Live Long and Prosper...

Or if you were any of my friends in the youth group in high school, it was the Vulcan salute while saying "May the force be with you" or singing the Star Wars theme song.

Which annoyed me to no end. Because I loved Star WARS. Definitely not Star Trek.

My dad loved Star Trek, I can remember him watching the original series the night I got out of the hospital when I was 5. He was keeping an eye on me (making sure I was keeping down my fluids since I'd been put in the hospital for severe dehydration and pneumonia), and I remember thinking that any show OTHER than this stupid show would have been preferred.

Growing up I had several run-ins with Trekkies. My stepdad, a handful of aunts and uncles, several friends, all of whom couldn't understand why I didn't watch a movie, try out one of the new television shows ("Patrick Stewart is GREAT as Captain Picard!"). But I was loyal to my Star Wars. Happy in my niche of Princess Leia's and Luke Skywalkers. They were like family! How could I betray my family?

So I sat through three prequels. Midnight showings for Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith. I was loyal, but I had harsh words for Lucas. It could have been so much MORE.

And this was proven while watching the new JJ Abrams directed Star Trek prequel. Because it had everything that the Star Wars prequels could have had, but lacked.

The writing was fantastic. I didn't know a single thing about Star Trek and though I didn't get a few jokes that the people around me were understanding, I was able to keep up with the characters. I was able to understand the story-line (thank you JJ Abrams for a season full of time-weirdness on LOST, I think it helped while watching this movie). The characters were entertaining. They were funny without being over the top. They reeled in a Non-Trekkie such as myself.

The direction (something I noticed on my third viewing with the youth group) is rock solid. It's interesting and you feel like a fly on a wall watching everything unfold. The acting moments are honest and beautifully portrayed. You can tell that JJ was very intentional in the way he filmed certain sequences. If I were to write a single word to describe the direction of the movie, it would be "stunning."

The music was so brilliant. Michael Giacchino is so fabulous. I love his scores on LOST and he delivers more beautiful and compelling music in Star Trek. He stays true to the score from the television show and original movies, but reinvents it in a beautiful way. It's modern and epic and EVERYTHING that I could ever want from a movie score. I bought it on itunes and have been playing it on repeat in my car for the past week. I find myself whistling it's notes in the office (something I'm sure Clint just LOVES) and thinking about the way it just seems to soar.

But what I noticed above everything (because I am an actress), was the acting. Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto are just wonderful. They are the kind of film actors that I can appreciate (because I don't appreciate most). They've got training behind them. Zachary is a Carnegie Mellon graduate! They're honest and sincere actors. They really helped me to fall in love with the characters which I feel is absolutely vital when trying to recreate such ridiculously classic and loved fictional heroes. Instead of the celebrity personalities that we've seen in film actors in the past, these guys have a method. There is reasoning behind what they are saying and why they are saying it. I can see why Spock defiantly and sarcastically says to the Vulcan council, "Live long and prosper."

So if you haven't seen this film yet, I urge you to go see it!  It won't win any academy awards (or maybe it will... the visual effects are phenomenal!), but old and new Trekkies alike will enjoy it for what it is- an honest and fun-filled film!