Ahead Of His Highly Anticipated Star Wars Film, 500 Days Of Film Reviews JJ Abrams’ Star Trek Into Darkness
After a series of terrorist attacks decimates Star Fleet, the crew of the Enterprise discover that the new evil on the block is homegrown.
Captain James T Kirk (Chris Pine) must reunite with Spock (Zachary Quinto) to embark upon a dangerous mission and capture the man responsible for these atrocities - John Harrison (a brilliant Benedict Cumberbatch).
However, the crew of the Starship Enterprise soon discovers that nothing is what it seems.
Is It Any Good?
Mere weeks before the release of the JJ Abrams’ new Star Wars film, I decided to watch the second of his Star Trek movies: Star Trek Into Darkness.
I wanted to watch Star Trek Into Darkness again because I remembered that it was this movie (along with its 2009 predecessor) that made Star Wars fans feel slightly more relaxed about the forthcoming reboot.
Now I'll admit that I am no Trekkie. I just happen to enjoy a space-action, SciFi combo every now and again. Who doesn't?
So I rewatched Star Trek Into Darkness (or STID as no one is calling it) and, by the end, felt like I had been on a roller coaster ride. This film is exhilarating and exciting. It never stops moving, looks all gorgeous and shiny and I was happy to go along with it.
As with the first film - I enjoyed all of the central characters. There is great chemistry between the crew of the Enterprise and, of course, particularly between Spock and Kirk.
The bromance established from the first film is tested here following Spock’s decision to tell Starfleet about Kirk’s disregard for the Prime Directive (to keep the Enterprise hidden from primitive civilisations).
The two struggle to come to terms with the reality of their responsibilities (Kirk) and the power of their emotions (Spock).
Star Trek Into Darkness’ breakneck pace never gives you the chance to think about what is going on.
And I am wondering if that was the plan. It was only when the credits started to roll that I began to question how the story had managed its warp speed leaps and bounds.
I enjoyed this film and loved Cumberbatch’s villain but I didn’t have as much fun as I did while watching the first film.
To be honest, I was ready to forgive and really forget when I read an article that made me question my understanding of the film. Had my own ignorance prevented me from enjoying Star Trek Into Darkness?
One of the criticisms of STID has been that it lost its nerve somewhat and ended up wanting to please all of the many fans of the Star Trek universe. As a result, STID is peppered with in jokes and Easter eggs - many of which completely passed me by.
Now, I don’t want to list these Easter eggs here because many would spoil the story for those of you who have yet to watch the film. However, suffice it to say that I may have appreciated the film more had I remembered all that happened in Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan (I don’t).
Knowing the in jokes as I now do, I could go back and watch STID again. But, to be honest, if I find myself hankering for a JJ Abrams film, I think I’d prefer to watch Super 8.
Random Observations
There is a really jarring and exploitative scene in this film where Alice Eve has to change her clothes - this felt totally out of place and unnecessary. A shame.
Have you seen Star Trek Into Darkness? Let me know what you thought of this film in the comments section below!