Star Trek Into Darkness

Following the success of 2009’s addition to the star trek universe we’ve witnessed director J.J Abrams announce moves to bigger and arguably better prospects already taking the mammoth task of reanimating the rival franchise Star Wars in 2015. With all the buzz surrounding the director however word has been forgotten of the continuation to the sequel of his 2009 success, Star Trek Into Darkness newly warping onto our screens. Whilst this recent instalment sees the whole cast returning with further added thespian delights such as Benedict Cumberbatch being thrown into the fray, it lacks the trepid adventure of its predecessor feeling more like a family blockbuster as oppose to an intelligent sci-fi.

This isn’t to say however that Star Trek Into Darkness is a bad film, in fact it’s quite the opposite helming an exciting narrative which maintains attention throughout with the help of its fantastic performances. Continuing on relatively soon after the previous film, this instalment sees the crew of the enterprise being met by a seemingly unstoppable force from within the organisation (Cumberbatch) and after a terrorist act on the headquarters, Captain Kirk (Chris Pine) and his team set about on a one man hunt to capture him, but not is all as it seems when he follows all too willingly. Proving himself on various acting occasions in the past, Benedict Cumberbatch is equally as impressive here, being the psychotic and wildly powerful villain that acts as the catalyst to send the team into disarray. With further less obvious villains however showing to be at work throughout the film, Cumberbatch isn’t given a sufficient amount of screen time and narrative impact despite his dominating presence which is a disappointment yet in hindsight perhaps an intelligent cinematic move. Upon his arrival the film kick-starts its campaign to stun the audience with its spectacular action set pieces which become increasingly audacious and interesting as the film goes on, looking undoubtedly worse at the hands of 3-D which is at little fault of the film.

A change in tone midway through the film allows a space for further characters to take to the stage which some do more than others, with Spock ( Zachary Quinto) most notably taking his opportunity in the limelight to great effect as we witness an exciting side of his character which is rarely expressed.  This however does lead to certain characters missing out, with members like Bones (Karl Urban) rarely making an appearance aside from the occasional humorous ‘side-gag’. In amongst all of Star Treks excitement at its flashy set-pieces, it failed to address even the most simple of plot points creating for a second act which was far more convoluted than necessary. This proves to be evident following the climactic action sequence which seemingly forgets the existence of its surrounding narrative, wrapping up the story almost instantaneously to leave a poorly wrapped present with a lack of aesthetic presentation.

Being an exciting and naturally humorous blockbuster, Star Trek Into Darkness is an extremely strong and certainly worthy addition to the Star Trek franchise. Focusing mostly on story as oppose to the wild futuristic world surrounding it, this film is a delightful throwback to the past series in many ways than one.

8/10- A blockbuster standing proud over its cinematic opposition being entertaining and appropriately dark.

Calum Russell