Andrew Jenson | rawr reviews
I’m just going to say it, I love Star Trek. I especially love “Star Trek: The Original Series,” which ran as a TV show from 1966-69 and the series of movies from 1979-1991. It’s difficult to think of a TV or movie series I love more, which makes J.J. Abrams’ latest installment in the franchise reboot feel like a slap in the face.In 2009, Abrams released Star Trek, and it didn’t feel like Star Trek. It was crass, childish, disrespectful to the source material and lacked depth. This year, Abrams did the same thing with one of Star Trek’s most beloved tales “The Wrath of Khan.”
“Star Trek Into Darkness,” which borrows heavily from “The Wrath of Khan” does not and cannot compete with it.
Let me just say that “Star Trek Into Darkness” was a decent action film. It did feature some incredible moments, including space battles, hand-to-hand fighting and crash landings. But, as with Michael Bay’s Transformers movies, this amounted to very little.
The heroes leave much to be desired. I am not fond of the way Captain Kirk continues to be portrayed by Chris Pine. In this movie, he is still reckless and immature. I couldn’t spot any true character growth occurring in him. All throughout the movie, I marveled that Starfleet would allow such an inexperienced and irresponsible boy to captain one of their mightiest cruisers. Similarly, I am not fond of Zachary Quinto’s portrayal of Spock, who is more emotional than most of the humans in the picture. His performance was lacking. The other cast members were nothing more than required extras and as such, quite forgettable. The only performance I truly enjoyed was Karl Urban as Doctor McCoy. Urban at least tried to remain faithful to the role and seemed to have fun doing so.
The villain was very disappointing. The buildup with Benedict Cumberbatch was incredible, as he was supposed to be the ultimate baddy. Yet, Cumberbatch and his character did not amount to much. In my opinion, he was especially lame. I was pleased to see they were attempting to give him depth, but ultimately Cumberbatch was no more than an epic disappointment.
Additionally, the story was uninspired, on top of being predictable. Drawing from “The Wrath of Khan” did not help one iota.
On its own, “Star Trek Into Darkness” is not a bad movie, but by Star Trek standards it is. It doesn’t leave the audience with anything to think about or explore. Instead, it gives us pretty pictures including those lens flares, lots of explosions and a rehash plot. It is a fun movie, but if you’re a Trekkie (or Trekker), skip this film and spare yourself the headache.