Good Sci-fi movie, Okay Star Trek movie...from a purist.

Rating: 8/10 (24 May 2013)

When I say that I am a purist, I mean that I am a bigger fan of Star Trek before JJ Abrams, aka the 5 series and 10 movies that came before. When Star Trek (2009) came out, I saw potential to re-imagine the series while still continuing the legacy built by its predecessors.
With Into Darkness, though, it seemed like they have gone a bit too far away from Star Trek's roots. True, there are several instances where true Trekkers like myself can see a connection to previous series and movies and get the context behind it. For example, there is a line of models that show the line of Enterprises up to the re-imagined NCC-1701.
However, the main reason why I feel that this movie falls too far from its roots is its fairly dark themes that tend to contradict the base premise of Gene Roddenberry's Star Trek. If anyone has seen the documentary "How William Shatner Changed the World", they argue that Star Trek started to 'die' in the early 2000s because it had gone too far away from the Utopian image that was presented in The Original Series that gave so many people hope for the future. In my opinion, this is what has happened with Into Darkness.
That being said, as a sci-fi action film it does stellar. JJ Abrams and his team have successfully translated the futuristic feel of Star Trek into somewhat plausibility with respect to the technology shown, and the action sequences are epic. I recommend anyone seeing this watch Star Trek II, III, VI, and Insurrection before or after. It will enhance the experience.