'Star Trek' Haiku

Now Spock cries. Kirk flirts.

Time loops create new options.

Movie's pretty good.

It really is, actually.  JJ Abrams knows how to keep an audience's attention, the black hole/time warp device is a stroke of genius, allowing the story to start from scratch while also making space for old Spock to make a return visit, the design (sound, image, costumes, everything) is as well-crafted as an IM Pei building, the performances feel like real acting rather than camp, and there's real pleasure in seeing what you thought you knew being genuinely re-invented.

Sure, the narrative hangs on a superficial revenge thread (one of these days we're going to see a Romulan/Klingon deal with grief by reaching out to their friends rather than committing genocide), and the need to establish the characters means there's less room for mystery.  But that's what sequels are for.  I didn't expect to be saying this, but 'Star Trek' is one of the best mainstream large-scale adventure films I've seen in ages.