OC Screenwriters Association

There is nothing better than the perfect summer movie with the excitement and joy of a thrill ride to get us and gear for the season and not feel guilty for watching something just for fun and putting off The Reader or whatever else won Oscars until after Labor Day. Right now, there’s nothing better than Star Trek its so Vulcan good!

The beauty of the original Star Trek television series was not the futuristic technology, the adventure and the suspense. While the imagination of Gene Roddenberry was revolutionary and ultimately defined pop culture sci-fi, Star Trek was all about the characters, a mismatched ensemble of personalities, cultures and in some cases species that embraced diversity with quirky and sometimes cheesy humor. And that is why J.J. Abrams Star Trek succeeds. Good old friends with shiny bright new faces, but the essence of each beloved crew member has been lovingly preserved and renovated for a new generation. The movie is so amazingly well cast, and the actors have a solid character driven script to thank for their performances.

Jim Kirk and Spock are the primary characters with intertwining journeys. Their “be or flee” moments are instigated by the other. Spock has always been the more intriguing of the two; a Vulcan dealing with the stigma of a human mother is more compelling that Kirk’s bad boy acting and ego (which I guess you gotta have one to be a Starfleet captain). Their arcs are not completely resolved, both suck it up here and there and come back fighting but still have miles to go before they sleep, which will hopefully continue into many sequels to come.

Star Trek provides good a psycho totally in-balance villain wreaking havoc from the get-go and directly messing with our boys. The alternate universe spin is an excuse to take some chances and jazz up the traditional lore, specifically with one relationship between crew members that is weird and…well, it’s just weird. Leonard Nimoy (hey, is it just me, or is Harrison Ford beginning to bear an uncanny resemblance?) plays an older version of Spock and it would have been fine if he hadn’t been hauled back for a second scene towards the end that is almost embarrassing cheesy and didn’t really make sense, but it’s all nit-picking at this point.

The best thing of all though is that loveable crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise as they boldly take on the summer. Eight oranges, I’m ready to jump back on for another spin!