(Originally from Facebook – August 5, 2013)

I had been putting this one off, due to a few luke-warm reviews. I have to say, though, that I really liked it. Better than the first one, even. There are a few nods to the original series and films that most fans will get, but you don’t need them to follow the story.

All the actors do fine jobs with their roles. So much so, that I occasionally really saw them as younger versions of the original actors. There are a few scenes, for example, where Chris Pine moves so much like Shatner that you almost do a double take. And yet, at the same time, the new actors have very much made the roles their own, especially Simon Pegg.

I’m a big fan of Benedict Cumberbatch from “Sherlock” and “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy,” and he didn’t disappoint here, either. Alice Eve was there, primarily I think, for eye candy, but with that kind of eye candy, I can’t complain too much.

Great action, decent story and acting, proper respects paid to the original and its fans…what’s not to like? IMDB stretches it a bit at 8.1, but I’d be willing to give it a 7 to 7.5, depending on how big of a “Star Trek” fan you are. (And if you know what a “tribble” is, you’d probably want to go as high as an 8!) (running time 2:12)