Movie Review: Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)
Posted By Dave Howlett on May 17, 2013
With its second J.J. Abrams-helmed installment, Star Trek Into Darkness, Gene Roddenberry’s spacefaring franchise veers even further away from humanist, pioneering adventure and even further into sci-fi action. The script, by Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci, and Damon Lindelof, is filled with all kinds of “Why did they…?”, “But what about the…?” and “How come they don’t…?” questions. The answer, pretty much across the board, is the same—because it’ll be cool. And there’s nothing wrong with that. The pace of the new Trek is so lightning-fast and genuinely exciting that any questions about the plot are pushed aside by the time the next thrilling set piece arrives. But those questions about the plot will linger long after you’ve left the theatre.
It’s difficult to discuss that convoluted, twist-filled plot without spoiling a lot of Into Darkness, but I’ll give it a go: when a former Starfleet officer turned terrorist named John Harrison (Benedict Cumberbatch) masterminds a London bombing and an attack on Starfleet Command, newly-minted maverick Captain James T. Kirk (Chris Pine) is tasked with pursuing the criminal into some very dangerous (and familiar to longtime Trek fans) outer space territory. Kirk clashes with his by-the-books Science Officer, Spock (Zachary Quinto), while the vengeful mission parameters raise questions about the very purpose of Starfleet. Is their broad agenda one of exploration, or of warmaking? That dichotomy could very well be referring to the rebooted Trek itself. Whereas classic Trek was about boldly going where no one had gone before, the new-model Trek is more often than not about chases and explosions.
Not that there’s anything wrong with that, mind you. We’ve already had three TV seasons and six movies (not to mention all the various spinoffs, novels, comic books, etc.) that plumbed the depths of more thoughtful, idea-based science fiction, and hopefully the inevitable future Star Trek films will find a happy balance between the two incarnations. A sleeker, funnier, sexier Trek was almost certainly mandated by Paramount when the reins of the franchise were given to Abrams, and on those terms, he’s admittedly fulfilled his duties. The rest of the Enterprise crew—rounded out by Zoe Saldana’s Uhura, Karl Urban’s Bones, John Cho’s Sulu, Anton Yelchin’s Chekov, and Simon Pegg’s Scotty (who gets a surprising number of hero moments in this outing)—has already meshed into a wonderful ensemble, and everyone gets plenty of chances to shine in this adventure. Cumberbatch is a powerhouse villain, with his laserlike stare and menacing rumble of a voice. But even as Into Darkness struggles to free the franchise from its past, it can’t escape throwing in just a few too many knowing winks and shout-outs (quite literally, in the case of one particularly groan-worthy punchline) to established Trek films and episodes. Abrams and his writing team have strained to deliver a product that surprises and delights, reworking existing canon and twisting it into something new—often at the expense of good sense and logic, but still new nonetheless. But while surprises in a Hollywood tentpole flick are always welcome, this need to tie everything back to the familiar is a whole new kind of predictable. Here’s hoping that, freed of the yoke of comparison to another, very highly regarded second Trek film, Abrams and company can get back to boldly going where no filmmakers have gone before.
Check out our other Star Trek Into Darkness Review:
Iain McNally’s Review
Michelle Ealey’s Review
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