This is a spoiler free review. I will outline the initial setup to the movie but no specific details will be revealed. My full review and discussion of the film can also be read HERE. This screening was attended by Peter Weller (Admiral Marcus in the film) and my full review contains his question and answer session along with other insights. Please check it out after you’ve seen the movie, or I suppose before-hand if you have that “fuck the man” attitude.
After the crew of the Enterprise find an unstoppable force of terror from within their own organization, Captain Kirk leads a manhunt to a war-zone world to capture a one man weapon of mass destruction.
Into Darkness opens in a thrilling fashion with a chase sequence on an alien planet. It really is a breathless beginning, literally for Kirk and McCoy as they run for their lives though a vibrant jungle filled with red vegetation and teeming with weird lifeforms. It is a great start to the film, a reminder of the cast their relationships — notably the interplay between Kirk and Spock. This opener contrasts the two leads and effectively serves to setup the themes of the movie, those of the often conflicting choices between love and duty.
As can be garnered from the trailer, Into Darkness deals with the fallout of a shocking terrorist bombing at a facility in London. This results in all high ranking personnel in the area convening in San Francisco with the person responsible being named as a Starfleet operative, one John Harrison, played with a chilling malice by Benedict Cumberbatch (Sherlock, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy). The Enterprise is dispatched to find Harrison and bring him to justice.
Into Darkness is a thrilling, fun ride. It achieves everything you want from a summer movie: it is visually impressive, action packed, has snappy humor and dialogue. It is a very well crafted movie and it comes across that the cast and crew had as much fun making it as most of the audience did watching it.
Visually, it is a delight. IMAX was impressive and the 3D was handled with restraint, not distracting and only enhancing effects as it should be. The space sequences were just beautiful and showed off the Enterprise as if it were a piece of art whether it was rising from the ocean, gliding through space or tumbling in Earth’s atmosphere. The Enterprise-Vengeance jump was thrilling and paced nicely with some comedy from Scotty but when Kirk lost his targeting computer I couldn’t help but wonder if he would “use the Force.” Abrams’ love for Star Wars does rear its head at times. There was a lot of innovation in some of the action scenes with the aforementioned opening, a mid-warp firefight with some disturbing imagery of the Enterprise being blown apart and bodies flying into space, and the most impressive being a Inception-esque sequence near the end of the film.
Sure, the movie occasionally looks like a solar flare went off in an Apple store, but overall it is impressively done. Cinematographer Dan Mindel presents a sleek futuristic look; however, he imbues the film with a warmth and charm. There is flair but it is often tempered with a practicality. We get fascinating representations of a futuristic London and San Francisco that again just teem with life, subtle touches and a real sense of realism which I really appreciated. It added so much quality to the backdrop of the movie to see such attention paid to creating real, thought-out worlds rather than just populating shots with nifty technology and a variety of extras with prosthetics and CGI. In addition, the score was both rousing and restrained, bringing in old themes together with the new ones to really add to the overall ambiance of the film.
“occasionally looks like a solar flare went off in an Apple store, but overall it is impressively done”
As amazing as the visuals and set pieces are, it is the characters and their interplay that really shine. As a fan you can connect with the characters because of your history and familiarity with them, but this cast really have bedded in better than I thought possible and it is a joy to watch them play off each other. The snappy banter and character interplay not only remains but is better than ever — they really have grown together. Kirk and Spock play off each other very well and it is interesting to see a divergence from the original series where McCoy was the third member of this dynamic typically. Here, Uhura (Zoe Saldana) seems to take on more of that role. Kirk at one point confides his conflict and trouble to her in a turbolift, not Bones as you may expect. I guess this is likely due to Saldana’s growing fame and popularity. Karl Urban (McCoy) continues to amaze me with his dead-on take of Bones. I really appreciate the grit and bluntness he brings to the ensemble and my only complaint is we don’t see enough of him. The relationship between Spock and Uhura caused some fan complaints in the first movie but it continues nicely here and provides an opportunity for Zachary Quinto to push the character further, especially as he still deals with the loss of his homeworld.
