Possibly the Best Star Trek Movie Ever Made

Rating: Null/10 (1 July 2013)

I have been a Star Trek fan for as long as I have had memory. I remember watching Trek episodes when I was three years old. I have seen every version of Star Trek, enjoyed some, walked away from others.
I enjoyed J.J. Abrams 2009 Trek film. I appreciated having these classic characters interpreted by new actors, and I thought everyone on board this movie did a fascinating job of creating a new approach to retelling the classic Star Trek stories. I very much wanted to see Star Trek Into Darkness, but I went into it with some trepidation.
I should not have had any concerns. Star Trek Into Darkness may well be the finest Star Trek movie ever made.
This movie is a pleasure from start to finish. I do not mean it is the best of Star Trek, only that it is the best of the Star Trek films. It touches on allegory, holding up a mirror for us to see ourselves in the choices we have made, acting out of fear and ignorance in response to attack. It is visually breathtaking. The opening scene is so audacious, that even as you are asking why the Enterprise is under water, you are struck by the awesome beauty of her rising from the sea.
It does use elements and plot points from previous Trek stories, but uses them well, in ways that illuminate and surprise. Illuminate, because these events reveal facets and new views of characters who are both familiar, yet distinct in this re-imagined time-line. Surprising, because even as you recognize the path the story is taking, you realize something new has been brought out.
The movie belongs, I think, to Chris Pine. He takes Jim Kirk to new places, places the William Shatner was able to hint at, but never given the opportunity to show. One clever subtext of the two films, the 2009 film and this one, is that Kirk once again faces the Kobyashi Maru test, but in this film he cannot cheat. Kirk still finds a way to beat it. I saw Chris Pine do something that William Shatner never had the chance to do: show Jim Kirk as a man willing to pay any price for his ship and his crew. One crucial point of continuity between Shatner and Pine is that Pine does for Kirk what the episode "The City on the Edge of Forever" did for Shatner's Kirk: establishes Kirk as the person who has to make the most difficult decisions, and the one willing to pay the price for doing so.
Zachary Quinto once again demonstrates why he was born to take the role of Spock.
Each of the cast has moments. The film does center on the triad of Kirk, Spock and McCoy, but each character has at least one moment, from Sulu assuming command, to Chekov stepping up during the climax. Simon Pegg is once again terrific as Scotty, taking a stand that is very much in character for a man who loves the Enterprise almost as much as Kirk. Zoe Saldana reveals Uhura's strength and resourcefulness, and the Spock- Uhura relationship adds nice insight to both characters.
For newcomers, Star Trek Into Darkness is an exciting movie with a brilliant touch of allegory that provides it with some depth in the midst of the summer movie season. For long time fans, Star Trek Into Darkness is like an intertextual celebration of the best of our travels with this crew.