I was a fan of the original series (yeah, I'm OLD) and I'm here to say that this film stays true to the original concept while updating it for a whole new generation. It's fast-paced with dazzling special effects, great characters who play well together, and a good story line that will hook everyone from the bag boy at Albertson's (who asked me yesterday if I'd ever heard of Star Trek because his family wanted to see the movie and he didn't know what it was) to us old farts who remember not only William Shatner's *cough* unique acting style but most of the plot lines to the original series. It's a great start to what I hope will be a new franchise.
This was an incredible roller coaster ride of a movie with flawless performances by all of the actors. Heath Ledger definitely deserves a posthumous Oscar for his marvelously creepy interpretation of the Joker; however, his performance did not outshine the work of Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, Aaron Eckhart, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Morgan Freeman. I'll definitely be seeing this one over and over!