Starring: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Simon Pegg, Benedict Cumberbach
Director: J.J Abrams
When a member of the federation turns rogue and attacks from within its up to James T. Kirk and the crew of the enterprise to travel to a remote Klingon solar system and hunt him down.
J..J Abrams is back with his second foray into the Star Trek Universe. Having successfully rebooted the stale franchise back in 2009. This time lacking the origin tale he brings in the most noteworthy villain to ever take on Kirk the one and only Kahn(Benedict Cumberbatch).
The typical is young Kirk (Chris Pine) ready to lead plot thread is back, a romance between Spock (Zachary Quinto) and Uhura (Zoe Saldana) is explored and a modern-day take on leaders starting war that is reminiscent of the United States Middle East conflicts.
There are a few inside jokes for the core Trekkies the tribble, the comment about switching shirts, to those not in the know the anonymous character in red shirts were typically the first to get offed in the series. They are to Star Trek what a black guy is to the horror genre. So to see the anonymous black guy in the red shirt you know he isn’t long for the trip. There are plenty of plot holes in the film mostly involving the incompetence of the transporter which somehow is always down when it would be the easy solution the problem. A few things could have been done sooner etc. This might be an issue if the cast wasn’t so damn well casted Kyle Urban was born to play Bones and Quinto embodies all the emotional detachment you expect from Spock. The rest of the main characters are spot on as well.
I for one appreciate that Abrams was never a big Trekkie himself, which means that he isn’t making a boring film geared towards only the hardcore fans. We knew that when he created an alternate timeline from the first reboot, he essentially gave himself cart Blanche to loosen up the reigns and make the films he wanted too. This easing of the mythos translates to a popcorn film that is more action than science. The Cumberbitches of the world will be pleased with his interpretation of Kahn, It’s a more complex character than in previous incarnations.
It’s familiar enough for Trekkies yet big enough and loud enough to make the average filmgoer happy. Is into Darkness as good as the first? Nope, but half the fun of that was learning who was going to play the cast and how they would compare to the originals. With that out-of-the-way Into Darkness is strictly a Sci-Fi adventure film. If you can get over the plot holes (why was Kahn’s blood the only magic blood when you have 72 other samples on hand, That Damn Teleporter, Some decisions could have been made earlier in the film. Etc.. ) And focus on the onscreen visuals ,you have a fun summer film. Even if it isn’t the most memorable. Its enjoyable yet disposable Sci-Fi Fun
GRADE-85
