"I believe there's some hope for you after all, Mister Spock."

For a while there, I was worried. In the months leading up to the release of Star Trek Into Darkness, I was concerned that this was not going to be voyage I had been hoping for. "Is-he-or-isn't-he" rumors aside, I worried as I saw more footage that this might not be the Trek that served the higher purpose I'd come to expect from the crew of the Enterprise. At its utmost, Star Trek had always been about exploration - of the beyond, and of the self. "To seek out new life and new civilizations - to explore strange new worlds." This Star Trek was looking visually amazing, but it also looked like it could be any well-funded action opus - Die Hard in space? Save me, Scotty, save me. Would this simply be another revenge picture? Were we merely going where everyone with Final Draft had gone before?

I haven't seen the latest Star Trek yet, but my excitement has rekindled and my angst and fret has turned to enthusiasm. The early reviews have begun to come in and things are looking really promising. Thedigitalbits.com gives a very positive reaction, Harry Knowles loves it, Empire Magazine gives it 4 out of 5 stars, it's currently tracking at 87% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes and 72 out of 100 on Metacritic (Iron Man 3 is 62) - and a straight A (not an A-minus) from Entertainment Weekly. Those are some pretty compelling reactions. It's just become nigh impossible to temper any anticipation at this point, as it just feels like this Star Trek is coming at the right time, and that it's going to delight and convey some kind of message about man's ability to triumph over adversity when hope overcomes fear.

Maybe it's because when J.J. Abrams' first Star Trek movie came out, my baby boy was finally nearing the end of his long stay in the hospital, and fear was finally retreating - hope felt really amazing back then, and there was a feeling that anything was possible. Now, four years later, he's learning to swing a mean T-ball bat and I can barely keep up with him - so I guess in a lot of ways, this new Star Trek is a reminder that belief and hope are the most powerful forces in the universe - more powerful than any darkness, at least. So I freely admit - my enthusiasm is unbridled and I'm ready to go seek out...I'm ready to believe.