LET'S DO THE TIME WARP. The latest Star Trek movie depicts the formation of the original Enterprise crew. You have to suspend judgement about a few fundamentals of the space-time continuum, but it is summer, and it is a move. And if Star Trek made Star Wars possible, perhaps it's not surprising that some Star Wars-like elements make their way into this Star Trek prequel. (Ah, for the days when we could start with Rheingold and wait for Gotterdammerung.)

The movie offers intriguing symbolism for these times. There are well-scrubbed and generally well-behaved Vulcans busy with their studies. Yes, I really did hear somebody say "nonrivalrous and nonexclusive." In the Vulcan academy. In a movie. There are also scruffy Romulans with a black hole in a bottle. (There's an intriguing weapon of mass destruction.) The skinhead haircuts, stubbly beards, and tattoos are straight out of a rough neighborhood. I was waiting for the rumbling bass to blare from the ports of their starship.