All Hail the Return of Star Trek!

Key inclusions for any successful sci-fi film:

1. Impending doom on a globally recognized monument (Golden Gate Bridge go boom!).

2. Barren planets (for a minute I could have SWORN we were on Hoth).

3. Protagonist/Antagonist duel above an inexplicably vast drop... inside a ship.

4. Vaginal creeper monster (hello, facehugger from Alien. I'm looking at you).

5. Quasi-annoying, family-friendly creature sidekick (Jar-Jar). Thank blog JJ Abrams made this one a mute.

The new Star Trek has them all, friends and lovers, along with a healthy dose of self-awareness. There are enough jokes at the expense of the original series to show that EVERYONE realizes the campy background from whence the legend sprung (Kirk getting busy with a green-skinned alieness? check.).

However, while there are plenty of insider Trekkie jokes to be had, this truly is the Star Trek for everyone. Abrams and company reinvent the backstory with clever use of time travel and alternate realities (I swear, there IS a Lost tie-in to be had), creating a plot that allows everyone to start at chapter one.

Nero, a Romulan with severe space paranoia has declared vengeance on Spock for an act he commits in the future. Waiting patiently, Nero and his big, spidery ship jump through a worm-hole, altering the events in the lives of our key members of the Enterprise crew. Surprisingly, the time travel is not the main plot arc, but merely the vehicle in which Abrams allows the creation of his Starfleet universe to exist. Naturally, the main plot arc is bringing down the big baddy Nero, and fun, fights and phasers ensue.

The actors look just enough like the original characters that it is believable that they could grow up to look like Shatner and Nimoy, though there was a point at which I started to mourn my youth, looking at these fresh young faces. And I'm not yet 30. It's almost like the cast of Gossip Girl stormed the bridge.

All in all, Sequels are imminent, and I must say, in this case, I'm actually looking forward to them.

PS- told you the facehugger looked like a scary vagina.