Star Trek

So, okay. J.J. Abrams' Star Trek.

Pretty kick-ass.

Yeah, it's really good. The movie has the right blend of nonstop action and fun character development via a very tight, simple and engaging (re)origin story. I really liked how they made it both a reboot/re-imagining of the series a la Ronald Moore and David Eick’s Battlestar Galactica and adhering to the continuity of the original Star Trek series.

Yes, it has its cake and eats it, too. And it pulls it off. Successfully.

The cast (with the exception of Eric Bana as the Romulan villain, whom I must confess I’ve never liked) is also quite good. I really dug everyone in their new roles, from Chris Pine as Kirk to Zachary Quinto as Spock to Karl Urban as Bones (who’s totally believable as a young DeForest Kelley) Simon Pegg as Scotty to even Zoe Saldana as Uhura and Anton Yelchin and Harold (okay, fine, John Cho) as Chekov and Sulu, respectively. Even though the movie zips along at a brisk clip, each of these actors get a chance to shine with their characters. None of them seem like glorified extras.

And yes, the movie flies. At a little over two hours, Star Trek feels like it’s about 20 minutes.

It’s good. Go see it.

Setting his phaser to nerd,

James "Live Long and Eat Me" Comtois