Movie Review: "Star Trek Into Darkness"

- by Steve Garcia, 17 May 2013

A terrorist wreaks absolute havoc in London and flees, so Captain Kirk and his crew must retrieve him and bring him to justice. Who is this guy? Do they have what it takes? Is this movie worth your time and cash?! Well, keep reading so I can tell ya! And with no spoilers!

Directed by JJ Abrams, Star Trek Into Darkness is the sequel to the widely successful 2009 film that breathed new life into the Star Trek franchise. Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Simon Pegg, and the rest of the fantastic actors from the last film all return with just as much life and energy as last time, and this time they’re joined by actor Benedict Cumberbatch, who plays the film’s villain. While I can’t say this cast was incredible enough times without you getting sick of it, Cumberbatch steals every single scene he’s in, which is an incredible feat in it of itself. Everything about him—his voice, his line delivery, his very presence—is all mind-bogglingly perfect. This film could have very well been called “Benedict Cumberbatch Into Darkness” and it wouldn’t have bothered me one bit. This was his movie, and he truly shined here… But that doesn’t mean the rest of the cast was great, too! The chemistry between Captain Kirk (Pine) and Mr. Spock (Quinto) was punchy and amazing, and Simon Pegg absolutely knocked it out of the park as Scottie. Not a weak link in this cast, folks.

Truly, this movie has “Summer Blockbuster” down to a T. Right out the gate, this movie brings you right into the action, and there’s never a dull moment from beginning to end. Every scene needed to be in there in order to have the movie make sense, which is entirely refreshing given some of the other movies that have come out this year that could’ve used some serious time in the editing room. You’re invested the entire time, and you never want to leave. You buy every little thing, and that’s a remarkable achievement because a) this is a movie that almost entirely takes place in space with aliens and planets and stuff, b) the characters were all believable and chockfull of vitality, and c) this film was gorgeous to look at. From the very beginning, this film was beautifully shot, and Abrams knows what he’s doing behind that camera, because some of those camera angles were unexpected and fresh from the standard stuff we’re used to. Oh, and lens flare. There’s a lot of it. JJ Abrams.

This review avoids spoilers SO MUCH that even all the pictures are just promo images.

With the rock-solid cast, captivating story, and camerawork orgasmic to the eyes, there has to be something wrong with this movie, right? You can’t have all these amazing things and NOT have something bad to say about it, right?  So you wanna know what that catch is, right?!

Well, there is none. That’s right, folks. There’s not a single thing I can think of that makes this movie fall from “great” to just “pretty good.” All the characters were believable, likable, and overall enjoyable. The risky twists all made perfect sense, paid off in the end, and kept you invested and intrigued the entire time. It was gorgeous, fresh, and “fun” just doesn’t cut it in regards to all the other great adjectives I can use to describe this movie. Throw your money at this one, ladies and gentlemen, because this is the movie to beat so far. I know it’s still early, but this is the movie that sets the bar for the rest of the upcoming summer blockbusters this season. Superman and Guillermo’s giant robots are up for a good fight this summer, and I’m sorry Mr. Stark, but Captain Kirk’s got ya beat. Watch this movie, folks! It’s all worth it!


Did you see the movie yet? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below! (But please try and keep them spoiler-free!)

Tagged: movies & TV, Reviews.

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