Pass the Popcorn review

Rating: 8/10 (12 May 2013)

Four years after the successful J.J. Abrams' Star Trek reboot came out, we finally have a sequel – Star Trek Into Darkness. To be honest, I was never big on the whole Star Trek franchise, but I was rather entertained by the 2009 reboot. Combine that with the superb trailers and promotional material for the sequel, and it's safe to say my expectations for this movie were pretty high. Overall, I wasn't disappointed. Of course, the sequel had some problems here and there but, ultimately, it's on par with the 2009 movie. The only noticeable difference between these two movie is that, in the latter, J.J. Abrams significantly decreased the use of lens flares. That doesn't mean that there are none, mind you.
Set some time after the events of the first movie, this one opens with Captain Kirk (Chris Pine) and his Enterprise crew, who save a planet inhabited with a somewhat primitive species from imminent destruction. This sort of interfering with life on other planets is against the Federation's regulations and Kirk must face consequences because of that. This opening isn't that vital to the whole story, but it serves as a device to further develop the already complicated relationship between Kirk and Mr. Spock (Zachary Quinto). However, what is vital to the story is that a man named John Harrison – played by Benedict Cumberbatch – decides to destroy the Federation from the inside by performing acts of terrorism. Kirk takes on a dangerous mission to go and capture Khan so they can bring him to justice.
The story isn't overly complicated nor very original, but the story in this modern take on the Star Trek franchise was never the most important movie aspect. The characters were always in the first place in these two movies, and their relationships, interactions and back stories were what made my viewing experiences so enjoyable. Like I said in the previous paragraph, Stark Trek Into Darkness takes a further step in developing its characters, analyzing their complicated relationships. And that really works – the characters are likable and developed enough for the audience to care about them when they face danger. The character Khan, who is a new character, stands out the most in the movie. Benedict Cumberbatch's cold portrayal of a mad man seeking revenge is top notch. It's important to say that Khan is a much better villain than the Romulan guy Nero in the first movie. Unfortunately, some of the plot points regarding characters didn't really lead anywhere and felt useless – especially the ones with Alice Eve's character Dr. Carol Marcus, whose famous underwear scene was nothing more than pathetic fan service. Also, towards the third act, there was something we may call – a sudden new villain introduction. That's another thing that didn't serve any real purpose, but, due to its short length, it didn't particularly affect my opinion of the movie.
Besides the story, which is fairly simple but strong enough, and the characters, most of which are well written and excellently portrayed, there isn't much more in Star Trek Into Darkness. Of course, there are the visuals, which are – just like in every modern Sci-Fi movie – amazing. This time you'll even see some scenes on the Klingon homeworld of Kronos, that was visually interesting. There aren't any other popular alien races shown in the movie. There is the primitive alien race shown at the very beginning, and there are numerous 'cameos' of alien races on the Enterprise. I liked these cameos since they don't take much of the movie's screen time and still effectively illustrate the Federation and the Enterprise as a futuristic multiracial society. As far as modern Sci-Fi movies go, Star Trek Into Darkness will surely leave you thoroughly entertained. Considering what J.J. Abrams has done with this franchise so far, I think the future Star Wars movies and the possible Star Trek sequels are in good hands.
Rating: 8/10 Read more at http://passpopcorn.wordpress.com/