Star Trek, the new film from JJ Abrams, incites the single greatest question that any movie can generate: “Is it any good?” It’s an explosive return for the longest running American film franchise, with an eleventh film now under its ever-expanding belt. Gone are all numbers and subtitles from its title; it’s a subtle hint of the director’s intent to go back to basics.

And boy, does he ever. Beginning literally with the birth of Jim Kirk that is probably the biggest atomic wedgie on “canon” ever yanked in Trek history, Abrams breaks from the need to fit into the tightly-woven mold of five television series, ten movies, and a small library of books, all of which add something to that ever-expanding Trek universe. Screenwriters Roberto Orci and Alex Kurzman have delivered what seemed like the impossible: a brilliant script that fires on all thrusters.
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