy and, I think it's his best performance to date. John Cho, Anton Yelchin, Simon Pegg, Bruce Greenwood and Zoe Saldana are all excellent, truly embracing the characters and their trademark quirks and mannerisms, to admirable effect.

The performance that I was most afraid of, was the strongest, and that was Leonard Nimoy portraying "Spock Prime", the lone character and actor from the original timeline, who serves as the lone witness to certain events and actions that are so different from his own established reality. Nimoy truely shines showing aged Spock's wisdom, humor and intelligence as the result of a life of adventure, which complements, but never invalidates Quinto's perfomance.

Finally, Eric Bana portrays the Romulan villian Nero, who has travelled back in time, setting the course for this variant reality. Bana is servicable, but hardly memorable, serving as the film's MacGuffin.

The plot of the movie is the reimagining itself.

With the exception of the original series and films, I've never been a very big fan of the series. Nevertheless, I felt protective of the franchise and thought that a reimagining was unneccessary and redundant.

This film is a revelation and it is a reminder of the pure joy and escapism that movies can provide.

May this series live long and prosper.