Iam not planning on writing my typically long review. I am not going to discuss Abram's love of
camera flare. I am not going to go into any detail about the plot, as that would be a great disservice to you, kind reader. Suffice it to say, that in most plot devices used in the film, will surprise you in the ways they are used. In many ways some of the plot elements are familiar to most Trek fans, however, Abrams & Co. play these themes and motifs like a symphony in the hands of a master conductor. The jokes, like a familiar musical phrase modulated in different and subtle ways that become fresh, and fun. The characters that we have come to know and love these last 48 years, have new surprises for us to explore. Reprising his role as James T. Kirk is Chris Pine. Zachary Quinto is Spock, and Zoe Saldana once again is Uhura. As much as I can't stand 3D, if you can handle the nausea, go for it, you won't be disappointed. "Star Trek Into Darkness" is fast paced and like relativity itself, you won't notice the temporal anomaly until the theater lights fade on and you realize that 2.5 hours have sped by and you still want more.
Iwill tell you what I did notice. I noticed that the USS Enterprise is a beautiful ship. Perhaps that is something we have forgotten, however, JJ Abrams goes to great length to show us new and interesting angles of this graceful lady. Abram’s placing the Enterprise in new places and predicaments that has never occurred to the fans before. There are some scenes featuring her that literally left my jaw agape.
Ialso noticed a few things about Chris Pine's and Zachary Quinto's performances that I can relate. Pine puts into Kirk all the cockiness, sureness, ego; charisma that is reminiscent of William Shatner yet is uniquely all Chris Pine's. Quinto's Spock is everything that you want and expect him to be, yet his Spock aspires to be more. He aspires in directions that Leonard Nimoy probably wished he were allowed to steer his Spock. That being said, those two inseparable characters are overall the same two people that Shatner and Nimoy molded them over the last half century. I think DeForrest Kelly would love Karl Urban playing him. Urban is Kelly and Kelly is McCoy, not that Karl Urban is mimicking DeForrest Kelly, not at all, nor is he channeling him from the grave, instead he is the essence of Leonard McCoy that is both Kelly and Urban. It is quite uncanny.
We all have to remember, is that the original Enterprise crew had worked together a while before we joined them on their five year journey. That is not the case here in “Into Darkness.” This crew, in this timeline, is still getting to know each other and their new Captain. When John Cho’s Lt. Sulu sits in the Captain's chair (I want one of those!) for the first time, he has a look of fear and awe. We don't see much of Anton Yelchin in the installment. Kirk sends Chekhov to the engine room to replace Scotty who resigns his commission over principle. Another theme that is prevalent throughout the film is about who you want to be. On a larger scale, who, or more precisely what kind of institution does Starfleet desires to be.
The relationship between Zoe Saldana's Urhura and Spock is another area where I think fans are looking forward to see where these two go. I must say that while Nichelle Nichols was the perfect actress for her times, as she was able to extend the role of women on not only TV and film; Nichols moved the role of women in general past the stereotypes that they were locked into since WWII. Zoe has a different job, and her Uhura must show the world a woman who is not only an equal to her partner in the workplace, but also how she balances that relationship in her personal life. I can say that you will like Saldana's work in this film. Simon Pegg will be staring in the Sci-Fi comedy, "The World's End" in a few months, and he brings his comedic timing to Montgomery Scott. The thing about Pegg's comic version of Scotty is that he doesn’t turn our lovable Scotsman into a buffoon. In the end, he is still the "miracle worker." The addition of Alice Eve to the crew as Dr. Carol Marcus hints at some possible new and interesting background into Kirk's private life and the child that he and Marcus had together. Perhaps in this timeline father and son will bond differently.
The question that is on the tips of everyone's tongue is who the hell Benedict Cumberbatch is in this film. He plays John Harris with enough malice in his heart that you start to think he resembles Andrew Divoff in "Wishmaster." With Harris, nothing is given without a price, and sometimes that price is too high. While Kirk and Starfleet struggle with their identities, conversely Harris is clear in his goal, his motives, and with his own identity. Are their lessons to learn from "Star Trek Into Darkness"? Of course there is, lessons on friendship, loyalty, and consequences.
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Movie Data
Genre: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Year: 2013
Staring: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Karl Urban, Benedict Cumberbatch
Director: J.J. Abrams
Producer(s): J.J. Abrams, Bryan Burk, Alex Kurtzman, Damon Lindelof, Roberto Orci
Writer: Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman, Damon Lindelof
Rating: Not Rated
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