Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)

Genre: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi, Thriller

Release Date: May 16, 2013

My Rating:  ★ ★ ★ ½   (out of ★ ★ ★ ★)
      (Click here for more info on my rating scale)

Currently my third favorite Star Trek film.

I wouldn’t call myself a true Star Trek fan, but over the past few years I have become a bit fond of the franchise.  I have seen most of the movies, and I have seen a number of episodes from the original series, but nothing more.  But I have enjoyed most of the films and episodes that I have seen so far.  Now, my viewing experience of Star Trek Into Darkness marks a pretty big point in my experience with Star Trek: it is the first Star Trek film that I have seen in the theater.  And I don’t regret it; I liked it.

The 2009 film brought about an “alternate” timeline/reality to the Star Trek franchise, providing some good and even refreshing opportunities.  Star Trek Into Darkness picks up sometime after the previous film left off.  While saving a planet from a volcanic eruption, Kirk (still a bit cocky and arrogant, like before) violates the federation’s “Prime Directive.”  As a result, the Federation gives the Enterprise back to Admiral Pike, and Kirk is demoted to First Officer.  However, an old Starfleet Commander declares war on the Federation, setting off a bomb in London and then attacking the Starfleet Headquarters in San Francisco, during which Pike is killed.  The Enterprise is given back to Kirk, along with orders to track down Harrison and bring him to justice.

I’m going to keep my review simple.  I found this movie overall to be better than the 2009 film in just about every way.  Not only are the action and effects better, but I found the story to be better and more emotionally compelling (and with a few twists), and the emotional journey of the characters and their relationships is good, and stronger and deeper than in the last film.  Oh, and yes, there are some humorous moments as well.

This film doesn’t feel quite like the older Star Trek films, but it also pays homage to them, especially one in particular (such as a revelation later on where we learn Harrison’s true identity…).  There’s even one particular sequence late in the film which is very similar to that of that particular aforementioned Star Trek film that this film pays homage to (you’ll know what I’m talking about when you see it – if, of course, you have seen that particular film).  This sequence (with a role-reversal though) is one of my favorite scenes of the film, and it pays homage to that other film quite well.

The cast memebers all do a good job as well, and put on good performances.  Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Karl Urban, Zoe Saldana, Benedict Cumberbatch, and the rest of the cast all bring out their characters well; and they pay homage to their respective characters in earlier movies as well.

The flawed content that the film has is mostly in the middle portion of the film; it’s not bad or anything, but it’s definitely a slight dip in quality from the first and third acts of the film.  It has a few minor pacing issues here, and it goes a little overboard on the action and effects, and it falls just short of the emotional level it should be at (but it still gets close).  That being said, I very much liked the first and last half hours (approximately) of the film.

Overall, I liked this film.  In fact, as of right now, this is my third favorite Star Trek film, right underneath my first and second favorites, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home and Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, respectively.  Star Trek Into Darkness doesn’t particularly go where no film has gone before, but it’s good.


Cast and Credits:
Kirk: Chris Pine
Spock: Zachary Quinto
McCoy: Karl Urban
Uhura: Zoe Saldana
Harrison: Benedict Cumberbatch
Pike: Bruce Greenwood

Paramount Pictures presents
A film directed by J. J. Abrams
Running time: