Star Trek

Is it time for some Star Trek puns, like “my phasers are set to stunned?”

NO!

This is a different Star Trek. It’s hipper. It’s hotter. It’s going to be the biggest movie of the summer, and no corny little one-liners will do it justice.

Chris Pine stars as James Kirk – a young rebel without a clue who tragically lost his father years ago. He spends his days and nights getting into trouble, until Starfleet Captain Christopher Pike (Bruce Greenwood) reaches out to him and convinces the kid with a genius level IQ that he needs to do more with his life than get into bar fights and hit on women (kinda sounds like my Cinco de Mayo).

Once he gets to Starfleet Academy, Kirk starts to live a life of infamy, makes pals with Doctor Leonard “Bones” McCoy (Karl Urban), and finds himself on a desperate mission to save the planets Vulcan and Earth with a young Vulcan officer, Spock (Zachary Quinto), who doesn’t like him very much.

Does this young group of cadets have what it takes to save the day?

Will Kirk find himself a hot green alien babe to propel him into warp speed?

Sometimes, a movie is so good, you can only gush and gush about how much you liked it, so get ready for some gooey over-the-top praise, with a few sprinkles of glee. Director J.J. Abrams brilliantly has created a movie that honors the Star Trek tradition, updates it in the necessary ways to make this a new hot franchise for the 21st Century, gives non-fans an action packed movie that could be just as amazing if it was about some generic spaceship in some generic sci-fi setting, and tosses in enough classic Star Trek references and homages to make the hard core Trekkies feel like it is still theirs, if they are willing to go in with an open mind and heart.

Best of all, this Muppet Babies version of our favorite starship crew takes its first toddler steps with determination, which leads to its success. Pine is the perfect James Kirk and a classic movie hero with his cocky swagger, devil may care approach, and intensity. Writers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, along with Pine himself, make Kirk into a character who will remind you of guys like Han Solo or Indiana Jones, but, of course, they all reminded us of Captain Kirk when we first saw them on the screen, so the circle is complete.

While Pine will bring in the non-Star Trek fans, Urban establishes himself as the one the long time fans will love the best. He puts the most effort into making his character as similar to the original as possible, and succeeds in ways that will have you wondering if he is DeForest Kelley’s illegitimate love child. Urban perfectly captures the cadence, reactions, huggable surly attitude and more of our favorite country doctor.

If you want a great action movie, you’ve got it in Star Trek.

If you want a funny movie, you’ve got it in Star Trek.

If you want a movie that you will want to see again and again, go see Star Trek.

Star Trek is rated PG-13 for sci-fi action and violence, and brief sexual content.