J. J. Abrams, the director of the new Star Trek film, had a difficult job: make people notice his new Star Trek movie was good before they dismiss it as "not Star Trek enough." His technique? Begin with little fanfare: no voice over ("Space, the final frontier..."), no swelling Trek-ish music theme, no complex political setup, just an opening scene that puts the viewer smack into a armrest-grabbing situation.  As origin stories go, this is one of the smartest. Through a clever plot device, this movie pays homage to original Star Trek canon while giving itself liberty to do whatever it wants, but Abrams doesn't throw away the old for the new as most re-makes do. Through thoughtful tweaks he keeps the original feel, look and spirit while making it more appealing (and believable) for 21st century movie goers.

In short, this is a class "A" adventure. It's 120 minutes of non-stop fun, and it manages to capture the essence of the series while finally ditching the snail's pace plotting and direction that have plagued the franchise ever since the politically focused, hum-drum utopia of Star Trek: The Next Generation. After this film, watching any post-60's Trek (series or movies) will be difficult as they'll all appear to be on a heavy dose of valium. This Star Trek differs from the movies of the past in a very significant way in that it was marketed as being the brainchild of the director, J. J. Abrams. Tying the movie itself to the talent and energy of the director is a bold move that Trek has never done, but can serve a franchise well when the director is truly talented (the new Batman and Spider-man franchises have done the same to great success). Star Trek, as a property, has always been hampered by a personality. While Gene Roddenbury was alive he always had the final say, and after he passed on Rick Berman took over, and tried very very hard to drive the franchise into obscurity. Apparently, between then and now, Paramount actually woke up and realized they had a terrific little story on their hands once the fat could be trimmed. Enter J. J. Abrams, who places his unique stamp on every frame of this movie. His energy and enthusiasm for fun storytelling infuses every shot, from the sometimes-stretched-and-warped perspective, to the copious use of lens flares (try to find a scene on the Enterprise without one, I dare you. I haven't, by the way, ever seen lens flares used like this in a movie. Have there been?). He makes the film feel "new" by making it feel like it was shot off the dolly, using only natural light. This is a huge contrast from the boring, lets-track-down-the-corridor-at-eye-height camera style thats been the staple of everything Trek since Next Generation. Go back and re-watch the old show from the 60s then turn on an episode of TNG and see which one this film feels more like. Back in the 60s, on the Desilu sound stage, Roddenbury and his team created what, now, looks like the garage-rock of TV. Tilted cameras, bizarre lighting (I mean it was the 60s), and funky close-ups give the original show an energy the franchise lost in the mid-90s.

You can't have Star Trek without the Enterprise, and this time she is designed, apparently, by Apple, Inc. God, she's pretty. And she can move. She can actually move, not just hang in space, and that's thanks to Sulu's piloting skill. Which brings me to the crew, who now play a vital role on the Enterprise. The crew on previous Star Trek films (and shows) always felt ancillary, there only in case the Enterprise happened to break down, so the movies devolved into people talking forever because there was nothing for them to actually do. In Abrams' Trek, Sulu can pilot the hell out of that big ship, and he needs to (I can't tell you why, but its a great scene). Chekov is a theoretical physics wizard (rivaled only by Spock), and he needs to be since he's the navigator, forced to deal with the complex issues of space travel. Uhuru is brilliant and charasmatic, not just an operator waiting for someone to dial "0" on the galactic phone. McCoy (played brilliantly by Karl Urban. Abrams coaxed some amazing acting from these folks), likewise, is shown to be a phobic-ridden, high-strung, but well-versed doctor, and Scotty an accomplished, if somewhat underachieving, engineer-in-waiting. The movie goes out of its way to illustrate how complex operating the Enterprise and dealing with unpredictable situations are, and that every opinion, every crew member, is necessary. If the studio doesn't have their heads up their backsides they'll sign Abrams and the cast for at least two more and give the director free reign. Statistically, the chance the studio DOESN'T have its head where the sun don't shine is low, so there might be a flurry of mediocre to pathetic sequels coming out in next few years, but who cares? We've finally gotten the best Trek film we've ever had.