Star Trek

Star Trek

Dir: George Lucas

Starring: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto

Runtime: 2 hrs 7 mins

The Star Trek series has inspired generations to build their own spaceships out of junkyard scraps, electrical tape, imagination, and gasoline. And it will continue to inspire us as long as our imaginations are alive, or until they put a better lock on that fence around the junkyard.

Star Trek introduces Captain James T. Kirk, a strapping young spaceship captain who I hope to learn more about. The way his character is portrayed in the movie makes him seem almost familiar, as if there is a great history behind this newly invented protagonist. Perhaps in a later movie, we will find out that he's Neo's father, or that he invented light sabres, or something like that.

Many Star Trek fans will be disappointed to find that there no light sabres in the newest Star Trek movie. But the true Trekkers will know that this is a prequel, and that light sabres haven't been invented yet. Trekkers will rejoice, however, to find that the hated character of Jar Jar Binks has yet to be born.

This is an entirely different movie than the others in the Star Trek series. The universe is a different place. We're not talking about Luke Skywalker's grandparents here. We're talking about his great-great grandparents. Even the Evil Overlord of Outer Space, Darth Vader, isn't in this movie.

Although vastly different from what Trekkers have seen before, Star Trek takes you on a rickety, gasoline-propelled thrill ride through Outer Space that will leave everyone in the audience wanting to go to "Infinity and Beyond!" again and again.

4 out of 5 stars.