Thoughts: J.J. Abrams' fun 2009 reboot of the Star Trek franchise made
the franchise relevant for the modern era, and four
years later we finally have the long awaited Star Trek
Into Darkness, but was it worth the wait?
After hearing of the mixed to positive reviews, my expectations for Into
Darkness where mixed, I did not know what to expect from the movie. Upon
watching it, I have to say that it did not disappoint in the slightest. While
some of the die-heart Trekkies that are still mad about Abrams' reboot
will have nothing new to enjoy, more open-minded fans of the franchise and
fans of the reboot will have plenty to love, because Into Darkness was a
blast! Although I did quite enjoy Abrams first Star Trek film, it lacked a
strong villain that it so sorely needed, but Into Darkness completely kills it
in that respect. Benedict Cumberbatch is far and above the best part of the
entire movie; he absolutely killed it in his mysterious role as the film's
villain and because the character's identity is a mysterious, I shall refer to
the character as Cumberbatch. Despite this, Cumberbatch should have had
much more screen-time because his character needed it. Cumberbatch played
a rather compelling villain and throughout most of the movie I was
actually more on Cumberbatch's side than Kirk and Spock's because he had
justification for his actions. Thus far in 2013, Cumberbatch is the best
villain of the year, although he will likely be bested by Hiddleston in the
upcoming Thor: the Dark World by Loki/Tom Hiddleston.
Even though I was unfortunately spoiled as to the true identity
of Cumberbatch's character, I already had my suspicions, so that did not
detract from my enjoyment of the film. Star Trek Into Darkness is a film
that deserves a full spoiler discussion, however this review will be
spoiler free and, if the readers are interested, I will write a full spoiler
discussion on the film in the future.
Being a fan of the franchise, Into Darkness featured many references that
only those that have seen some of the old movies/TV show can appreciate,
or, in the case of some Trek purists, despise. If you are one of those fans
that dislike the movie because of the attempts to mimic the original, that is
understandable.
Something of major importance to mention is that J.J. Abrams is directing
Star Wars Ep. 7, which everyone already knows. Because of this, I was hoping to
see if Abrams has the directing chops to pull off Star Wars and I have to say
that Into Darkness' direction was rather impressive. Except for a few too many
dang lens flares, Abrams did a great job.
One a side note, why is there no colon between "Trek"
and "Into" in the title? I looked it up, the official name has no
colon, so that makes the movie's title look weird.
Directed by: J. J. Abrams
Genre: Sci-Fi, Action, Action Adventure,
Release Date: May 17, 2013
Running Time: 133 minutes
MMPA rating: PG-13
The Good: Benedict Cumberbatch completely steals the show, Relentless
pacing, Impressive action sequences, Superb directing by
Abrams, Compelling villain, Tribble!, Several homages to classic Star
Trek moments, Hilarious sense of humor, Brings back previously fantastic cast.
The Bad: Occasionally predictable, Minor plot holes,
Plot: The following plot summary is copied from Wikipedia.com.
In the year 2259, the Federation starship USS
Enterprise has been
sent to the planet Nibiru to study the development of primitive cultures.
Captain James T. Kirk and Spock attempt to save the planet's inhabitants from a
volcanic eruption. When Spock's life is endangered, Kirk violates the Prime
Directive to rescue him, exposing the
Enterprise to the planet's
civilization. Kirk accuses Spock of showing little morality when they argue
over the decision.
Summoned to Earth, Kirk loses command of the
Enterprise as a result
of his decision and Admiral Christopher Pike is reinstated as its commanding
officer. When a secret Section 31 installation in London is bombed, Pike, Kirk,
and Spock meet with Starfleet commanders to discuss the hunt for the culprit,
Starfleet agent John Harrison, but Harrison attacks the meeting in a jumpship.
Kirk destroys it, but Pike is killed and Harrison escapes by transporting to
Kronos, the Klingon homeworld.
Watch the movie to see what happens next.
Plot: 8.1/10- As compelling of a villain Cumberbatch was, Into Darkness
did have a great deal about Spock and Kirk's relationship. While that part was
handled well, it is somewhat of a backtrack to what happened in the previous
Trek movie with Spock and Kirk bickering. There where a few other minor aspects
that where retreads of the previous Star Trek film as well. As for the
main plot as a whole, it was quite good and well paced, even though some may
not like the lightening pacing as much. Towards the end, there where a few
minor plot holes and predictable parts that kind of detract from the movie.
Other than those grievances, the rest of the plot is great and filled with fun
and snappy dialogue, even if it is not as "deep" as some fans would
like.
Action: 9.2/10- Abrams has really stepped up his action direction skills
with Into Darkness. Most of the action sequences where riveting and well
directed. There were only a few shots that were poorly framed or
darkly lit. Cumberbatch's character was a beast in the action scenes
and he was the main reason why many of the action scenes where as awesome as
they were. Never before has there been this quality of action in a Star Trek
film.
Acting: 8.5/10- As stated before, Cumberbatch was freaking awesome in his
role. He had a menacing screen presence and made the character very compelling,
although this is no surprise since Cumberbatch is amazing as Sherlock Holmes. The
entire cast of the Enterprise from the previous film is great, without a single
miscasting. Chris Pine as Captain James T. Kirk is even better than he was in
the previous Trek film, and Zachary Quinto as Spock is good, but not
particularly great in his role. Alice Eve, aka "Thumbnail
Chick," was neither bad nor good in her role. Although no
one else was noticeably bad, aside from Cumberbatch, the acting is not
particularly special.
Special effects: 9.2/10- Although some of the effects are obviously CGI, the
movie still looks great! The effects and setting are much improved compared to
the previous Star Trek film. Fortunately, Abrams used a surprising amount of
practical special effects and fully built sets, opposed to going all
green screen.
Soundtrack: 9.2/10- The rendition of the classic Star Trek theme is done
perfectly by Michael Giacchino and a few other tracks are homages to
other Star Trek tracks from the past.
Comedy: 9.3/10- Star Trek Into Darkness is an often hilarious movie filled
with humorous banter and quick quips.
Would I Watch This Again: While I would not consider buying the movie
on Blu-Ray/DVD, Into Darkness was a lot of fun and certainly worth watching
again.
Overall: 8.5/10- Overall Star Trek Into Darkness is a blast to watch
and a fun space-adventure romp, however Cumberbatch is the main
reason to watch the film because both his performance and character are the
main things that make the movie memorable.
Closing comments: Some hardcore Trekkies and those who are not fans
of Abrams first Star Trek will find little to like in the film,
everyone else should enjoy the fun ride.
Recommended for: Sci-Fi fans, Star Trek fans, Cumberbatch fans, Action fans,
Please check back tomorrow for my review of the Wolverine.
Click here to check out more of my movie reviews.
.jpg)
