"I dare you to do better." Phil's STAR TREK review!

I feel that I should start by admitting that I am not a "Trekker" or "Trekkie" or whatever the die-hard fans of Star Trek are called nowadays. I was always more of a Star Wars kid. I have always been an admirer though, and after learning how much that I know about Star Trek after only a few minutes of conversation many would disagree with my fandom self-assessment. I will say that I became seriously burned out on all things Star Trek about a decade ago, cringing at the mere mention of yet another lackluster film or series.

Point being: I am fan enough to know the score but not enough to take it as personal as say, the mishandling of a galaxy far, far away.

Enter J.J. Abrams and the great re-imagining. My first response upon learning about the planned reboot was a resounding "meh". This indifference remained until I saw the third trailer, when Captain Pike says the following to a young and aimless James Tiberius Kirk: Your father was the captain of a starship for twelve minutes. He saved eight hundred lives. Including yours. I dare you to do better. Enlist in Starfleet.

That was all it took to heighten my interest, giving me the feeling that there was more to this reinvention of the treasured mythos than I had first surmised.

So finally we get to the film itself, which I have now seen twice, once on Thursday night, and again on Saturday afternoon. Knowing the film to be a reworking of the Star Trek universe from nearly the ground up and my general distaste for reinventions, how did the new film do? Did the USS Enterprise simply cruise by on impulse power, or rather take off at full warp speed?

To put it mildly, the new Star Trek knocked me on my ass! I did not expect to walk out of the theater so enamored with this film, and it only got better upon a second viewing. Be warned though: if you have a problem with the thought of a sleek new Star Trek this may not be for you. The entire universe has undergone serious renovations, from the pretty new cast to the high-action space battles. This is NOT your mother's Star Trek, and Abrams even accentuates this point with the symbolic destruction of a classic Corvette early in the film.

I normally would not do a synopsis of something so well known and beloved, but I feel this needs to be addressed before I go on. I have read several reviews complaining about the time paradox within the film, and I feel it is necessary to point out that the events in this film take place in a divergent time line. In short: the Star Trek universe we all know and love and grew up watching is not affected by the events of this film at all; it still exists, untouched, completely independent of the time line of the new film (this is all but bluntly stated at one point in the new film, by the way). This story takes place in what amounts to a new and different universe, meaning none of the sacred cows are so sacred here, giving Abrams and company carte blanche to do pretty much whatever they want with these characters.

That being said, here is your short synopsis: you know the worlds, you know the history, and you know the people. Their lives and destinies are changed by a temporal event, and these familiar yet different characters are drawn together to once again go where no one has gone before for the first time. 'Nuff said.

I feel that I have already said too much about the story, which I usually try and avoid. I love a good alternate reality yarn if done well, and the writers did a phenomenal job. The story felt like destiny sensed that something was amiss in the universe and then commenced to attempt repairs, creating a tension that Star Trek frankly has not enjoyed for a long time. There is a lot at stake in this film, and although the characters we know and cherish are all present, we are not quite sure what is going to happen to them.

The new film is very modern and exciting, which I found to be surprisingly refreshing. Although I appreciate Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry's dream as much as anyone, the dream had lost a great deal of its sheen over the previous decade and was ready for an overhaul. The prior two films are abysmal, and the last series suffered from low ratings before cancellation. The Star Trek universe desperately needed new blood and a shot in the arm, which Abrams and company were not only willing to give but also delivered wonderfully.

One thing I always liked about the starships in Star Trek is that they felt, well, like ships. They still do, and the marriage of naval warfare and Star Wars caliber space battles was thrilling to watch on the silver screen. Again, it constantly felt like a great deal was at stake, from the first scene to the last. I could go on and on about the look of the new film, but it boils down to you will either buy in and like it or you won't. I loved it personally, and could not take my eyes from the screen.

What is more important however, is the casting. The crew of the USS Enterprise are modern icons, and even I have to admit to being concerned about who could fill such gargantuan shoes. Stepping into the roles of the holy trinity of Kirk, Spock, and Dr. McCoy would be troubling enough, but even the supporting roles of Uhura, Sulu, Scotty, and Chekov are extremely important, as what always makes Star Trek so engaging is that it takes this exact combination of personalities to make the Enterprise fly so smoothly.

Christopher Pine was a much better Kirk than I expected, exhibiting the intelligence, charm, and self-assuredness that made Kirk so famous. Zachary Quinto was the logical choice to portray the younger Mr. Spock, still warring internally with his half-Vulcan, half-human heritage. Both actors channeled just enough of their predecessors to be familiar, yet were brave enough to make the roles their own. Next up is Karl Urban's fantastic portrayal of Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy, who acts as the balance between Spock's logic and Kirk's impulsive nature, completing the triumvirate. Urban probably comes the closest to channeling his predecessor, but in this case it is wholeheartedly welcome.

The rest of the main crew is quite good as well. Zoe Saldaña plays Uhura as both strong and assertive, Anton Yelchin is entertaining as the young but brilliant Chekov, and John Cho did a fine job as the ever-versatile Sulu. Simon Pegg all but steals the show as Mr. Scott, nailing all that was lovable about the character and literally bubbling with energy. A nod also must go to Bruce Greenwood's performance as Captain Pike, who saw something in the impetuous young Kirk and challenged him to be more than the sum of his circumstances.

There is one last bit of casting that intrigued me, and as it involves a spoiler I will hide it to prevent ruining anything. Just in case you are new to the mighty interweb, use your mouse to highlight the hidden area: I felt trepidatious about Leonard Nimoy’s reprisal of his role as the elder Spock, and was pleased to see how important he was to the new storyline and his potential role in the divergent time line. I also find it fascinating that the younger Spock can go to the elder Spock for guidance if he so chooses. Ready? Moving on then.

Finally, the villain, Captain Nero (played by Eric Bana). I can see this being a point of controversy between film goers, as Nero is not as grand an antagonist as Khan (arguably the greatest of all Star Trek villains) but rather simmers like a space age Captain Ahab with his single-minded intensity. Nero is not a great villain, nor is he meant to be; he is a simple miner, thrown into a terrible situation, and in his pain decides to make those he holds responsible suffer with him. This may not be epic in scale, but it is genuine, making me empathize with Nero greatly.

I am fighting the urge to talk about some of the more emotional and intense scenes, so I had better wrap this up (feel free to ask me about them after you've seen the film, and I promise to talk your ear off). This film turned out to be an extremely pleasant surprise for me, reawakening my love of the material and oddly taking a little of the sting out of not only its crappy past few predecessors but also some of my disillusionment with the prequels of another certain space saga (although technically this film is not a prequel; divergent time line, y'know). You owe it to yourself to see this one in the theater; it's a helluva ride. I am giving the new Star Trek and enthusiastic 4.75 out of 5.