So the buzz is all about J.J. Abrams' new Star Trek movie with a young cast of characters who seem really miscast. The shots in the teaser are of an Enterprise design that's way too advanced. Then the first full trailer shows situations with characters that even the most passing fan knows do not meet or interract this way at this juncture. So I'm expecting a re-imagining. In other words- a re-hash that gets it ALL WRONG. Not really. Not technically. As far as the stuff in the trailers that has a walking Chris Pike talking to a young Kirk, that speaks of Kirk's dad's death, and those shots of an Enterprise that looks way too modern compared to the ol' plastic version we grew to love in the original series- well, that's all covered. It's all addressed by a plot point that is so general and all-encompassing, and so brilliantly simple, that all of these inconsistencies and continuity rapings and the many many more we discover in the film just don't count. Genius! Okay, so let's bitch about the casting. Let's start with Kirk. This new Kirk is some action star prettyboy with NONE of Shatner's trademark inflections whatsoever. So what? Chris Pine has the vigor and hammy mannerisms all down. Who cares if he doesn't have the voice? I can buy this new Kirk, just for the fact that he's a tough, scrappy animal on the chain that we were DYIN' to see from Bill Shatner in the first place. Loved him. Now Spock. Dead on, both jacob Kogan, the kid that plays Spock in adolescence and Zachary Quinto as well. I never even thought of Sylar once during the film. My only advice is that Quinto take some eyebrow-raising lessons from Leonard Nimoy and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson before the inevitable sequel comes around. Zoe Saldana plays Uhura, and does a passable job. There's really not a whole lot to her character I'm afraid, beyond the first name running joke and her romantic affiliation with a certain someone aboard the ship. Saldana did just fine. John Cho as Hikaru Sulu. This one I was kinda angry about. George Takei is Japanese. Sulu is Japanese. Cho is Korean. What an outrage! That is until I read about gene Roddenberry's original take on Sulu's character. The name Hikaru may be Japanese, but Sulu was originally to be Uhura's name, and it is the name of a Chinese body of water. Gene's plan was to have someone aboard the ship who embodied all of Asian culture in general. Japanese Takei just happened to land the part at the time. If it's Asian in general that's needed, who better than John Cho to play the part? Did he embody Sulu in his performance? Not really, he just seemed like John Cho to me, but it was a nice change to see him in such an ass-kicking physical role. Kudos to writers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman for bringing out a practical show of Sulu's fencing training too. Simon Pegg as well brought nothing un-Simon Pegg-like to his portrayal of Scotty, but he didn't butcher the memory of James Doohan either, so that's alright. Anton Yelchin plays Chekov, and has the funniest dialogue in the film- simply based on his molasses-thick Russian accent. The humor of Chekov's Trek IV "nuclear wessels" dialoge was kept in mind and the writers and Yelchin just ran and ran and ran with it. This new Chekov has all the hyperactive energy and eagerness to please of Walter Koenig's decades of performance jam-packed into every moment of Yelchin's short screen time. Great take on the character. I totally bought Bruce Greenwood's Christopher Pike, and Ben Cross and Winona Ryder were just fine as Spock's parents Sarek and Amanda Grayson. eric bana was a very nice and convincing villain in Nero, and the fact that he used an American accent was a good choice in a movie already thick with so many various dialects. Nimoy was, is and always will be Spock, so no surprise that his performance was flawless once again. Now I come to the casting choice I was absolutely perplexed by. I was positive that DeForest kelley would be rolling in his grave by having "Bones" McCoy played by Karl Urban. Karl Urban? Are you kidding me? THE Karl Urban- the musclebound freak totally wooden guy from such classics as Pathfinder and Chronicles of Riddick? The Karl Urban that, in my opinion, is just fine at swingin' a battleaxe but couldn't act his way out of a paer bag? Yep. The very same Karl Urban. Well, I am eating crow six ways to Sunday on this one. Karl Urban gave the truest, most respectful and just damn astonishing performance in this film and in his entire body of work. He was quite simply, the PERFECT Leonard McCoy! The best of this whole bunch of young actors by far! I was grinning like an idiot from his first grumbling bitchy bit of dialogue as he is bullied onto the transport ship. Karl Urban is downright amazing in Star Trek, and I can't wait to see if Hollywood starts throwing him some more meaty roles to immerse himself in now that he has proven to be capable of so much more than merely "Axe-weilding Strongman Number Three". The special effects were wonderful, and this was by far the fastest, slickest and most action-packed Trek outings of all time. Two hours and 8 minutes felt like no time had passed at all, and it left me wanting more. Don't get me wrong, I was completely beyond satisfied with this new Star Trek. It's just so good that it's now got me greedy. Thank you Mr. Abrams. May I have some more?