Less cerebral than most but with strong action scenes

Rating: 7/10 (5 November 2013)

Though it lacks the profundity and depth traditionally associated with the brand, "Star Trek: Into Darkness," the twelfth installment in the movie series, has enough rip-roaring adventure and jaw-dropping visual effects to make it a satisfying experience for the action-oriented moviegoer.
In this sequel to the prequel that successfully re-booted the series in 2009 (both directed by J.J. Abrams), some initially unknown terrorist (Benedict Cumberbatch) has begun targeting the leaders of Starfleet, and it is up to the Enterprise and her crew to root him out of his hiding place deep inside enemy Klingon territory.
Thanks to the screenplay by Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman and Damon Lindelof, there's the same spirited verbal jousting between Captain Kirk (Chris Pine) and Commander Spock (Zachary Quinto) over the issue of feelings-vs.-rationality that's been going on for decades now, along with a bit of a discussion about the needs of the individual vs. the greater good, as well as about whether the Enterprise should become involved with military conflict instead of just space exploration. But, for the most part, this is a straight-ahead action movie and, as such, it unquestionably delivers the goods. Indeed, there are some truly astonishing action scenes leading up to one through the skies of a 23rd Century San Francisco that has to be seen to be believed - even if believability is never really the prime factor in films of this type.