STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS

   

Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi action and violence

Cast: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Simon Pegg, Karl Urban, Bruce Greenwood, John Cho, Anton Yelchin, Alice Eve, with Leonard Nimoy, and Benedict Cumberbatch
Written By: Robert Orci, Alex Kurtzman, and Damon Lindelof
Directed By: J.J. Abrams



BOLDLY GOING INTO MEDIOCRITY 
Review By Andrew Shuster

Star Trek into Darkness starts off promising with a fairly exciting chase on an alien planet as Captain Kirk (Chris Pine) tries to recover some sort of artifact and escape with it. Meanwhile, Spock (Zachary Quinto) is in the middle of a volcano overflowing with lava trying to turn on some sort of machine. I couldn't tell you why they were doing this, but for the moment I was just going with it. After awhile I got sick of playing along. The movie is under-plotted, yet still confusing and takes a whole lot of time to explain very little.

The plot is simple yet you wouldn't know it listening to all the technical jargon used to describe what's going on. Only, the technology used doesn't exist, so the jargon is nonsense. The plot is pretty basic. A space terrorist going by the name John Harrison (not his real name, you'll find out who he is later) attacks the Federation, destroying a command center and killing many Trekkers. Kirk, Spock, and the rest of the Enterprise crew are sent to capture him and bring him to justice by trial. We spend twenty minutes on the Enterprise before it ever takes off learning about this. Theres some maintenance issues that need to be worked out because it's really exciting to watch a ship being repaired. Spock and Kirk argue about wether they should kill Harrison or capture him. Kirk acts on emotion and wants to kill him while Spock acts on logic and wants to capture him. It takes about ten more minutes, but they do decide to just capture him.

The cast is strong, but with such a large ensemble it seems as most of the characters are given less to do than in the first movie where the actors' screen-time was balanced better. Sulu (John Cho) and Chekov (Anton Yelchin) in particular are almost like glorified extras. The standouts are Quinto as Spock, and Harrison played by Benedict Cumberbatch. Cumberbatch makes a great ruthless, heartless S.O.B., but it's too bad he wasn't the villain in a better franchise, like the Bond or Batman films.

While most of the attempts at humor are lame, Quinto does get some funny dialogue as the half-human/half-Vulcan emotionless and robot-like Spock. His inability to pick up on sarcasm and slang makes for some clever one-liners. The original Spock (Leonard Nimoy) makes a cameo appearance as future Spock. At least, I think he was future Spock but I don't remember time travel ever being mentioned.

What the movie gets the most right is also perhaps the most important aspect and that's the action sequences. Director J.J. Abrams knows how to shoot a fight scene, be it by hand-to-hand combat or spaceship, and the visual effects mixed with the choreography are very impressive. They're consistently entertaining to watch, but as a result of never becoming invested in the story, they weren't particularly exciting. The action scenes deserve to be surrounded by a better movie where it feels like more is at stake in the story and for the characters.

I'm beginning to think J.J. Abrams isn't the genius he's made out to be. I built up a lot of good-will for him for being the mastermind behind Lost, but his big-screen efforts (Star Trek, Super 8, Mission: Impossible 3) have been good, not great. This is his weakest movie, not as good as the first and if there isn't a third I'd be fine with that. He was recently hired to direct a new Star Wars movie, giving him control over the two most popular sci-fi franchises of all time.

With a lack of a more involving/interesting plot, Star Trek into Darkness is a disappointing sequel. Although the action/adventure sequences are fantastic, unlike the Enterprise I was never fully engaged. I'm tempted to go with two stars, but I'll add half a star for the solid craftsmanship and the remaining good-will I have left for J.J. Abrams.