Master of Emotion

Rating: 8/10 (9 September 2013)

Into Darkness is a thrilling and affecting sequel. It shifts from the youthful and cheeky beginnings of the re-boot to what I consider to be a more mature and sophisticated piece of film-making. It masters the emotional turmoil, and character relationships but is less rigorous to the needs of story-telling.
The shift of tone is welcome and Into Darkness moves ably through two-thirds of its running time, in an absorbing, tumultuous and thrilling cocktail of character arcs, suspense, and a non too over the top infusion of light relief. Scotty, although somewhat still an irritant, has markedly toned down his rhetoric to match the more sombre affair. In fact, Into Darkness strength is the emotional sweep of the film, the blooming relationship between Kirk and Spock the finest example.
It is a shame that when Into the Darkness is at is apex of tension it fails to sure up the plot. We are left bemused as to the magnitude of Khan's potential as we are never fully appraised of Khan's pre-cryo sleep life. I am still not sure of how the 72 torpedoes came about, and how they got where they did, and why. Nor is it fully understood where Admiral Marcus's concern of all out war with the Klingon Empire manifested? Is he a military hawk out to provoke war or a man with inside knowledge only wishing to keep the peace?
The introduction of Alice Eve seems forced upon us, and the Enterprise accept her presence matter of factly. We discover later that her family connections save the Enterprise from imminent destruction, this is a little too fortuitous. Lastly, and most pointedly the death of Captain Kirk, (which was highly affecting) in a sequel, seemed somewhat pretentious on the writers part. It felt like the grand end of Star Trek not the very beginnings.
Into Darkness is a feast for the eyes and hugely entertaining. The emotional turmoil is engrossing and it cannot but wet your appetite for the voyages before it. Although Into Darkness fails to tie-up some loose ends it is gorgeous to watch.