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| Release: 2013, Rating: PG-13, Runtime: 132 min. |
I should probably get the most obvious question out of the way first, am I a Star Trek fan? I can tell you that I’ve seen all the movies and I’ve seen a few episodes and enjoyed what I saw, but I can’t say I’m a die hard fan, or someone that has intimate knowledge of the series and will scoff at something that may or may not tarnish your view of it. I will understand the few throwbacks and laugh at a few things, but other than that, I’m a casual fan and one who’s opinion shouldn’t be taken so seriously. Now that’s out of the way, what did I think of Star Trek Into Darkness? It was awesome, exciting and had just the right amount of story to keep me awake for the little over 2 hour run time. I do have a few nitpicks, which I will talk about shortly, but for the most part, this is one movie you gotta check out. So, let’s beam up this review and read on…
Short nitty-gritty plot description from IMDb is as follows: After the crew of the Enterprise find an unstoppable force of terror from within their own organization, Captain Kirk leads a manhunt to a war-zone world to capture a one man weapon of mass destruction.
Don’t expect any spoilers from me in this review. The movie came out just recently and I would be devastated to have anything spoiled. So, no plot details from me, but you can rest easy knowing I won’t spoil a damn thing. Just be careful, cause even the IMDb link above will spoil the movie for you.
I gotta say, I’m really enjoying what J.J. Abrams is doing with the Star Trek universe. I love the idea of time travel and alternate timelines and he does a great job at giving reasoning behind why things are different than the original. Star Trek Into Darkness is no different, in that it acknowledges the original series, yet explains why stuff is happening differently. I also have to say I really enjoy the amount of intense action he has put into the series. I know that the original TV run wasn’t know for a ginormous amount of action and I’m sure it’s going to tick some people off, but as for me, I say I love it!
The acting from everyone involved is superb, with Benedict Cumberbatch of Sherlock fame, putting in an outstanding performance as a deadly force to be reckoned with, yet also conveys a sense of honour and has you understanding why he is doing what he doing, albeit in the worse way possible. Chris Pine returns to the role of Kirk and he seems even more at home in the shoes that William Shatner once wore. He definitely is growing on me. Zachary Quinto invokes some more emotion into Spock and channels Leonard Nimoy even better this time around. Also, the humorous banter between Kirk and Spock is thankfully back and even more enjoyable.
I need to give a shot out to the remaining cast, as they all do a fantastic job. Karl Urban is definitely getting into the groove of being the loveable Bones. I just love Urban in everything he does and this time it’s no different. Simon Pegg gets more screen time and he is as enjoyable as ever, but I still feel like he wasn’t in it enough, which just goes to show how much I loved his funny take on Scotty. Rounding out the cast is John Cho as Sulu, who does a great job as stand in captain, Anton Yelchin, as a funny and awkward Chekov and Zoe Saldana as Uhura, whose role is downplayed a little in this one, but does have a few memorable scenes, one in particular being an exciting and most welcome return of a certain type of characters. Although, I will admit the relationship between her and Spock to me isn’t really necessary.
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| RoboCop himself, Peter Weller is even in this movie! |
The only negatives I can mention are a few inconsistency issues and some strange editing with a few scenes (one minute the gravity is sideways and the next scene everything is fine again). Also, there was a point in the movie where Cumberbatch’s character jumps a distance of 30 meters and someone says that’s impossible to do and survive. Yet, not even a few minutes later, another character jumps the same distance and is perfectly fine. Showing that anyone can do it, only goes to take away from Cumberbatch’s powerful skills. Seriously though, these are tiny, tiny nitpicks and only chip away at the score a little bit.
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| However, this does nothing but ‘raise’ the score! |
Let me reiterate one more time, I am not a giant fan of Star Trek, but I do enjoy it. So, with that said, Star Trek Into Darkness was a fantastic and enjoyable movie for me and one that I think everyone should watch. The movie has some wonderful nods to the past movies and episodes and reworks a few memorable scenes, instead of rehashing the same ol’ same. Because of that, Star Trek Into Darkness is one voyage I will be taking again.
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