An old review from 2013 I found

Rating: 7/10 (20 April 2020)

So in one of my latest reviews, I described the recent World War Z as a fairly good summer blockbuster action movie that doesn't really succeed in being much more than that. I would kinda say the same thing about Star Trek Into Darkness, although it is a better movie that World War Z, and I personally got more enjoyment out of it than I did with World War Z. But if you're not a huge Star Trek fan, and you're looking for something that's more than just action, thrills, and pure entertainment, you may come away a little disappointed.
(Spoilers ahead, btw).
Now, to say I came into this movie being unfamiliar with the franchise would be an understatement- this was actually the first Star Trek film I've ever watched, so I went in with very little expectations. So I'm really not the kind of guy who can tell you whether fans or non-fans of Star Trek are gonna like this more. On one hand, this is a much faster-paced, more action-packed film than what fans of older Star Trek may be used to (I know enough about Star Trek to know that at least the original series and early movies were fairly low budget affairs with limited sets and special effects, but a strong emphasis on writing, science-y futuristic stuff, and character development). But on the other hand, there were a lot of shout-outs to previous Star Trek-y stuff that I know went over my head- just because I don't know what's being referenced doesn't mean I can't spot a reference being made. Like, I'm someone who knew Cumberbatch's character being revealed to be Khan was a shout-out to the second Star Trek film, but I didn't get why it was such a big deal- apparently it's a big surprise or something, hence the reason I've given out a few spoiler warnings in this review. I actually remember visiting the IMDB page for Into Darkness about a month before the film hit theatres, and Cumbersnatch was listed among the other cast members as playing "Khan." This didn't last long though, and soon it was changed to show that he played the blandly named "John Harrison." So I don't know, someone screwed up there big time or something. Didn't bother me personally though- I had heard the name Khan before, and was pretty sure he was a bad guy, seeing as the title for Star Trek II implied he was wrathful or something, but I still wasn't very familiar with the character.
Cucumberbatch plays a terrorist who Kirk and his crew are asked to take down. He darts around between a few different planets causing havoc before revealing his true motives and helping to reveal a big space conspiracy. Then action, witty banter, and lens flares ensue.
This is a very nice movie to watch on as big a screen as possible. The special effects are very impressive, the colour scheme is varied, and the action scenes are fast and exciting. The controversial Abrams lens flare makes its way into this film, and the amount of it can be downright hilarious at times. I think it'd be cool in moderation, but the amount Mr. Abrams insists on using it can get pretty annoying. Well, it's his trademark, so I guess... Whatever. If he's so deadset on using it so much then what's a novice, unpopular blogger like myself going to do to stop him.
The rest of his direction is actually really good though. This film does have a great style to it, a little bit gritty but not overtly so, with enough shiny, vivid colours to stop things from getting too dark and depressing. The camerawork is clean and there's pretty much no frustrating use of shaky cam. The actions scenes are well-shot and well-edited. It's a damn good-looking film, and without quite so much lens flare would probably look even better. I'm looking forward to seeing what Abrams will do with his direction of the upcoming Star Wars: Episode 7- I think it's in good hands.
I liked the acting and writing too. The crew all have great chemistry together, and I thought all the banter between Spock and Kirk was really well done. These two characters felt surprisingly real, and I enjoyed watching them throughout the film. There were some good supporting performances too- I particularly enjoyed Karl Urban, Simon Pegg, and Peter Weller.
Oh yes, Benedict Cabbagepatch needs a mention too. I thought he played a really good villain in this movie. I haven't seen him in anything else yet (I may watch Sherlock eventually- heard nothing but great things about it), but I gotta say, he does creepy really well. He successfully portrays a formidable foe in this movie, and I while I can't quite say he absolutely stole every scene he was in, he did give a very good villainous performance. Due to his recent surge in popularity (which I think has something to do with his awesomely awful name... oh, and the fact he seems like a pretty damn good actor) I think we can expect to see him in a few more Hollywood films in the future; or maybe another Star Trek? After all, they just kinds put Khan into some giant freezer or something at the end of this film.
There's a few problems with this movie though, none of which necessarily prevent the film from being really entertaining, but they do kind of stop the movie from achieving much more than just being really really good entertainment.

Thinking about the overly complicated plot will do you no good- this is a roller-coaster ride, with a relentless plot that piles shocking reveal upon shocking reveal, and a few minor plot details don't make a whole lot of sense if you think about them too hard and try to put everything in the movie into context. "Don't think... Watch."
Too much distracting lens flare- we've been over this already though. Just make sure to tone it down in Star Wars 7 please Mr. Abrams (2020 EDIT: he did!)
"KHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!!" Nah, actually this moment kinda worked, but can we seriously stop this thing in movies where the main character is "killed off" towards the end of the movie, but then brought make to life like, 6 minutes later? I think it's just such a lazy ass-pull, and it's really getting old. Although this movie didn't do it worse than a certain superhero last year who appeared to make the ultimate sacrifice but somehow escaped in order to keep unstable fan boys from killing themselves... not mentioning any names or anything.
The movie kind of shrugging its shoulders and not really giving much attention to the likely tens of thousands of people who would've died when Khan played ten pin bowling at the film's climax, with his gigantic ship serving as the ball and at least a dozen skyscrapers playing the part of the bowling pins. Hollywood films just kind of gloss over the deaths huge sequences of destruction like this would cause, and it kind of bothers me. I haven't seen Man of Steel yet, but apparently there's thousands of implied deaths in that one too thanks to a ton of buildings getting destroyed.

But, you know, all those flaws are kind of minor, and very personal (to me) too. This is a good, fun movie that no action or sci-fi fan should pass up seeing. Whether or not you're familiar with Star Trek shouldn't harm your enjoyment of Star Trek Into Darkness too much- it's a light, accessible, thoroughly entertaining film that's well worth your time and money.
*Insert well known Star Trek quote here as a way of finishing the review in a stylish and funny manner.*