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| Zachary Quinto and Chris Pine (r) in Star Trek Into Darkness |
From our friends at DC Film Review...
Star Trek: Arm the Torpedoes
‘James Tiberius Perfect.’ Everyone’s favorite Starfleet Academy
graduate is back (fellow crew intact) in J.
J. Abrams’ flashy sequel Star Trek Into Darkness. Though not as
polished as its predecessor, Into Darkness delivers all the necessary bells and
whistles to satisfy your Star Trek cravings (at least until the next sequel.)
Rotten
Tomatoes Plot: In
Summer 2013, pioneering director J.J. Abrams will deliver an explosive action
thriller that takes 'Star Trek Into Darkness.' When the crew of the Enterprise
is called back home, they find an unstoppable force of terror from within their
own organization has detonated the fleet and everything it stands for, leaving
our world in a state of crisis. With a personal score to settle, Captain Kirk
leads a manhunt to a war-zone world to capture a one-man weapon of mass
destruction. As our heroes are propelled into an epic chess game of life and
death, love will be challenged, friendships will be torn apart, and sacrifices
must be made for the only family Kirk has left: his crew.
What’s Best:
‘Sounds like we have a Superman on board.’ He’s not Ricardo
Montalbán; but Benedict Cumberbatch makes a welcome addition to the
franchise, even if he spends most of the movie trying to kill everybody else.
Cumberbatch’s Commander Harrison proves a worthy opponent (especially when Kirk
throws every punch in the book at him, with zero effect.) Otherwise, Into
Darkness relies on some of the same old (but effective) tricks: It’s hard not
to enjoy the exchange of banter between “old friends.” Scotty (Simon
Pegg) takes a big step up, and the film is better for it. Special
effects are average at best, but kudos for a cool “catch-up” mid-warp towards
the end of the movie.
What’s Not:
‘With great power, comes great responsibility.’ Forgive me for borrowing from another mega film franchise (Spider-Man)
but Uncle Ben’s fateful words apply to Abrams’ Star
Trek sequel too. Like
it or not, Into Darkness has huge shoes to fill (it was our choice for Best Film of 2009) and sadly... Abrams &
co. fall a little short of matching the original’s overall joy and success. 3D effects are
worthless (Should you pay an extra $3-4 to see a couple of spears chucked in
your direction?) Trekkies may frown at the similarities to Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, but it’s not
like this franchise hasn’t copied itself before. There’s a hurried feel
throughout... Some things shouldn’t be rushed.
Best Line:
All that “back and forth” produces a slew of great lines, such as Kirk’s ‘Never
trust a Vulcan,’ ‘I’m not going to take ethics lessons from a robot,’ and my
personal favorite, ‘Sometimes I want to rip the bangs off his head.’ All three
volleys are directed at Spock (I thought these guys were best mates?) As
colorful as Kirk’s zingers are, they don’t hold a candle to Dr. McCoy’s
trademark, ‘Damn it man: I’m a doctor, not a torpedo technician!’ Bones!
Overall:
Expectations were high, and despite not matching the original... Into Darkness
still manages to entertain Trekkies and non-Trekkies alike. I could do without
Abrams’ all-too-frequent, shifty camera
angles; but the movie is easy enough to follow, and loaded with fun.
As far as sequels and summer blockbusters, Star Trek Into Darkness fills the
bill on both counts.
Grade: B
