Star Trek Into Darkness Review

"My name is John Harrison. Seriously. Why is that so hard to believe?"

There is always difficulty in approaching a review of a movie like Star Trek Into Darkness. On the one hand, there quite a bit of information that the filmmakers would like to keep hidden until viewing and on the other hand it's difficult to truly talk about the movie without talking about those hidden moments. So as a result, I am going to try to do my best to talk about the movie without revealing anything that could be considered a spoiler.

Into Darkness takes place not too long after the events of the previous movie. The crew of the Enterprise is out in space, doing what it is they do best. And for the most part that means doing whatever Kirk wants to be doing, regardless of the consequences. So it is during the opening of the movie, when Kirk and crew are attempting to quell an about-to-erupt volcano on the surface of a pre-warp planet. And any Trek fan worth their salt knows that you cannot reveal your existence to any pre-warp civilization as it goes against the Prime Directive. So when the Enterprise must reveal themselves in order to save Spock from the volcano, it causes a little trouble for the crew when they get back to Earth. 

Meanwhile, a mysterious Starfleet Officer named John Harrison (Benedict Cumberbatch) orchestrates a terrorist attack on Starfleet. His intentions remain unknown throughout the vast majority of the movie, but it's clear that he has a bone to pick with Starfleet. Cumberbatch gives an absolutely gripping performance and even if the material wasn't great, and it certainly can be great at times here, he can easily elevate it to a level that would not be capable by many other actors. His motivations are sound, if a little muddled, and his backstory is more abridged than I would have preferred, but that doesn't stop him from being an incredible presence in this movie. (And if you're not already watching "Sherlock", stop reading this right now, fire up Netflix and watch all six episodes.)

This time around, there's no need for the crew to get to know each other, so it's easy to simply jump into the action. The dynamics are there and they haven't skipped a beat in the last four years. The relationship between Uhura (Zoe Saldana) and Spock is still present and it's clear they're experiencing some relational problems. Kirk is as womanizing as ever and Bones is still the cantankerous, metaphor spewing doctor who still isn't given enough screen time. Sure, his role is definitely expanded from the first movie, but I still feel like the Kirk/Spock/McCoy dynamic that was so present in the show and the earlier films is missing in favor of a straight up Kirk/Spock dynamic. Which would be fine if Karl Urban didn't so completely nail a DeForest Kelly imitation while still putting his own unique spin on the role. If there was only one character you could point to as solid follow up to the original cast, I'd have to go with Urban's McCoy. 

But beyond the cast, the film excels by pushing the spectacle while maintaining a solid undercurrent of character development from start to finish, despite some curious missteps along the way and a reliance on too much superficiality. The first odd choice is a change that happens relatively early in the film, which gives the impression that the road to rectify this decision will be a long one. But nope. About 10 minutes after it occurs, the change ends up being reversed. Sure, there are solid reasons as to why this happens but from a story perspective, it's difficult to comprehend and sort of changes the journey of Kirk's character. Because the journey he would have taken under this scenario is much more interesting than the path he ends up taking.

Of course, this is not something that is worth dwelling on since from that point forward the movie moves at breakneck speed. Abrams is a master of introducing high tension even when you know there's no REAL danger at hand. You know certain characters are going to make it through the situation, but that doesn't stop you from moving to the edge of your seat, wondering how they're going to escape. A lesser director would not be able to accomplish such a feat.

The movie also introduces concepts from this new timeline as well as bringing in elements from previous plot lines, including the introduction of Carol Marcus, daughter of Admiral Marcus (and developer of the Genesis device and mother of Kirk's son David in the original timeline). Here played with a British accent, (understandably using Alice Eve's regular accent, but odd considering the original actress Bibi Besch spoke with an American accent as Carol) her presence seems to be little more than fan service to say "Hey, remember Wrath of Khan? That movie was awesome." Other shoutouts seem to do little more than to remind fans of elements of the universe and even one reference to the ill-fated video game I reviewed not too long ago. Did not see that coming.

Which brings me to my next gripe, which is, "What's the point?" I mean, if they were completely reimagining Star Trek, then none of this stuff would bother me. I wouldn't care that Carol Marcus has a different accent or that other changes were made from the original series. At that point it would be its own beast, not too different from the Marvel "Ultimate" line of comics. But by trying to marry it with the original continuity, it simply points out how often it DOESN'T fit with the original continuity. These moments aren't constant, but when they do happen, it really pulls me out of the movie as someone who is a fan of the originals. So if you don't know the previous movies, then these names are irrelevant to you and it doesn't matter who they are. If you are a fan, then the changes can be jarring and alienating to people, so it doesn't really make sense why they're included at all. It simply seems odd to reset the entire universe and then telling the same stories over again.

These sorts of things happen throughout the second act which never seems to fully come together in the way I would have preferred, despite being endlessly entertaining. There just seemed to be a lack of excitement and cohesion that the first movie delivered a lot better during the middle section of the movie.

And one change that occurs about two thirds the way through almost completely pulled me out of the movie all together. I was so focused on this specific change that it became difficult for me to enjoy the movie. That is until a character delivers a speech which has probably one of my favorite non-spoiler lines of all time, "That being said..." When that line is spoken, along with what follows it, I was back on board. I felt like I was given permission to enjoy the movie for what it was.

And from that moment on, everything that happened was so extremely entertaining that I gave up all my previous concerns and just allowed the movie to unfold as it was, despite them going full blast into referencing stories from the history of the franchise. The action was fantastic, the performances were strong, and there were some fantastic call backs to the original timeline which filled my little Trek heart with joy. Especially the musical references. The more that's said about composer Michael Giacchino, the better because he just absolutely knocks it out of the park with this one.

Although I loved the movie completely, there are still elements of concern that I have in the way there seems to be an unwillingness to chart a completely new franchise course which leaves a slightly bitter aftertaste upon further reflection. But taking it on its own, divorced from the history of Star Trek, Into Darkness is a fantastic summer movie. Not the most thought provoking film, but endlessly entertaining with one of the most charismatic ensembles I've seen in a long time. It isn't quite as a cohesive whole as the last movie was, but there are individual moments that are leaps and bounds above what Trek 2009 was able to accomplish. I'd love to see Abrams return for one more outing, but with his Star Wars obligations, I just don't see that happening. But here's to hoping the next adventures do carve out new and unique stories, because the potential with this cast is pretty limitless.

GRADE : A -