Simon Pegg (Scotty) does a great job and is the prime source of comedic relief, which is often achieved without losing any dignity in the role. Although, to my chagrin, we do see the return of his little sidekick. Anton Yelchin (Chekov) plays more of a fall guy/comedy role as he runs around the ship clearly out of his depth running engineering in Scotty’s absence. Of the main crew, Sulu seems to draw the shortest straw with his scenes generally serving as fan service nods to “how good a Captain he could make.” I love the joviality but there is still a overriding sense of confusion at times, regarding Starfleet handing command of its flagship to this young, inexperienced bunch. Never painfully more realized than the scene where they get a dressing down from Admiral Pike. As fun as the film is, this aspect can baffle. While Pine does a great job at times he comes across as a bit sleazy in his demeanor — the original series portrayed him as a ladies man, yes, but there was always a romantic quality to it. I think a bit more of the smooth Kirk needs to come through than the “player.”
“this cast really have bedded in better than I thought possible and it is a joy to watch them play off each other.”
With the supporting cast, Bruce Greenwood delivers yet again as the father-figure to Kirk. Alice Eve (Starter for Ten, She’s Out of my League) does an adequate job in her portrayal of Carol Marcus — my issues with her character are in justifying her inclusion, not necessarily her portrayal. As to the man himself, Peter Weller, his portrayal of the “patriot” Admiral Marcus offers a more gruff counterpoint to Admiral Pike, with both portrayed as mentors to the young Captain Kirk. He is a man driven by conviction and does a great job exuding authority and a passion for his beliefs (although he does have some Pacino-esque levels of delivery during the film). And Cumberbatch? Well, he was good, playing a more composed counterpoint to Kirk for the majority of the film. His line delivery is chilling, but I just felt a little underwhelmed. Knowing his talents the role could have been shaped into something more iconic but fell closer to being your typical movie villain.
Fan service is a delicate line to tread. As a fan I admit I got fun and satisfaction out of hearing Trek mythology referenced throughout. I think it gave some depth and substance to proceedings. But with Abrams destroying Vulcan in the first film, he showed he was unafraid to shake up Trek and potentially alienate a core crowd to bring it to a new generation. I admire that, but there are choices that will be debated, such as the return of Carol Marcus. It wasn’t overly necessary to the plot but I do appreciate the irony in her presence and how she serves as a fitting mirror to the original timeline where she created the ultimate device to create life (the Genesis device) whereas in this timeline, forged out of the vicious attack on Vulcan, she is now a weapons specialist.
So, what didn’t I like? Star Trek Into Darkness is certainly a movie of our time, but that isn’t always appropriate for science fiction. SciFi is meant to be a bit more about escapism and aspiration, and in this day and age we have sufficient reminders of how dangerous the world can be. We see movies portraying recent events and terrorist acts and the “patriotic” responses right now, so do we need to see it still continues several hundred years into our future? That said, SciFi can look at something from a different angle or bring attention to a situation very effectively. I think the most recent and successful example being District 9 and its drawing upon the apartheid in South Africa. Into Darkness it is a touch more heavy handed here with the makers even going so far as to add a 9/11 veterans tribute to the credits.
My real issue is with the last act. It is hard to discuss my grievances with the film without going into spoiler territory so I will direct you to my full review. To sum up my thoughts without revealing anything, the film borrows a lot from a previous installment and tries to put a new spin on it. While it didn’t fail completely, to me a massive Trek fan, it felt very cheap and lazy. In revisiting certain themes and events of something that has come before, you open yourself up to direct comparison. In doing that, you need to top what you draw from and this time they weren’t even close. Do not misunderstand me, I recommend watching this film and am sure it will be enjoyed by many. I think it speaks highly of the rest of the film that this unnecessary rehash of a prior event from the Trek Universe did not spoil things that much for me — I was more disappointed that the man who had the balls to destroy Vulcan couldn’t come up with something more original for us.
“I was more disappointed than anything that the man who had the balls to destroy Vulcan couldn’t come up with something more original for us.”
Review Summary:While the film lacks originality and will provoke more invested Trek fans into some debate and criticism, Abrams has produced a snappy, fun, and well polished film. The cast sparkles and really seem to enjoy their roles and rapport with each other. The visuals are astounding and set pieces are innovative and gripping. It was fun to watch while having substance enough to raise it above your average summer blockbuster. I enjoyed it despite its flaws and feel it really leaves the crew and franchise in a great position. I left excited with the Enterprise now on its 5 year mission with hopes they will deliver something truly special for the next installment.