Boldly go where no man has gone, once again

Star Trek has been a shell of its former self for a few years now.

Ever since the failures of both "Star Trek Enterprise" (the show) and "Star Trek Nemesis" (the movie), the series has been in limbo.

J.J. Abrams, producer and director of the new Star Trek movie, seeks to bring the legacy franchise back into relevance.

However, the movie is not based on the future of the series, but taking cues from the movie "Batman Begins" and "X-Men Origins: Wolverine." "Star Trek," the movie, takes place in its past.

"I read how they were establishing an alternate universe. Once I heard that, I was excited," said Steven Foland, a manger of The Exchange on Smithfield Street.

Frank Krawcyzk, a desktop support tech worker, also looks forward to the movie

"It's going to be interesting because they're doing a prequel and the way technology can allow it to do things they couldn't do with the first four movies," Krawcyzk said.

They are right on both fronts.

The movie takes place before the young James T. Kirk (played by Chris Pine) was anything more than a trouble-making punk. However, seeing potential in the boy, Captain Pike (played by Bruce Greenwood) convinces him to join Star Fleet.

It is there that Kirk takes his first steps toward his great destiny and meets his future bridge officers, including Mr. Spock (played by Zachary Quinto), who is his academy rival in the movie.

Somehow, they must see past their differences and work together to stop an unknown force that threatens them all.

The story is one thing, but the look and overall feel of this movie is unlike any Star Trek that precedes it. The sets are sleek and smooth, the environments look crisp and real, and the action is so fast paced and intense, it is almost overkill.

Those examples are only from the trailers alone.

You would think such changes would push away some of the hardcore fans, but it only did the opposite. It made them start counting the days until the movie's release.

"I think it's a good thing because obviously Paramount didn't know what they were doing with the next generation film franchise. They ended up feeling like over-sized episodes rather than self-contained feature films. I think it's good that they are ripping it up and starting again," Foland said.

Krawcyzk has seen all the movies from the '80s and '90s. As for the new movie, he is not sure what to expect from it since it is a fresh start, but he is going to keep an open mind about it and see where it goes.

As for the new movie, he is not sure what to expect from it since it is a fresh start, but he is going to keep an open mind about it and see where it goes.

Well, it doesn't seem like Krawcyzk has much to worry about when it comes to the movie. Thanks to early reviews, it seems that 'Star Trek' is the shot in the arm the franchise needs.

Even J.J. Abrams said on an interview in SFX magazine that the film may have been made for newcomers to the mythos. They made sure that the film wouldn't fly in the face of loyal (and knowledgeable) fan base.

Nor was the unique look of the movie done to hype it up, but rather to make it real and alive to the audience.

All that is left now is for the May 8 release day to arrive so the rest of the world can see and judge for themselves.

"When you're talking about the original characters, they've been in the pop culture for forty years now. We'll see if we're still talking about J.J. Abrams' 'Star Trek' in 40 years," Foland said.