(2.5 out of 5 stars)

J.J. Abrams of Alias, Lost, and Fringe fame brings you his second feature film, a reboot of the classic franchise that had run out of gas and audience members. Abrams puts a cast together of mostly unknowns to get a new generation interested in Kirk, Spock, Scottie and all the original Star Trek characters.

Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto play James T. Kirk and Spock, respectively. Quinto impressively embraces the Vulcan side of Spock by being completely logical without emotion (Spock’s human side) and does it without being robotic. The character is so believable that Quinto will likely get a number of acting offers from this point forward. Pine holds his own as the cocky yet uber-intelligent James Kirk. Pine could have been easily replaced by equals like Chris Evans or others, but still the right actor was picked for the role. While Simon Pegg was a bit over the top as Scottie, veterans Leonard Nimoy and Bruce Greenwood nailed their adult characters amidst a mostly younger cast.

The plot deals with time travel a bit, so some may be confused. This really is not unlike other stories in the movie or television series, so this one gets a pass based on its likeable characters and non-stop action that keeps the viewers in their seats waiting for the next great thing. The new special effect for warp speed and transporters was quite nice too.

Abram succeeded where Christopher Nolan succeeded with Batman. The franchise has begun with a bang and audiences will easily want to see future journeys by the USS Enterprise and its crew. With the characters already well written and established and the Enterprise has completed its virgin flight,  this franchise could and will boldly go where none has gone before.

Suggested similar recommendations: Star Trek: First Contact, Iron Man