A lot better than the first movie...

Rating: 9/10 (21 July 2016)

Now, the second movie in we are introduced to Benedict Cumberbatch-I mean Khan. Boy, oh boy, Khan is way more threatening than the villain in the first movie. Maybe the third bad guy will be the evilest? I guess we shall see tonight, won't we?
What I Liked
The beginning was super pretty, I loved it so much. That red planet looked great xD okay, the whole movie looks great. It was so pretty, and it started off action packed like the first movie. Star Trek Into Darkness had you on the edge of your seat from the first minute! I think I liked this more than the first movie because I'm now more used to the world of Star Trek...
Again, like the first movie, Star Trek Into Darkness was SO funny. I love the characters so much.
Into Darkness is action packed, just like the 2009 Star Trek movie. Only, the action in this one makes a lot more sense, it isn't just there to be there. The plot tossed the characters into life or death situations where they had to risk themselves for the safety of others over and over. Unlike the 2009 movie, Star Trek into Darkness raised the stakes, high. Like I said earlier, Khan is a bad guy.
This movie was REALLY emotional, come on, why did they do this to us? I wanted to cry, OK? I did. Into Darkness shows how Spock and Kirk's relationship has changed. In the 2009 movie they start of hating each other (well, they were really competitive and petty XD) but by the end of Into Darkness, we finally have the close bond between Spock and Kirk. This movie was very emotional and I don't want to ruin it... so just... watch it :)
Benedict Cumberbatch is one amazing actor! I might be biased because I'm a big fan of his Sherlock show (and character) but he did a great job playing Khan! I kid you not, he was threatening, evil, manipulative, A GREAT VILLAIN! Every hero story needs a great villain, and Benedict Cumberbatch delivered. As I've already said and will say again, he was way worse than the villain in the first movie. He actually had a purpose to be in the plot, he made sense. The bad guy in the 2009 movie didn't make sense.
One of the reasons I think I liked this a lot better was the lack of world building. Which sounds weird... What I mean by that was Into Darkness didn't need to introduce Spock and Kirk and their crew, because the 2009 movie already did that. It wasn't as choppy as the first one because it didn't need to jump back and forth to introduce us to all of our characters. Into Darkness did have world building, but it didn't need to set up the "world" if that makes any sense at all.
As always, the visual effects were AMAZING! I love the lasers, the color, the lighting, the alien stuff. The technology. I could just ramble forever, but again, J.J. Abrams and his team did a FANTASTIC job transporting us into the world of Star Trek.
Overall
Star Trek Into Darkness was a LOT better than the first movie. The characters were just as good as the 2009 movie, but they had more depth. The villain and action made sense and it was just overall... amazing.