I was once in relationship. Early on, we got off to an exciting and adorably goofy start, followed by a period of deep appreciation and mutual respect. But as the relationship matured, my partner became dull and predictable, perhaps out of complacency. I kept hearing the same old stories, and would just roll my eyes; eventually it felt like my partner was just going through the motions. I suspect my partner eventually detected my dissatisfaction, but attempts to reignite my passion using the same old positions were futile. I left the relationship, and can't say that I missed it. It's a shame, really, because Star Trek was a beloved and important part of my youth.
Now the franchise has come to beg my forgiveness and ask if we can start over, with J.J. Abrams' Star Trek -- a film which seeks to replicate the sucess of Batman Begins and Casino Royale in reinvigorating a worn-out legend through a re-interpretive retrospective. Like many a partner seeking to salvage a broken relationship, Abrams tries to invoke a sense of fun and a youthful spirit. His success in doing so can in part be attributed to his own snappy directing, but mostly to fine performances from a standout young cast -- in particular, Chris Pine's revision of William Shatner's over-the-top Jim Kirk and Zachary Quinto's compelling humanization of Leonard Nimoy's revered Spock. Add in vivid but tasteful special effects, and there's more than enough to overlook the various minor glitches (generally taking the form of cliched dialogue and action sequences).
There is, however, still the matter of time travel, a plot device so outrageously abused by previous Star Trek films that the first hint of it here made me cringe reflexively. In previous films, it seemed as if the screenwriters cynically expected audiences to swallow whole anything that emerged from a black hole or gyrating energy field (whether it be whales or William Shatner on a horse). This film retains a dose of cynicism in the use of time travel, by using it to conveniently reset the entire Trek storyline to enable sequels. But cynicism in the pursuit of virtue is no vice, especially when tastefully rendered. And my willingness to overlook it suggests that despite all the baggage that comes from years of hurtful neglect, I want this relationship to work again.