With Star Trek, director J.J. Abrams has achieved a seeming impossibility. He’s validated the concept of the original TV series (1966-1969) while making one of the most thrilling action-adventure pictures of the decade, one that successfully tells the backstories of all the original characters and reminds us why we liked them so much in the first place.

In this new movie -- whose working title alternated between Star Trek Zero and Star Trek XI -- we get glimpses of the childhood days of James Tiberius Kirk (Chris Pine) and Mr. Spock (Zachary Quinto), and pick up a full narrative as the two graduate from Star Fleet Academy. Kirk is a hell-raiser and womanizer who won’t admit defeat; the half-human, half-Vulcan Spock is a living computer who trusts in logic by suppressing his human side. They meet when Kirk, by cheating, defeats a test scenario designed by Spock, who wants his hide for it. But just as Kirk is about to be sentenced, a distress call is received from the planet Vulcan, and everyone is sent off to save the day. Kirk, smuggled aboard the brand-new Starship Enterprise by a friend, Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy (Karl Urban), realizes that the cry for help is a ruse that will lead them into a trap laid by a particularly unhappy Romulan, Nero (Eric Bana).

The Enterprise emerges from warp speed into chaos, pieces of its destroyed companion ships drifting around it. Adding insult to injury, Nero then destroys Vulcan by triggering a device that causes a black hole to devour the entire planet -- it’s one of the film’s most impressive and shocking special effects. With Captain Pike (Bruce Greenwood) as his hostage, Nero then heads for Earth, to send it into a black hole. The crew of the Enterprise, now under Spock’s command, must stop him.

Those are the basics of the plot, but Star Trek, like the original series, is actually about Kirk and Spock. Pine and Quinto explore this relationship with utter conviction and understanding, and there are many heart-stopping moments as Kirk and Spock begin to realize what the audience has known all along: that they will be lifelong friends. These scenes could have been tacky and sentimental, but the actors and Abrams hit them exactly right.

Other beloved characters are introduced as, one by one, the Enterprise’s original crew is established. Communications Officer Nyota Uhura (Zoe Saldana) is a smart, beautiful woman in love with Spock and pursued by Kirk, and Hikaru Sulu (John Cho) shows off his dueling ability. And though he looks nothing like DeForest Kelley, the original Dr. McCoy, Karl Urban is most like the original character in gesture and language. Anton Yelchin plays Ensign Pavel Chekov as a 17-year-old geek with knowledge far beyond his years. And British actor Simon Pegg, as Engineer Montgomery "Scotty" Scott, has a verve and energy that steal many scenes.

All of these characters are exceptionally likable, and not only because we’ve seen them before. There is much affectionate tribute here, but there’s just as much fresh insight. Although we find out more about these characters than we ever knew before, our feelings for them stay the same.

The special effects are the state of the art, and the fight scenes are impressive and spectacular. Leonard Nimoy’s appearance as the older Spock is more than a cameo. His scene with his younger self is effective and moving, especially at the end, when he intones one of the most memorable lines of the original series.

I won’t spoil any of the surprises or in-jokes, or rob you of the thrill of discovery and rediscovery offered by Star Trek. I’ll just say that it’s a grand adventure on a grand scale that could not have been possible without the original TV show of the 1960s, yet still seems fresh and new. It’s exciting entertainment rife with meaning.

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