Star Trek Into Darkness

Shall We Begin?

When J.J. Abrams relaunched the Star Trek franchise back in 2009, I had to let out a huge sigh of relief.  Not because I'm a die-hard Trekkie, but because the Star Trek films had already degraded so much, I was worried the downward spiral would continue. And worse, it would be on the hands of the man who gave me polar bears and smoke monsters on a mysterious island.

But even if my sigh of relief was mixed in with some 'Huh?'s due to the complicated storyline, I was impressed by how accessible Abrams' had made Star Trek to wider audiences, without sacrificing the TV show's integrity or charm.

However, whilst Star Trek ('09) had the burden of introducing the audience to the crew of the Enterprise and starting off all their storylines, Into Darkness is able to jump straight into the action and take you for a super-charged adventure.

Into Darkness chronicles the first real challenge for the Enterprise and her crew on the new timeline which began in Star Trek ('09).  A year after Kirk becomes captain of the Enterprise, a home-grown terrorist, John Harrison (played by Benedict Cumberbatch), begins to target the Starfleet peace-keeping organisation and Kirk volunteers to lead a revenge mission to bring Harrison to justice.

Now as I stated earlier, one of the problems with Star Trek ('09) was how the storyline of the Romulans and Captain Nero was often pushed to the side in favour of introducing new characters and their relationship to the others, which was necessary for a rebooted franchise.  However, due to this, the audience weren't given an impressive villain to fear, as it wasn't the most important part of the film; it was the formation of the well-known crew and the friendship between Kirk and Spock.  For this reviewer, I felt there was too much Star, not enough Trek.

This is where Into Darkness differs. Since we know who these characters are, we are able to jump straight into the action and meet our dastardly villain, John Harrison. I'm a huge fan of Cumberbatch, since first seeing him in Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy and his impressive turn as Sherlock Holmes in the BBC series, and he steals the show once again.   His performance as Harrison is mesmerising and you hang on every word he says.  He brings such an amount of menace and patient terror, performing like a drunk magician; you can't help but fear him and wonder what he has up his sleeve.

Along with The 'Batch, the writers take the relationship between Kirk and Spock to an interesting new level. A common theme during the film is “If I were him, what would I do?” and the resulting actions make their friendship more believable and genuine, as it seemed a little forced in Star Trek ('09). The film also reproduces memorable scenes and one-liners that the average Trekkie will recognise from previous Star Trek films.  However, Abrams' manages to change them ever so slightly so that they feel new, fresh and interesting.  

Even though the film seems to be switching from 'science fiction' to 'science fantasy', you forgive the film for these instances as you're having such a fun time watching it.  Of course there are a few plot-holes that slightly confuse things or don't get explained, but they are quickly followed by something exhilarating and funny to take your mind of it.

If Iron Man 3 has started the summer blockbuster season, Into Darkness has definitely kicked things into warp drive, and it would take something very impressive to beat this for Blockbuster Of The Summer.  I highly recommend going to see it, even if you're not that big a fan of sci-fi films. There's enough for everyone to enjoy, and let's hope the Star Wars sequels get the same reaction when Abrams' releases them.

Rating - 9/10