DYNAMIC

MOVIE REVIEW:

STAR TREK: INTO DARKNESS (3D)

Starring:

Chris Pine

Zachary Quinto

Benedict Cumberbatch

4 Years Ago, J.J. Abrams Star Trek (2009) was one of the best examples of a “franchise reboot done right”, But he also made a dead franchise be relevant for both the fans of the old (maybe a fraction of the fans) and casual movie-goers in general. And now he returns into the universe again to continue the adventures of the (fresh-faced) crew that we know and loved as he promise the sequel to a larger scale as he bring us into a speedy warp, the only question floating into everyone’s mind (besides John Harrison being Khan or not) Is that “Will J.J. Abrams do it again?”

Star Trek: Into Darkness – takes place years after the first movie as it follows Captain Kirk and his crew of the enterprise. In this, they face a highly unlikely threat known as “John Harrison” as he threatens a personal vendetta against the federation by wreaking havoc. Kirk and his crew are meanwhile assigned to go through enemy lines to find and terminate him but when they do meet him he leads them to a discovery that will cost their lives.

What can I say? It’s almost impossible to not to anticipate for this movie (In my list of anticipated movies of 2013, this is my second most anticipated movies of the year.). All the secrecy (Thanks for fluffing it out EW), every trailer just made the movie look EPIC (until I stopped at the third trailer) gets me excited for this movie. And now that it is finally here…. All the excitement was worth it, I’m very happy to say that this movie is an exciting thrill-ride and probably one of the best movies I’ve seen this year.

The movie is literally energized, from start to finish expect really intense and and at the same time the movie would stop necessarily to give development and emotional depth to the characters and yet it didn’t feel forced at all (*cough* G.I. Joe: Retaliation). That’s what I love about the original series, TNG and the 2009 Star Trek, the crew’s dynamic was the one that drives the stories, it is the heart and soul of each incarnation and it really shows in this movie even more than the last one. Everyone had their moment to shine even if it was just a brief but relevant and entertaining sequence. The dynamic of this crew of people was so well done that you are very much attached to these characters in every dangerous situation they are in (So attached, that at some point I almost shed manly tears in this movie)

I honestly thought there wasn’t a bad performance in this movie at all. Chris Pine did a very good performance in this movie (surprisingly). I did nit-picked the fact that for the lesser part of Star Trek 2009 that they gave emphasis to him being a rule-breaker/asshole too much and be an excuse that this was Kirk before we knew him as a matured person (and maybe with a speech impediment), here he is a rule breaker but his action makes sense they are not just benefiting for himself but for others, I like how they give emphasis on how this character did mature in this movie. But what I love the most that revolves around his character is his chemistry or should I call it “Bro-mance” with Spock, the writers built up a very good friendship around these two characters. Zachary Quinto is great as always that you feel like that he is born to play this role as he did nail the original Spock’s nuances.

Speaking of nuances, Karl Urban as Bones was also brilliant in this film; the writers blessed him with Bones’ amusing classic one liners and out-of-nowhere metaphors. Simon Pegg as Scotty; also shared a great amount of hilarity as he boldly go in his own journey at some point of the movie. Zoe Saldana as Uhura I felt a little bit under-written, she came off as a bit of that naggy girlfriend from the first half of the movie, she did show some relevance for the most part. There were more moments for Anton Yelchin’s Chekov and John Cho’s Sulu and like I said most characters did do stuff in rather brief moments but they were good enough moments for their development.  There were new comers in this movie such as Robocop himself, Peter Weller as Marcus who had a titular role in this movie was good for the most part, and also Alice Eve as Carol who did not really do much in the movie other than to look hot and have a bit of relevance. But the one who really stole the show in this movie is (BBC) Sherlock himself, Benedict Cumberbatch as John Harrison. I thought he was a great villain in this movie; in fact he is everything a villain was to me. He had that brilliant on-screen presence from the intimidating deep voice to the unpredictability on his face.

If Star Trek fans thought that the last movie had less to offer for them wait till you see the fan-services in this movie, most fan-service/tributes in this movie felt like a love-letter to the one that is referencing it to. The movie had a checklist full of references to the original series and movies that will likely make a Trekkie (or a Trekker to some who preferred it to be called that way). The movie is straight-forward in a good way that it did felt like an extensive episode of a tv show at some point, the plot is simpler and easier to follow than the last one (honestly, it took me two viewings to fully understand the last one) you can sniff most of the things in this movie if you are familiar with previous Star Trek lore, though there were a few moments in this movie where it did caught me off guard. J.J. Abrams continues to prove that he can be a great action director, the movie is literally a thrill-ride with almost never-ending action set-pieces, the movie is 2 ½ hours long but it felt like less than that. This is a thrill ride that has the right amount of substance than being a mindless movie that the previews advertise it to be. I watched this movie in 3D, I would’ve loved to see this movie in IMAX 3D but I unfortunately don’t have the money right now to watch movies in IMAX but the regular 3D was a decent experience. It could be just me because in the first 30 minutes in this movie where there were some dark scenes I can barely see what’s going on in those scenes, there were also some long stops where you feel that the 3D felt unnecessary, though there were great shots in there as well of spears being thrown at you (that spear in the beginning made my brother dodge it), some space debris, volcano ashes and lens flares (and there I thought lens flares in 2D weren’t enough).

In the end, I definitely loved and enjoyed this movie very much. This movie is a perfect example of a Summer Blockbuster, its action packed but with the right amount of substance to it.  J.J. Abrams (I can’t wait to see what he will do Star Wars Episode VII) did a brilliant job directing this movie as he gives us a roller coaster ride of a movie, it’s everything a summer movie should have and it is intense and almost larger than life action set pieces that will very much entertain you. There’s many to offer for Star Trek fans new and old and also for casual movie-goers alike. I highly recommend you this movie immediately, avoid seeing this in 3D it’s not really something to pay full price for. Enjoy this movie in 2D and for 2D alone (I heard IMAX 3D is great but that’s not for me to judge.).

THE GOOD:

+THE DYNAMIC BETWEEN EACH CHARACTER

+FAN-SERVICE

+EXCELLENT WRITING AND DIRECTING

+THE PERFORMANCES

+BRILLIANT ACTION

THE BAD:
-NONE

MY RATING:

5/5 – EPIC WIN!