Star Trek into Darkness Review

The Star Trek franchise made a thunderous return to cinemas in 2009 with JJ Abram’s reboot bringing an action packed jolt to the popular science fiction series; four years on and it’s time to reunite with the crew of the Enterprise on a more personal mission.

‘’Into Darkness’’ picks up right where its predecessor left off with Kirk and company returning to Earth after Starfleet is attacked by the mysterious and elusive John Harrison (Benedict Cumberbatch). From here the team sets out aboard the Enterprise once again to bring Harrison to justice; but things are not as they seem as the team is supplied with odd looking war heads to their vessel and soon a more sinister plot emerges to shift the goals and ambitions of the entire Starfleet. It seems rather straightforward at first; find Harrison and punish him for his crimes but around halfway in things become much more interesting and unpredictable as conspiracies are unearthed and truths are brought to light. The plot does have a few shortcomings here and there including a thread involving the high ranking Harewood family at the film’s opening not being tied off and the Klingons among other alien races not having major roles but otherwise it proceeds along nicely; the ending is also successful in that it keeps with the series tradition of careful diplomacy as a pose to mindless violence, a refreshing change from all the mindless action flicks around today.

With the characters mostly established ‘’Into Darkness’’, like other sequels places the characters in more perilous and difficult situations. Captain Kirk’s (Chris Pine) reckless manner remains present through the first third of the film but eventually he comes to terms with listening to and placing the lives of his crew first above all else. Spock’s (Zachary Quinto) way of logical thinking is tested in the face of both death and loss through the film and Scotty (Simon Pegg) faces equal parts difficulty in trusting his captain and threat in doing one-man infiltration work to aid the team. The other supporting cast members could have had a bit more to do in the film but it cannot be denied that the best addition to the film’s roster is Benedict Cumberbatch as antagonist John Harrison; he’s so sinister and deceiving yet highly powerful and deadly throughout the film and surprisingly despite his tough exterior is able to deliver an emotional performance, all adding up to a villain that can stand up to the greatest in the Star Trek franchise. Although a fair amount of the supporting cast isn’t as involved as they were in the original, the character’s that are possess a great deal of development, and on the whole, continue their strong performances this time around.

‘’Into Darkness’’ just like its predecessor is a feast to the eyes and ears in every way imaginable; the celestial backdrops, the futuristic technology the vision of an Earth one hundred years into the future provide another strong range of spectacular imagery. Earth (never before seen in the Star Trek franchise) in particular looks fantastic with all its towering structures and seedy underground areas. The sound design also remains top notch with various pulse pounding tracks again complimenting the main theme. The action sequences that have become central to the series continue to be well shot and clearly visible though if you’ve seen the original it’s noticeable that some sequences, action packed or not have carried over and invaded ‘’Into Darkness’’. To name one of these, when Captain Kirk dives through space to reach an enemy vessel, it’s similar to the jump onto the Romulan drill in the previous film. Regardless the action is still both tense and engaging despite not being the most original sequences committed to film.

Star Trek into Darkness is every bit the explosive, action packed blockbuster set to warp speed with just about every element remaining strong. With all its dazzling visuals and memorable characters it is a shame however that some situations have been reused from the original.

Rating 4/5 Stars