Film: Star Trek Into Darkness

The long overdue follow up to the 2009 reboot, a film which I felt revitalised the ailing franchise.  The universe created by J. J. Abrams is Star Trek minus the technobabble and nonsense. While many fans see this as him dumbing down the franchise, I disagree. Into Darkness ups the ante pitting the crew of the Enterprise against the one-man army of mysterious individual John Harrison (Benedict Cumberbatch); while still staying true to Star Trek’s original intentions.

The film interestingly chooses to focus a large part of the plot on whether Captain Kirk (Chris Pine) is suited for leadership. Early in the story, Kirk is removed from command after disobeying the Prime Directive - an order which says that Starfleet personnel must not interact with primitive cultures. He still struggles from the faults he had in the first film, he’s unwilling to admit a no-win scenario, recounting to his superiors that he has never lost a crewman, showing no humility. Spock (Zachary Quinto) is suggested to be more suited for command, knowing all the rules and following them to the letter. But sometimes he follows the rules too rigidly, making him unprepared for situations that require playing with the rules. Enter John Harrison, supremely intelligent, savagely strong and seemingly invincible - the ultimate leader in many ways, but lacking any compassion. This analysis of what it takes to lead is fascinating, Kirk having to prove himself as the leader Trekkies know he can be. 

J. J. Abrams creates many great action set pieces throughout the film, opening on a thrilling mission already in progress as Kirk and Bones flee an army of aliens out to kill them through a field of bright red fauna and Spock attempts to defuse an active volcano; all the while the Enterprise is hiding under the ocean to avoid being seen by the natives. It’s a great little scene, perfectly reintroducing us to the crew as well as emphasising the fun of the films. He isn’t afraid to lean towards darker activities though, Harrison’s terrorist attacks being incredibly devastating to the crew and Starfleet as a whole. The film is quite light on full of space battles, Harrison’s ship being powerful enough to tear through the Enterprise with minimal effort. However, the physical action scenes are magnificent, particularly the final confrontation between Spock and Harrison which is totally brutal. 

However, some story beats do feel a little misjudged. As previously mentioned, Kirk is removed from command early in the story, yet he is reinstated soon after. It literally moves from a scene of him being sent back to the academy, to his old friend Pike pulling strings and getting him back in as the Enterprise’s first officer, to circumstances putting Kirk back in the lead in the very next scene. Essentially he is demoted for about five minutes of screen-time, making this plot point seem unnecessary. It doesn’t do the film too much damage, but it does throw you out of the story a little in how unbelievably unrealistic it is. Similarly a last minute Leonard Nimoy cameo seems shoehorned in, to give Spock added incentive for embracing some of Kirk’s negotiation tactics; feeling superfluous.

Chris Pine has developed greatly as an actor, appearing genuine as Kirk. You can sense his anger at Harrison, his sadness when his crew die and get a true sense of his resolve. Zachary Quinto shines again as Spock, one speech expressing why he chooses to never fear death is touching due to Quinto’s reading. Spock is also pushed to the edge in this film, letting his emotions take control in the final act - giving us an opportunity to see Spock kick some ass! As in the previous film the budding friendship between the two is one of the film’s best elements, providing tension between the classic duo. 

The supporting cast are quite brilliant, creating a marvellously cast Enterprise. Zoe Saldana is fantastic as Uhura, proving herself as a fine actress. Her relationship troubles with Spock providing interesting study of the question ‘how do you date a man who doesn’t feel’? I considered Simon Pegg as Scotty a weak point of the last film, finding his comedy a little off and his accent irritating. Into Darkness gives him much more to do, by way of a comical side-story that is very effective. Karl Urban still provides dry comedy as Bones, perfectly aping the classic portrayal by DeForest Kelley; even getting the chance to say the classic “I’m a doctor, not a...” line. Anton Yelchin gets a much smaller plot-line as Chekov, yet is still able to prove himself an effective engineer. John Cho is similarly sidelined but still gets an opportunity to show you why you shouldn’t piss off Sulu in a key scene, showing a colder side to his cheerier exterior. Alice Eve is quite intriguing as the mysterious Dr Carol Marcus, who sneaks onto the Enterprise by concealing her identity, her motives not being fully revealed until quite late into the story.

Benedict Cumberbatch is chilling as the film’s villain, a truly terrifying, unstoppable force - more deadly than an army of borg! A cold, calculating individual who will do anything to get his ‘family’ back from Starfleet, including killing the entire crew of the Enterprise. He’s able to defeat a large group of Klingons single-handily, when Kirk attempts to beat him to a pulp he shows no damage from the repeated barrage. Harrison is a terrorist, bringing the mirror to real world events that many fans felt was lacking from the first film. As Kirk is ordered to hunt Harrison down and kill him without trial, it draws parallels with the recent bombings in Boston and the manhunt that occurred for those involved. The gravitas he brings to the character help to give him a strong presence on screen, one you would not want to mess with. 

Star Trek Into Darkness embraces the best elements of Trek lore and goes beyond it, creating a thrilling, action-packed yet insightful adventure that will leave the audience wanting more!