Film Review: Star Trek: Into Darkness

Cast: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Benedict Cumberbatch, JJ Abrams (dir.)

Certificate: 12A (PG-13)

Rating: 9/10

Overall: A twisty main story with an emotional side dish. Benedict Cumberbatch really steals the show as the baddie. I really enjoyed the edge-of-the-seat action and the effects are stunning.


There are few things you should mix up in life and Star Trek and Star Wars is one of them. The guy on the till probably died a little inside when I accidentally said Star Wars instead of Star Trek and he had to make himself reply, "Star Trek... Star Wars... practically the same thing!" I hope he knows that I do know there is a big difference and I'm sorry he felt like had to say something like that.

Anyway, I went to see Star Trek: Into Darkness last night, and it was amazing. 

I thought the main story was really strong. Often stories for these action-heavy movies are just there to tie together the big fight sequences but it had twists and turns, with the baddies coming from surprising quarters and an opening sequence that sets up the emotional arc for the film. It also keeps you on the edge of your seat, wondering if the SS Enterprise is going to survive. 

BUT the action was also amazing, with practically flawless effects to back them up. At one point I
made myself sit back and admire the seamless effects. It was impossible to tell real from not real.

The emotional side of things was really well done. Spock is seemingly oblivious to the fact that not only Kirk but Uhura are both angry at him, for what he sees as just following the rules and the most logical path. As the story progresses, Spock lets his human side through more and more, climaxing in the rather moving scene where Kirk lies dying and Spock sheds some tears. I may have also get a little teary-eyed...

On the other hand though there was some definite UST going on between Spock and Kirk! There was a certain amount of this going on in my head:
Benedict Cumberbatch as the baddie, Kaan, was perfect. Unsurprisingly. His Sherlock-esque intellect mixed with the superhuman strength and healing abilities made for a pretty terrifying villain! I think he was at his most terrifying when he was going 'brain-to-brain' with Spock. He had a mad glint in his eye that made you just know he was going to renege on any deal they made.

And we should take from Marvel and Star Trek that having a classically trained Shakespearian actor is the only way to do a baddie, clichéd British accent and everything.

The supporting cast were all great too. I particularly loved Simon Pegg as Scotty. He definitely provided some of the most hilarious moments, most notably when he was pegging it (no pun intended) down the very long loading bay, and you can hear him grunting, huffing and puffing from the effort.

I really enjoyed this film and would definitely see it again. I would love to see it in IMAX actually. I bet it would look amazing.




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