In 2007, when Lord of the Rings Online was first released, I was a part of the beta program. I enjoyed the game, taking particular fascination with the cinematic tutorial and starter areas. No MMO that I’d played before had ever shown that depth of story. It seemed to fly in the face of common MMO wisdom, making every player a major mover-and-shaker in the world of Middle Earth.

Then, I quit playing, opting instead to return to Star Wars Galaxies and other games.

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I never was a big fan of the original series. Sure, I grew up loving the characters, and loved most of the original movies, but the actual series seemed a little too hokey for me. I was a huge fan of TNG, though, and the movies that followed that timeline.

The new Star Trek movie combines the best of both worlds. It became my new favorite ST movie of any generation. It pays due homage to the characters, technology, and themes of the original series (“What training have you had?” “Fencing.”). At the same time, it explodes onto the screen with all the flair and action of a modern blockbuster, something more akin to the later TNG movies.

The ending theme was the cherry on top of this very delicious cake.

My Rating: 10 out of 10. Very few movies earn that from me, and fewer still keep it as time passes. We’ll see if this movie can hold its 10…but for now, it’s earned it.