Star Trek Into Darkness (12A)

Four years ago, Director JJ Abrams made a bold and entertaining reboot of Star Trek which made the franchise cool again.

The problem with the 2009 version is that the plot was often overshadowed by the introduction of so many characters. This leads nicely to the best thing about Star Trek Into Darkness. We already know who is in the movie and have established the films universe. This has allowed the creators to this time get straight to the storyline of the movie at ‘warp speed.’

Star Trek Into Darkness picks up where its predecessor left off. Kirk (Chris Pine) is settled nicely in the USS Enterprise chair, with Spock (zachary Quinto) beside him as his First Officer whilst a mission is in progress. After an action-packed opening more colourful than a Katy Perry concert, the crew of the Enterprise are called back home.

It’s not long after their return to Earth that an unstoppable force of terror from within their own organization leaves our planet in a state of crisis. This terrorist is John Harrison (Benedict Cumberbatch), a smooth-talking villain who is as smart as he is tough. Harrison flees to the Klingons home world, called Kronos – making this planet the crew’s next destination. Their mission is to simply kill the man who has caused so much destruction.

Side stories focus on Kirk and Spock’s friendship, Spock and Uhura’s (Zoe Saldana) relationship, and Scotty’s (Simon Pegg) struggle to keep up a half decent Scottish accent.

These sub-plots are typical from Abrams – the master of attention to detail. For those who don’t know, he’s the man behind films and television shows such as Mission Impossible III, Cloverfield, Super 8, Alias, and Lost. It is perhaps the fact that he has Screenwriter, Producer, and Director all on his CV that makes him such a great storyteller which can certainly be seen in this film.

Abrams has pushed the boundaries of filmmaking many times, which leads me to my main criticism on the movie. The limits were not pushed far enough with Into Darkness. One particular scene where the Enterprise spins out of control may have blown my mind if I had not seen the rotating corridor scene in the movie Inception. A fight taking place on moving vehicles would have impressed if it had not been for a similar motorway scene in The Matrix Reloaded. Although the action here is more polished then anything we’ve seen before, it feels too familiar.

Don’t get me wrong, Star Trek Into Darkness ticks all the boxes for a summer blockbuster. The dialogue is snappy, the pacing is fast and it’s most definitely worth the watch. The action sequences may not boldly go where no movie has gone before but regardless, you should leave the cinema satisfied.

No more will the word ‘Trekkie’ be an insult.

Mickey Clarke

Genre: Sci-Fi & Action

Runtime: 132 minutes

Director: JJ Abrams

Cast: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Benedict Cumberbatch, Simon Pegg, Anton Yelchin, John Cho, Karl Urban, Zoe Saldana & Alice Eve

See this if you liked: Star Trek (2009), Sherlock Holmes (2010) & Iron Man

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