Fading star

Rating: 4/10 (9 March 2014)

What I found interesting about this second entry in the relaunch of "Star Trek" with the original characters is that it seemed to take us up right to the start of the original TV series, indicating to me that there may be nowhere further for the adventure to go. Of course I'll be proved wrong, but I did find this latest exercise in reheating an old soufflé somewhat unsatisfying.
There seemed to be little new here either in terms of characterisation or plot development and for me anyway the appeal of recognising young actors playing their antecedents didn't work a second time. Familiarity breeds contempt as we get the same callow, randy young Kirk from the film before, likewise the crusty, loyal McCoy, mischievous but half-demented Scotty and of course the brave but emotionless Spock.
Benedict "Sherlock" Cumberbatch is introduced as Khan and while he brings an angular physicality to the part, he lacks the scheming exoticism of Ricardo Montalban's original. While I liked some of the fidelity shown to previous story-lines, in particular the reversal of the dying Kirk with a helpless Spock on the outside contrasting the "Wrath of Khan" climax, I just don't get the Spock / Uhuru pairing at all or the reinvention of Kirk's mentor Christopher Pike when we Trekkies know he lived to escape "The Cage" rather than meet his end here.
Unsurprisingly and disappointingly too, there's some eye candy for the boys thrown in, in the form of the Admiral's pretty blonde daughter who inveigles herself on board and pretty soon afterwards discards her clothes, just to confirm who the real target audience is here. And really, Leonard Nimoy's cameos are becoming as irritating as Stan Lee's in every Marvel movie made.
The effects are fine if a bit much at times. The never-ending climactic fight between Khan and Spock seemed unoriginal too with both combatants naturally surviving murderous attacks on the other ad infinitum.
I think I've come to the conclusion that this reincarnation of the old Enterprise crew just maybe isn't for me, just as it didn't for "Star Wars". These are great characters but the main reason I identify with them is through the original actors and actually consider these lightweight re-interpretations to be no real substitute.
The thing is these kids are going where others have gone before and better. Time to beam me up, Scotty!