Despite the let down of J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek (2009) reboot, the 2013 release of Star Trek Into Darkness had a lot of expectation built around it thanks primarily to a very cool trailer and the presence of Benedict Cumberbatch as the main antagonist, Khan. The good news is that this time around they’ve managed to pull things off well and create a genuinely credible new adaptation of the Gene Roddenberry classic that fits into the world of the original while accounting for the negatives of the 2009 effort.
The story picks up from the previous film with James T. Kirk (Chris Pine) at the helm of the USS Enterprise. When a mission on the class M planet, Nibiru, contravenes Star Fleet regulations, Kirk is stripped of his captaincy, but with the all out assault of Cumberbatch’s John Harrison/Khan he’s put back in the Captain’s chair with a mission to bring him down. It’s pretty much a direct prequel to the 1982 Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan, fitting in very well with the previous movie’s storyline.
Films are often made by the quality of their villains and Star Trek Into Darkness is definitely one of them. As expected, Benedict Cumberbatch stole the show with a brutal performance as Khan. His fight scenes are epic and his lines are delivered with more gravitas than Tom Hardy‘s Bane, Christian Bale’s Batman and Brian Blessed’s Prince Vultan put together.
Zachary Quinto (Heroes) returns to the role of Spock and puts in a convincing performance, especially in his “Khaaaan!” line, with the addition of a cameo from the legendary Leonard Nimoy as the elder Spock. Zoe Saldana (Guardians Of The Galaxy) is just as effective as Uhura and her relationship with Spock makes for a good side story. Karl Urban (Dredd) couldn’t be any more Bones if he had been infused with the spirit of the late great DeForest Kelley. John Cho delivers one of the best ultimatums in cinema history when he gets to take temporary control of the con as Sulu (though there’s some way to go for him to live up to George Takei imposing shadow) and Anton Yelchin plays Chekov to near perfection.
One of the more difficult roles to pull off goes to Simon Pegg who has the significant challenge of transforming himself into the Scottish chief engineer, Scotty. Though we couldn’t imagine anyone better suited to the role, you can’t help but see Simon Pegg rather than the character, and it’s far from a shining performance. That said he does play an integral part in the fun aspect of the film.
While there are no hot green aliens to brighten up the film, they have managed to clip in a scene with two tailed alien lasses to throw in a little excitement to the early section of the film. It’s added to by a cheeky underwear shot featuring Alice Eve, who plays Lieutenant Dr. Carol Marcus, building on the James T. Kirk “ladies man” storyline of the original series and what went on to be the plot of Wrath Of Khan.
While Star Trek (2009I seemed to have lost sight of the moral code that Gene Roddenberry had woven into the fabric of the franchise, locking itself onto a shoot first ask questions later mentality, this was not the case with Star Trek Into Darkness. It wrapped itself firmly around the concepts of cause and effect, fair trials and rational enforcement, doing a lot to make up for the all guns blazing 2009 entry. Kirk’s dilemma over the moral judgement behind using destructive new weaponry that could spark out-and-out war with the Klingons, has significant gravitas in the film, adding to its ability to tap into the ethos of the original.
All-in-all, Star Trek Into Darkness is big step up from the 2009 beginnings of the latest iteration of the boldly going franchise. Though there’s a darker, more serious, morality-checked feeling to the second in the latest film series, there’s also a self-aware comic streak that runs throughout the film with great references to its origins in Roddenberry’s vision.
Star Trek Into Darkness review: 4.4/5
