Movie Review: Star Trek Into Darkness

Movie Review: Star Trek Into Darkness

Rated M

Reviewer: David Bailey

Rating: 8/10

JJ Abrams once more takes the con on the starship USS Enterprise as we blast off to boldly go where no man has gone before in a very worthy sequel to his 2009 predecessor that was lovingly crafted with more than a nod to the original television series from the 1960s.

The filmmaker combines special effects with a fine cast to give us a good adventure spectacle while at the same time following storylines from the original shows all those years ago as characters and plot lines are introduced into the franchise.

This latest space outing sees Captain Kirk (Chris Pine) and Dr McCoy (Karl Urban) on the run from an angry group of mud-covered natives on a distant planet with a volcano about to erupt which will see the new civilisation wiped out.

Meanwhile, not far away, Mr Spock (Zachary Quinto) toils away in that volcano to plant a high tech device to stop the disaster coming to pass.

And it’s here we see the contrast between the logical but sometimes cold and dispassionate Spock and the impulsive and emotional Kirk resulting in success that comes at a cost as Kirk is disciplined and briefly separated from his crew.

While Kirk was breaking the rules in outer space all hell broke loose on earth as a terror bombing destroys a special Starfleet intelligence facility.

We are introduced to a new galactic baddie – enter a rogue Starfleet officer named John Harrison, played with relish by the brilliant Benedict Cumberbatch who follows up with an attack on the fleet’s main base killing Kirk’s friend and mentor Christopher Pike.

This sends the young officer into a rage seeking vengeance. He does not need much convincing by Admiral Marcus (Peter Weller), who seems to have his own agenda – to go into Klingon-controlled space chasing the terrorist Harrison.

Welcome to Star Trek meets Zero Dark Thirty.

But just who is Harrison? One minute he’s evil with destruction of the Starfleet as his goal, the next he’s protecting and saving Kirk and crew.

But all is not as it seems as we see some old friends and meet a new character Alice Eve, a science officer who lies her way onto the Enterprise, she’s not the only one to stow away.

JJ Abrams delves into the main characters revealing the developing friendship between Kirk, who suffers self-doubt and at times appears vulnerable and Spock who struggles with the concepts of emotion while his romance with Lt Uhura (Zoe Saldana) deepens.

This is not to say the Hollywood wunderkind does not give us a great action flick as the screen explodes into action before our eyes in a visual feast, which would be stunning in the 3D version.

This latest offering had me thinking all the planets were aligning as this re-energised franchise carried on from its excellent re-birth and all signs are that the following films will live long and prosper.