Extremely exciting

Rating: 8/10 (19 May 2013)

I had several major problems with J.J. Abrams first Star Trek movie. Just briefly, my big three complaints: it's too action-oriented, where Star Trek is supposed to be a little more philosophical; it moves too fast; they've really screwed up the character of James T. Kirk, and Chris Pine is by far the weakest actor in the movie. The sequel, unfortunately, retains most of those problems. I guess, though, that I've just come to accept that this is what a J.J. Abrams Star Trek movie is going to be like. The fact is, I quite enjoyed this film. The one major improvement is Pine's acting. He definitely seems more comfortable in the role. All the other actors, as with the previous installment, are excellent, particularly Zachary Quinto as Spock. This one also has stronger, more memorable villains than the previous installment (it was Eric Bana, I remember, but I don't recall what his deal was). The pace here is, again, breathless, but, for the most part, it's really well plotted. The action sequences are gripping as Hell, and the character work is so excellent it's all really involving. I definitely recommend this if you're at all interested.