For once, I feel I'm writing a superfluous review. With nothing but critical raves pouring out and money pouring in, what can I add to it that might serve as cinematic enlightenment?

My first impulse would be to condemn (but mildly) the film for following so faithfully the format that has made every salable blockbuster a hit, a palpable hit. Everything intelligently produced - BIG, BIG, BIG - wide screen, surround sound, epic-making special effects, a fantasy guaranteed to thrill anyone who enjoys his fondest daydreams on the big screen, all done up with an excellent production staff, suitably fine acting, and a plot that doesn't deviate one iota from its predecessors. But, hey, isn't that what good summer entertainment is supposed to be all about? The Superman series, James Bond, the Star Wars - all cut from the same cloth, and all (at their best), as the Brits say, spot on.

Sure, it's hardly original at its base, but the trappings are so well devised, so well brought together, that one just sits there and enjoys the crème de la crème of sci fi flicks as the best in sheer pointless entertainment; even considering the black/white issue of morality, of good overcoming bad (again, as with Batman et al).

It is a couple centuries into the future, nearly half a century before the familiar adult crew of the Starship Enterprise is in evidence. We meet the younger crew, after some fussing character development, probably in their late teens or early twenties, breathlessly eager to do what all Trekkies expect them to do: take their ship into far away parts of the universe to right the wrongs of one or another clever but evil ruler. Our crew slips easily into assigned roles, taking over for one or another when necessary, exactly as their elder personae would do, arguing and agreeing as they learn an amazing number of highly complex duties with ease - with the aid of time warps, the beamings-up, and all the other technological tricks we've come to appreciate and enjoy - all performed with the finest computer-generated slight-of-hand we've seen to date.

So much of the pleasure comes in this prequel from seeing the familiar stuff, modernized with new techniques, getting to recognize the old familiar faces now found on fresh, likable, youthful faces and watching them get their feet wet with barely a hitch - ship-shaking blasts and all.

Director J.J. Abrams makes the most of the Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci script, guaranteeing a course straight to the intent of making it all seem fresh and new, while retaining what everyone has come to love in the TV and earlier film versions. Even Michael Giacchino's score fits the tone of the film in the fully orchestrated Williams pattern.

They manage to go boldly where we have all gone before. It may not introduce any new trends, but it's a lot of fun for a little more than two hours in the dark; and, for a change, what's wrong with that?