It's entertaining but a shame it doesn't touch the bar that the first reached.

Rating: 6/10 (26 June 2013)

I never watched the original Star Trek and thought I wouldn't be a fan but I ended up really enjoying Abrams' first 2009 offering in the modern reboot. Although it could be convoluted, it's bright, charming and captures the fresh iconography of the show in a very cinematic way. It's a shame that Star Trek Into Darkness doesn't feel so fresh. There's something about the film that feels like it hasn't strived for iconography despite taking on such an iconic part of the mythology. It treads in the previous films footsteps as far as the look and charm goes but it fails to re-involve me into the characters.
I remember when I first finished watching the first one in the cinema and being very ready for sequels and all their adventures. Unfortunately, Into Darkness just feels like "another" adventure rather than anything bigger. Perhaps its due to the rushed nature of the film. Yes, it has emotional highs and lows with the characters and sometimes they work, but the action is non-stop with either un-assured stakes or too much at stake to be believable. The excitement doesn't hold up and it feels like it skips its climax. However, it's still an entertaining blockbuster and Benedict Cumberbatch is brilliant as the villain. It's just a shame it doesn't touch the bar that the first reached.
6/10