Star Trek Into Darkness (2013) Directed by J.J. Abrams. Starring: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana. IMDB says: “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.”
“My name is…”
As the credits began to roll on Star Trek Into Darkness, I felt two emotions stirring inside of me. The first was excitement. I was incredibly excited not only to see this film again in theatres, but now I’m excited for the Summer movie season. Iron Man 3 was great, don’t get me wrong, but there was something about Star Trek Into Darkness that made me hungry for more big budget summer blockbusters and, surprisingly, more Star Trek; I’ve never seen anything Star Trek related aside from the J.J. Abrams films, which brings me to my second emotion: Desire. As soon as I got home, I loaded up my Netflix Queues with the Star Trek films and television series. Not since Rise of the Planet of the Apes have I felt such a desire to seek out and consume the original source material. It’s that exciting feeling that you’re discovering something no one else has discovered before and you can’t wait to explore that world. I enjoyed Star Trek (2009) but didn’t feel that excitement or energy like I did with Star Trek Into Darkness.
Long story short, Star Trek Into Darkness is about the USS Enterprise and their hunt for a Starfleet member gone rogue. Going into this film I was neutral. I wasn’t excited but I wasn’t going to avoid it either. A lot of that came from the previews not showing too much other than the immense scale of the film. They kept many of the twists and surprises to themselves, unlike some film trailers I’ve seen. (Looking at you Thor: Something Dark Territory World Whatever) I too will keep away from spoilers because, like all films, the less you know, the better experience. The film never drags and every set-up gets knocked out of the park, which is surprising, given that the film was co-written by Damon Lindelof. That’s not meant as a dig, it’s just surprising that there wasn’t a detail or two left unanswered to set up a potential sequel. Are there a few predictable elements? Sure. Plot devices get introduced for a reason ya know. The cast is solid and the relationships between one another are complex, sure, but they’re accessible and inviting to mass audiences. Even without knowledge of Star Trek (aside from its status with pop culture references and the prior J.J. Abrams film) it felt like I knew all of the characters and was able to pick up on inside jokes and references. So if you’re new to the franchise or a tried and true Trekkie, you’ll be able to appreciate the characters and the world they trek around in. Now, there is one standout (surprise?) and that is the villain John Harrison, played almost too perfectly by Benedict Cumberbatch. He steals scene after scene not only with his presence and dialogue, but with his overall bad-assery. (Yeah I realize a handful of his stunts were probably stuntmen but don’t ruin this for me) And as the film jumps from planet to planet, the CGI is nearly flawless. From future earth to the dark and desolate Kronos, to the space explored in between, everything feels so real, you almost want to reach out and grab it. Maybe it was the 3D, but either way, the CGI never overshadows the film or ever comes across as fake or cartoony. The score by Academy Award Winner Michael Giacchino (Up, Star Trek, John Carter) has hints and themes of previous Star Trek works. It feels original and new, subtly pulling the right emotions out at the right time but never forcing you to enjoy it.
But you will enjoy it. Seriously. Close your web browser and go see this movie. I don’t care how you see it (though I do recommend the IMAX 3D cause I felt it really brought me into the universe and didn’t just throw space junk and hyper drive vapors in my face) just go see it in theatres!
Star Trek Into Darkness is an amazing movie. The cast (especially ,Benedict Cumberbatch), the effects and the story are all top notch. I feel that we are getting closer to the summer movie season and this movie is an ideal way to get started on that season early. It feels big budget while still retaining a high level of quality.
I’ve never been a Star Trek fan. I’ve never avoided any of the series or earlier movies, I’ve just never seeked them out. Thanks to references from other tv shows and movies I was familiar with most of the characters and alien races before seeing Into Darkness. I don’t feel like this negatively impacted my enjoyment of the film, but the cheers in the audience did have me feeling like I was missing out on some things. I never found the story to be hard to follow. There was some confusion in the first twenty minutes, but once the plot got rolling, all of that went out the window.
Another aspect of the movie that I really enjoyed was the camerawork. Faraway shots of starships look like realistic footage. The angles used change slightly depending on the action, but never become disorienting. The level of detail in the ships and alien worlds was incredible and the 3D really added to the depth. Overall, the camera was handled very nicely and really helped push this movie over the edge.
As someone who had never seen anything Star Trek related before, I can say that this movie as a very wide appeal. I believe anyone could go see this film and find more than a few things to enjoy. The reaction from the audience also made it seem like devoted fans of Star Trek also enjoyed the movie. At over 2 hours runtime there are second of the film that seem they are almost delaying the end, but I don’t think this takes anything away from the movie.
