Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)
Grade: A-
Directed by J.J. Abrams
Starring: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Benedict Cumberbatch, Simon Pegg, Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban, Alice Eve, Peter Weller, John Cho, Anton Yelchin and Bruce Greenwood
Premise: The crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise is enlisted to hunt down and destroy a Starfleet officer turned traitor, who has quickly become an intergalactic menace.
Rated PG-13 for intense action violence and peril, some scary images, some language, and brief suggestive material
The words that keep coming to me after seeing Star Trek Into Darkness—the hotly-anticipated sequel to 2009’s very promising reboot of the classic sci-fi franchise—are “almost unreasonably entertaining”. Like its predecessor, Into Darkness hits the ground running and then only speeds up, delivering on its promise to please with eye-popping spectacle, wall-to-wall action, and entertaining character interaction, and it does it all while seeming flat-out smarter than the average summer popcorn movie.
Captain James Tiberius Kirk (Chris Pine) and his Vulcan First Officer, Mr. Spock (Zachary Quinto), may have learned to work together, but that doesn’t mean they’ve necessarily settled their differences. When a daring move by Kirk on a peace-keeping mission to a primitive planet jeopardizes the well-being of some of the locals, Spock is quick to report it to Starfleet Command, even if it may have been the right thing to do. Kirk is subsequently stripped of his command and placed back under the tutelage of Admiral Pike (Bruce Greenwood), his sensible father figure, but Starfleet Command comes crawling back to Kirk soon, in desperate need of his courage, toughness, and do-anything tenacity. The reason? A mysterious Starfleet officer, John Harrison (Benedict Cumberbatch), has begun an all-out war on the federation, first by blowing up an archives building in London and then by attacking Starfleet headquarters in San Francisco Harrison .
The mission turns out to be fraught with complications, however. Internal strife arises with Scotty’s resignation, mechanical failings, a lover’s quarrel between Spock and Uhura, Spock’s tendency to play devil’s advocate to Kirk’s every move, and Kirk’s last-minute hiring of a mysterious science officer (Alice Eve) who specializes in advanced weaponry and begins to smell like a turncoat. Things aren’t any easier outside the Enterprise’s walls, though, with Kirk and company dealing with the presence of bigger, faster, more heavily-armed ships, trigger-happy Klingons, and a hard-hearted, flinty-eyed Starfleet superior (Peter Weller) who wants Harrison killed at any cost. And then there’s Harrison himself, a slippery piece of work who’s stronger than Kirk, smarter than Spock, ruthlessly cunning, and willing to hurt anyone, at any time, to achieve his goals.
Once again at the helm is J.J. Abrams, one of the creators of Lost and the previous Star Trek’s director, which is cause for joy (Abrams has also got to be the right man-if there is such a thing-to try and resurrect the beleaguered Star Wars franchise; he’s already been hired). Knowing this is a summer blockbuster and the audience is there for action, Abrams keeps the pace frenetic, but, unlike so many other empty-headed blockbusters, he doesn’t lose sight of the people at the center. The story is full of unexpected twists, emotional nuance, and the chance to learn more about each of the main characters, so that, no matter the spectacle, the people some audience members have cared about for 40 years are front and center. Just as he did in the reboot, Abrams mixes the ingredients just right: we can legitimately enjoy Kirk and Spock’s yin-yang interplay while also being wowed by a spectacular scene in which a starship traveling at warp speed is overtaken by a bigger, faster ship that comes at it with guns blazing.
Speaking of the characters, Into Darkness brings with it a great ensemble that reminds us why we so readily embrace franchises in the first place. While it’s impossible to give everybody their due with a principle cast this size (Yelchin’s Chekov, in particular, is relegated largely to the sidelines), the actors keep us engaged. Pine gives us the wit and bravado people love about Captain Kirk, but with more humanity this time around; he’s a devoted but flawed hero. Quinto’s Spock is nothing less than a delight—hearing him spout retorts with his sophisticated rhetoric is worth the price of admission alone. Pegg’s Scotty is alternately hilarious and heroic on cue, Saldana’s Uhura is a little less important, but no less likeable, this time around, and Cho delivers Sulu’s single fiery monologue with panache. And, of course, Cumberbatch, who’s best known as British TV’s Sherlock, makes Harrison (who goes by another name as well, but even though it’s all over the internet, it’s clearly still a surprise to some, judging by the reaction of certain people in my theater) an alternately hiss-worthy and awe-inspiring villain.
Is it better than the first one? I wouldn’t say that’s the important question, not so much as does it feel as fresh and entertaining as the first one, to which I’d say yes. Abrams and his cast make this a compelling, delightful, fast, funny exercise (and one that’s worth about a half dozen Marvel comics adaptations).
Bottom Line: I feel like I’ve been spewing adjectives for two whole pages. I may be a tiny bit biased, because the 2009 Star Trek is one of my favorite films, but Into Darkness is a terrific movie that’s well worth the price of admission.
Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)
Directed by J.J. Abrams
Written by Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman and Damon Lindelof; Based on the TV series and characters created by Gene Roddenberry
Rated PG-13
Length: 132 minutes
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