An enjoyable Summer movie

Rating: 8/10 (17 May 2009)

From J.J. Abrams of "Lost" fame comes a reboot and prequel to Star Trek simply entitled "Star Trek." The film chronicles the early days of Captain Kirk and Spock and basically serves as an origin story for these two characters and the rest of the crew members of the USS Enterprise during their mission to stop time-traveling Romulans who, angered by the loss of their home world, seek revenge against the star fleet. Coming from a person with a very limited amount of Star Trek viewing history and background knowledge, with the exception of "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan" and "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home," it's safe to say that this movie is very enjoyable as a standalone picture and the start of what is hopefully a great trilogy. It seems as if the intention of this movie was to cater to a wide audience and it sets out to do just that, as the absence of things such as "technobabble" would indicate and the characterization simply sets the ground work for who these characters are and what they will do. However, "dumbing down" Star Trek seems to have also alienated long-time fans of the franchise, but in short, "Star Trek" is simply a Summer film and an enjoyable one at that.