Step 1: If you’re a fan of the original Star Trek, boldly go and revel in the awesomeness and nostalgia this action-packed prequel will elicit.
Step 2: If you’re NOT a fan of the original Star Trek, it doesn’t matter. You’ll still want to seek out new life and new civilizations with the Enterprise crew, eating popcorn and Reeses peanut butter cups along the way.
Step 3: Admire the dynamic trio behind this Star Trek – screenwriters Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman and their longtime collaborator, director J.J. Abrams – for creating a scenario in which we meet James T. Kirk, Spock, Uhura, McCoy, Chekov, Scotty and Sulu just as they are leaving Starfleet Academy and starting their assignments onboard the U.S.S. Enterprise. The crew’s first endeavor is to stop a badass Romulan named Nero (Eric Bana), who has come from the future to try and kill Spock – for various reasons I won’t go into lest I spoil the movie for everyone. Let’s just say, Orci, Kurtzman and Abrams have not only tapped into many things fans of the original TV series will love and remember, but they also set it up so that brand new Star Trek adventures with this younger crew may be possible without remaking original TV episodes.
Step 4: Also applaud Abrams for casting this sucker to a tee. They may not have all looked like their older counterparts, but these actors filled the big shoes of their iconic characters with aplomb. Chris Pine as Kirk is even more hot-headed and cocky than we thought, and while he gets his ass handed to him throughout the movie, you can easily see the starship captain he’ll become. Zoe Saldana plays Uhura with smarts and compassion – and we see that she had a romantic past with one of the crew members (won’t give that away either). Anton Yelchin plays the brilliant young Chekov with spunk, while John Cho channels Sulu’s kick-ass sword-wielding skills. Karl Urban and Simon Pegg provide the comic relief, as McCoy (“Good God, Jim, I’m a doctor not a physicist!”) and Scotty (“I’ll give it all I can but I can’t promise anything!”) respectively, much like those characters did on the original show. Of course, the real revelation in this Star Trek casting is Zachary Quinto as Spock. Not only does he have Leonard Nimoy’s look down – or should I say eyebrow up – Quinto truly captures what we all believe Spock must have been like as a young man. Just don’t ever call his mother a whore.
Step 5: But ultimately remember Leonard Nimoy (who makes a cameo in Star Trek) IS Spock, forever and ever.
Level of difficulty watching Star Trek: As easy as petting a tribble. Enjoy the film’s popcorn, summer blockbuster qualities — big, bold, with lots of action sequences and Trekkie lore for all.