It’s time to boldly go with the latest incarnation of Star Trek, as I continue my journey with the cinematic version of the U.S.S. Enterprise for the Sci-Fi Chronicles book.

I won’t lie, I enjoyed this one, and while it may not be Star Trek as it was intended or created by Gene Roddenberry, there is a sense of fun to it, and despite complaints about lens flares and the like, it was still fun to see the Enterprise (though she’s a much larger version) on the screen again.

And thanks to the wonders of science fiction, this one isn’t so much a reboot as it is a jump into an alternate timeline, caused by the arrival of the Romulan, Nero (Eric Bana) from what has now become known as the Prime Universe.

Nero is in pursuit of Ambassador Spock (Leonard Nimoy) and the macguffin of Red Matter, which destroyed Romulus. They both end up being pulled through a spatial rift, where Nero immediately wreaks havoc and changes everything that has gone before.

The James T. Kirk (Chris Pine) of this universe didn’t join Starfleet, until he is literally dared to by Captain Christopher Pike (Bruce Greenwood). It is there that he meets McCoy (Karl Urban in the singularly best casting of the new cast, and criminally underused), Uhura (Zoe Saldana) and buts heads with Commander Spock (Zachary Quinto).

Through a confluence of events, the entire crew is thrown together – Sulu (John Cho), Chekov (Anton Yelchin), and Scotty (Simon Pegg) all are met along the way, as the command of the Enterprise is brought into question, as is the fate of Vulcan and possibly Earth.

Kirk with some surreptitious assistance and advice from Spock Prime, starts to become (but hasn’t quite reached after two films) the captain we’ve come to admire.

Now, with all that being said, the film itself is a slick piece of tent pole, summer blockbuster film making, that while not shallow, isn’t as strong a Trek story as it could be, going with big space battles in lieu of big ideas.

But it is fun.

And I will brazenly claim that I love Michael Giacchino’s score, and they are, for me, one of the highlights of the new series.

I’ve, of course, reviewed Into Darkness, and since then, I’ve revised my opinion a little, especially for everything concerning the film’s final act, but now, I am cautiously looking forward to the next installment in the series, Beyond, and hope that the story begins to come a little more in line with traditional Trek.

If not, there’s always the new series coming our way…

I keep hoping for a nice balance between the big moments, the big ideas, and I’d love to see the big three, Kirk, Spock, and McCoy become as integral to this series as they were to the original .

It’s great to see Trek on the big screen, now, if they could just get it right, balancing enough to bring in the new fans, and maintain the classic fans.

The Human Adventure Continues…