Change is Good, But This Epic Failed - Not Good

Rating: 4/10 (21 May 2013)

Abrams's 2009 Star Trek was a fantastic and fresh storyline of how Kirk, Spock and Bones met. That film re-energized the franchise. Thus I fully expected him to meet or exceed the quality of that film. But, Into Darkness failed miserably.
WARNING - Some Spoilers One reviewer pointed out that long-time fans (I'm one from TOS) need to embrace change. I embraced change with the 2009 film. I could have embraced change with Into Darkness too if Abrams had just given me a FRESH storyline, not a rehash of an old one. I want new stories of these alternative universe characters. I don't want the exact replicas of the old stories, and don't insult my intelligence by retelling the old with slightly modified characters and scenes stolen from the original.
SPOILER ALERT -----------------------
I expected ORIGINAL material from JJ. Instead I got a bad retelling of 1982's Wrath of Kahn! If you're doing a remake, at least tell people you're doing that. Don't cloak it in mystery just to up the box office receipts.
Into Darkness starts out great then falls into an abyss that is a mere shadow of the 1982 film. JJ steals actual scenes from the original, rather than creating a totally new storyline with the new alternative universe characters.
Long-time fans will know almost at the start Cumberbatch is Kahn. Cumberbatch for all his brilliance as an actor is stuck in a role that Ricardo Montalban made indelible (much as John Colicos did with the character of Kor). There are some characters it's just impossible to reinvent.
Worse, the main characters are caricatures of the originals. I love Urbane, but by film's end I was ready to slap McCoy at the next word. Simon Pegg as Scotty, and the awesome special effects, was the film's one saving grace. Pine, played the Playboy to the hilt in the same manner Shatner did on the TV show. A shame, because the guy has great range of acting ability.
Zachary Quinto is the actor I feel is truly out of his element, whether due to poor acting or a bad script. It doesn't help that he made such a wonderful villain in Heroes that perhaps it's difficult to get beyond that typecasting. I found his performance wooden and lacking in the true vulnerability that Nimoy brought to the role. It's difficult to step into the shoes of an icon, but maybe Qunito will find it possible to make the new Spock his own. Time will tell. If he keeps getting scripts like Into Darkness, he's lost.
One of the worst images on screen were the costumes. Can I just say those uniforms AND the hats were reminiscent of the SS forces during the Nazi regime? Any costume designer would have a hard time reinventing a new look for the franchise, but this was an epic fail.
Long-time fans of Star Trek will probably be disappointed in the movie. New fans won't know the difference and find it wonderful. Color me extremely disappointed and betrayed by a director I thought truly "got" the Star Trek universe and its fans. I'm up for change, but don't give me an old storyline, wrapped up in glitzy special effects and a poor script. Change means stepping up the game. JJ played a poor 2nd season.