Star Trek Into Darkness
Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)
Image From IMDB
Let’s get the obvious out the way to begin with, this isn’t really Star Trek, at least, not how I see Star Trek. Sure, it has Kirk, Spock, and the Enterprise, but it’s a modern alternative take on the classic, rather than a subtle reboot. I said something similar about the first, but the sequel Star Trek Into Darkness turns that insane dial up to eleven, and even the more bombastic Trek of the past like Best of Both World can’t get near it.
With that out the way, I really enjoyed Star Trek Into Darkness. It’s bat shit crazy, but just has an energy about it. I can overlook the mini-guns, massive Federation warships, warp chases (WTF!) and ridiculous hand to hand combat when i’m having fun. If I take a step back and think of it as Star Trek then thing quickly fall apart when I watch Spock savagely beat someone to a bloody pulp, or Kirk space dive across a debris field through an airlock to another ship, but again, I just have to remind myself not think of it as Star Trek, just a highly entertaining action sci-fi.
Like the first of J.J’s two Star Trek movies the film moves along at a million miles an hour. The cast are all brilliant and the banter is great. The story is decent, if not somewhat predictable. But then, you don’t want to have to be thinking about too hard when Benedict destroys a platoon of Klingons with a BFG, or Spock dives into an active volcano, or Alice Eve casually undresses on a shuttle…
That’s all before I get to the fact that Peter Weller is in the movie too, which is an added star in any film he’s near. He sounds exactly like how i’d expect a military Federation leader hell bent on war to sound like, adding the most authenticity to an otherwise completely unrealistic and insane movie.
Chris Pine is once again great, while Simon Pegg has a little more to do this time. Zachary Quinto also once again shines as Spock. The effects are amazing, the score really is next level, and as mentioned the action is utterly ridiculous in the best possible way (or worse possible way if you miss the single stun phaser shots)
Everything feels life or death. Every moment and interaction is melodramatic. There’s always some kind of ticking click. Always a new problem to solve when you’ve barely got over the last. Everything is happening all at once, constantly and very loudly, while the camera spins and swirls and reflects every light imaginable. It’s an assault on practically all your senses, and if you look away you will miss something crazy.
Star Trek Into Darkness is an outrageous action sci-fi that doesn’t pretend to be anything else. Its mission is to entertain you, not teach you morals and ethics like the OG. You will learn nothing from this movie, but you’ll have a wild time laughing at the insanity, and enjoying most of the chemistry amongst the crew. It’s a bonkers movie, but looking past the name, I thoroughly enjoyed every second of it.
