Sunday, May 26, 2013

Star Trek Into Darkness review



               Back in 2009, when popular television producer J.J. Abrams rebooted “Star Trek”, he simultaneously did what many have never been able do before; successfully make “Star Trek” relevant to the youthful uninitiated again, tie in the original franchise in a clever way that kept his film from feeling like a cynical wiping of the slate, and most of all, he was able to bridge the lifelong chasm between the Trekkies and “Star Wars” fans.
                Of course not everyone was happy with J.J’s vision of Gene Roddenberry’s sci-fi dream of the future. The action was ramped up, the actors were cast to be younger and better looking, and the focus was now shifted from socio-political ideas to character quirks and their humorous interactions. These changes were not unnoticed and not only have some die-hard fans turned their backs on this reboot, but it has also been recently announced that Abrams will be helming the upcoming “Star Wars” semi-sequel.
                With this year's release of “Star Trek into Darkness” Abrams returns without reservation to the world he established in 2009 and the minority of fans who have been cursing his involvement—probably in Klingon—won’t find any reason  to be interested in this film either, as it is even more exciting and risk taking than it’s predecessor.
                Following the events of the first film, James T. Kirk (Chris Pine) who has been hastily demoted from Captain of the Enterprise, due to his unorthodox methods, is awaiting confirmation of a five year exploration mission, when he is told that he can only join again under the supervision of his superiors. Before they even take off, a mysterious terrorist (Benedict Cumberbatch) begins to enacts random bombings at Starfleet headquarters.  Kirk and his crew are then sent out to capture or kill this man as he is hiding in enemy territory.  All the while, Spock (Zachary Quinto) and Uhura (Zoe Saldana) are having relationship issues and Kirk has to prove himself to be a responsible Captain.
                Like I have already stated, this is a very consistent sequel with what Abrams has put into motion four years ago. In fact it is so consistent that I found it hard to believe it had been that long since the last movie came out.  The actors comfortably slide right back into position and their chemistry is never obscured or lost. Considering how much of this film is wall to wall action spectacle, Abrams knows when the slow things down and breathe with his cast and let them charm the audience on their side.  Because we care so much for these guys, when they are later put into amazing feats of peril, we clench the arms of our seats, totally invested in their outcome.  
                More so than any other Trek movie in cannon, this is an action film through and through. The construction of the plot is designed for flashy, effects-driven, set –pieces and the plot reveals push the drama into tighter situations that the crew has to get themselves out of. Sometimes these scenes have a tendency to over-climax, but never to the point of seriously compromising the movie as a whole.
                 In some ways, the form of this film seems to be a response to the colossal success of recent superhero stuff. In fact, Cumberbatch as the villain is not unlike The Joker, Loki in “The Avengers” or even Ben Kingsley’s Mandarin in  “Iron Man 3”.
                I guess I can sympathize a little with the aged Trekkies who have to come to terms with the fact that Abrams has infused “Star Trek” with something that is tonally closer to its space-fantasy competitors—which leads one to wonder; how he will be able to do “Star Wars” better than he has already done here?  Regardless, whatever it is, “Star Trek into Darkness” sets the bar commendably high for genre entertainment this summer.

Grade: A-

Originally published in the Idaho State Journal/May-2013

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