the thrill is gone

Rating: 6/10 (3 June 2015)

J.J. Abrams uses in 'Star Trek: Into Darkness' the prequels formula Reversing the effects of present-past and discovering the causes of the effects we have known in advance have paved the interest for many films. In the first film we already met Captain James T. Kirk as a young rebel, Mr. Spock who already has all the traits of his humano-volcanic character, while doctor Chekhov and technician Scotty play an important role in the plot the second series.
The world is again in danger in this series and the main villain Benedict Cumberbatch is played masterfully by an actor that I like enormously and in this film manages to be a 'bad guy' of high quality. Themes popular in the 'Star Trek' series like the moral dilemmas between friendship and duty, love between humans and humanoids from other species of the universe, the principle of non-intervention in exploration, namely the avoidance of disruption of the historical evolution of less developed civilizations, are added to a contemporary theme in this film - that of terrorism. The HQ of the Federation Council which extends the UN replacing or in some way by the Organization of United Civilizations is the victim of a terrorist attack in London of the future, and hence complicates the start and the multiple threads of the main action in the film.
What is probably to be criticized in J.J. Abrams and the producers work in this second series 'Star Trek' is the fact that space action is given undue overweight. It is natural for a science fiction film made in 2013 to look very different than a television series conceived in the mid 60s. Cinematic technology progressed, taste of a public that has seen so many in nearly half a century of films changed. Yet it seemed to me that the filmmakers have chosen the superficial entertainment path and personally I missed the thrill of exploring knowledge and that was evident in many of the Star Trek TV series and movies from the past. The focus is too much on graphics (exceptional, actually), the image of the future metropolis, the space battles and chases occupying about half the film. This Star Trek's J.J. Abrams looks too much like Star Wars. Technology of the future imagined by Abrams brings little additional elements to what we knew from previous series - 'transporters', communication systems etc. we are familiar with these, with the sole exception of the levitation beds in hospitals. The atmosphere of 'Star Trek' is found rather in small dialogs between characters who continue to build and define the next generation and become familiar to the public. It is probably one of the reasons the film's success and a good premise for the series that will follow.
The journey continues, but the pace is hesitant, and the thrill is gone. Hopefully, only temporarily.