by Derek Draven

Created on: May 11, 2009   Last Updated: June 17, 2010

J.J. Abrams attempts to breathe new life into a timeless franchise by re-imagining the fledgling adventures of the original Enterprise crew with "Star Trek." But how does the film measure up against the precise chronology and canon of the original Star Trek universe?

To avoid confusion, one must understand that this latest Star Trek film is not a reboot of the franchise, but a continuation of the existing one. In an effort to keep things within the realm of plausability, Abrams has used a catastrophic disaster to facilitate the birth of an entirely alternate timeline within the Star Trek universe. The result however, is hit and miss.

A Romulan mining vessel from the 24th Century travels back through time to seek revenge against the Federation for the destruction of the planet Romulus by spacial occurance. Led by the violent Captain Nero, the Romulans utilize their advanced technology to attack and severely cripple the U.S.S. Kelvin which has intercepted their arrival. With her captain dead, the Kelvin is manned by none other than George Samuel Kirk, the father of the legendary James Tiberius Kirk. He orders the crew to abandon ship, and sets a collision course for the Romulan vessel just in time to hear his son being born in one of the escaping shuttlepods.

This sets the tone for the alternate reality that has been created thanks to the Romulan arrival from the future. Events in this timeline play out much differently, giving the movie a perfect excuse to change up its main characters and bring them up to date for a 21st century audience. In that respect, the film crew and director must be commended, for Star Trek is flashier, louder and more visceral than any previous entry in the series.

Therein lies the problem. While every effort has been made to modernize Star Trek into something that an ADHD audience will lap up with incredible enthusiasm, it has lost sight of its own methodology. In fact, the late Gene Roddenbery would no doubt be shocked to see just how bland and violent his Star Trek characters have become. Captain Kirk is an instigating and irresponsible risk taker who finds himself being beaten to a pulp throughout the entire film. This new personality is of course attributed to his brooding anger over the loss of his father just seconds after he was born, but it does question the future Captain's character as a balanced and calculated leader. Chris Pine plays (and looks) the part of a younger Kirk very well, however.

In stark contrast is Zachary

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