Fantastic Sequel to a Fantastic Reboot!

Rating: 10/10 (11 September 2014)

When the reboot of Star Trek was released in 2009, I was one of the many who heralded the film. Not being interested in the series at all, I was turned into a fan. Now the sequel has arrived and I went it thinking the director J.J Abrams would not be able to outdo himself. Boy was I ever wrong. Star Trek Into Darkness once again excels by acting as a true sci-fi film that is bound together to the core by the early Star Trek fundamentals, but is action-packed and visually stunning enough to satisfy non-Trekkies and the average movie-goer.
Abrams's return to the U.S.S Enterprise is a very successful one as it takes place one year after the events of the reboot. After a terrorist attack by the mysterious John Harrison, Kirk, Spock, and the rest of the crew embark on a mission to the Klingon world in order to return Harrison to Earth. But this mission may dig deeper than everyone would have thought.
Most of the cast returns to this film and they are excellent as always. Chris Pine really matures as Kirk, but he is able to maintain his lovable goofball personality. Zachary Quinto is excellent as Spock, who never seems to lighten up. Pine and Quinto show fantastic chemistry and they even have a scene together that touched my heart. Benedict Cumberbatch makes one hell of a villain mainly not because he is menacing, but we can feel some sympathy towards him. The rest of the cast featuring Zoe Saldana, Bruce Greenwood, Simon Pegg, and Karl Urban were very good and truly supplemented the main characters.
Overall, Star Trek Into Darkness is one of the rare sequels that is better than the original. It has a slightly darker tone, but that doesn't stop the film from offering up a few jokes from time to time. The action is spectacular and so are the visuals and the production design. The world they were in at the beginning is just a tiny example of the technical mastery of the film. While staying true to the deeper meanings of Star Trek, Abrams created a product that enlightens Trekkies and non-Trekkies alike. I rate this film 10/10.