Into Darknrss

Rating: 7/10 (17 February 2014)

The galaxy again needs saving and the crew of the star ship Enterprise is save the day. In Star Trek: Into Darkness, Starfleet is in danger from a terrorist who seeks revenge and destruction upon them, John Harrison (Benedict Cumberbatch, Sherlock). Captain Kirk (Chris Pine, Unstoppable), Spock (Zachary Quinto, Heroes), and Doctor McCoy (Keith Urban, Lord of the Rings: Return of the King) are determined to bring him to justice. Even if it means entering enemy space to the evil Klingon homework, Kronos. J.J. Abrams returns to his revival of the science fiction epic: Star Trek, originally created by Gene Roddenberry, to deliver us this fast-paced, space-exploring film. It is a film with acting worthy enough for fans, but I am disappointed with its plot and the use of the characters in it. The terrorist, John Harrison, seeks revenge on Starfleet and plots the destruction of the archives in London. Seeking Harrison, Kirk and the Enterprise crew seek him on the planet, Kronos. After a battle where Harrison nearly single handedly defeats a host of battle-hardened Klingons, he surrenders to save his crew who are, unknowingly to Kirk, on the broken down Enterprise. There he is questioned by Kirk and is revealed to be the legendary Khan, a genetically engineered war criminal bred to be superior in everything. One of my biggest problems with this movie is that the role of the villain isn't solely on Khan, but is partially also on Admiral Marcus (Peter Weller, Robocop), who backstabs the Enterprise to silence Khan. My problem is that Khan is THE villain; the greatest adversary the Enterprise of the original series has ever faced, later emphasized by Spock Prime (Leonard Nemoy). The character Khan is fueled by the need for revenge. In Star Trek II: Wrath of Khan, he has the urge to find and kill Captain Kirk, portrayed by William Shatner. Now, in Into Darkness he is filled with rage to kill Admiral Marcus. My expectation of the film was that it would be similar to Wrath of Khan, however it fell short. My hope for the future of this franchise is that Khan will return in some way to seek Kirk. Also, I am disappointed with Spock's use of emotion. Emotionlessness is a staple of the character Spock and to break it is cruel. One of the best castings of the film is Zachary Quinto as Spock, butthe plot just destroyed the character. For example, having a romantic relationship with Uhuru. Spock is supposed to find emotion confusing and useless, not show it actively. Some people might argue that Spock is emotional because of the death of his mother and home planet, Vulcan. This is a plausible explanation, but Vulcan's are known for their control of emotion or something very bad could happen. J.J. Abrams continues to show his skills as a director. The special effects are superior to any movie of the year. For acting, Benedict Cumberbatch makes his first appearance to the American public after a successful run with BBC on the show Sherlock as Sherlock Holmes. In Into Darkness, Cumberbatch is outstanding as Khan. Keith Urban showed great skill playing McCoy with using great metaphors, a characteristic of McCoy. The role of Captain Kirk was reprised by Chris Pine, whose performance was adequate. Overall, J.J. Abrams uses the alternate reality to successfully revive Star Trek. Into Darkness is a great movie for the fans but compared to the original films, there are major flaws in the film. I recommend seeing this movie to anyone, so they can enjoy it and also critique it like I have. Hopefully, Khan will return.