Star Trek: Into Darkness Review

 

There is no doubt this franchise has made huge strides from it’s original predecessor. I’ll be honest, I’ve never been a fan of  Gene Roddenberry‘s creation. It took me 3 years to watch J.J. Abrams  2009 version and since then I’ve caved in. This sci-fi action packed sequel to Abrams Star Trek was no disappointment. From the gut wrenching opening scene, to crisis after crisis, Into Darkness left me feeling all good inside wanting a third Abram film to top off this incredible refreshed Star Trek saga. Still, it wasn’t perfect despite efforts to widen appeal beyond the sci-fi hardcore, the dialogue often gave into nonsense. (But what movie isn’t)  Then there was Kahn, the scary not so scary villain after all gimmick. There was a point where I honestly thought he wasn’t the antagonist, but Marcus. Obviously there are some holes and exaggerated drama to a hurried climax and  Kirk dangling from ledges, but this is what we pay for when we go to the movies. Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto were amazing and their chemistry is just so so good. The scene that really caught me was when the Enterprise was in it’s falling from space stage and Spock expresses his rage/feelings for the first time. I thought that Benedict Cumberbatch character “Kahn’ could have had a much more impact. There was so much potential to make him a surreal villain, he was really good when prompted. Felt maybe he could have been better developed as a villain. Overall this film is right there with the first film. Very good story and flow. Highly recommend it, one of the best films of the year so far.