Just Another Predictable Action Film

Rating: 5/10 (6 July 2013)

Star Trek Into Darkness
** (out of 4)
132 mins/ 12
Cast: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban, Simon Pegg, John Cho, Benedict Cumberbatch, Anton Yelchin, Bruce Greenwood, Peter Weller, Alice Eve, Noel Clarke, Leonard Nimoy
Director: J.J Abrams
Plot: Captain leads a mission to capture the mysterious John Harrison who has started a one- man massacre of the Federation's cities and people.
JJ's Verdict: After the 5-star reboot that J.J Abrams gave us in 2009, I was expecting a 5-star follow-up. This is part of the problem. Star Trek was something brilliant, and completely more than just an action film. Star Trek Into Darkness, however, 'is' just an action film. The strange thing is that the opening scenes of Into Darkness lead you to believe it is going to brilliant. We jump straight into the action as Kirk and McCoy are being chased by an alien species and Spock is forced to stop a volcano exploding by jumping into it. These opening scenes are beautifully paced, full of exciting action and of course, contain those much-required human elements. Once we actually get into the film, the main plot is very interesting and leaves you thinking you are about to witness something great. The plot centres on a fugitive, John Harrison, who has taken refuge on a Klingon planet after blowing up Federation buildings and killing many Starfleet officials. From here, Captain Kirk and his Enterprise crew are of course sent to capture him and bring him back to Earth. They eventually do but of course he finds a way to escape and disaster ensues. This disaster I'm talking about actually has two meanings. One is that this Harrison is actually the famous Khan and goes on to try and destroy the crew; and the other is the rest of the film. The film presents us with Khan's master plan, which is actually, one of the most predictable I've ever seen. Because the second half of the film is solely focused on defeating him, you know each move he will make and exactly what the outcome will be. This causes all the action to be meaningless and the dialogue scenes just a distraction. When the best part of your action film is actually your characters bickering among themselves, you know you've got a problem.
Of course, on top of the opening sequence, there are some good elements in this film. Like any film of its genre, the visuals are great and as previously mentioned, the character interaction is great. The acting is solid overall with the exception of Simon Pegg who manages to steal every single one of his scenes – even if he only says one line! Like the 2009 film, his comedic timing is perfect. Bruce Greenwood, who reprises his role as Christopher Pike, is the film's bright spark when it comes to serious acting and the only other positive acting is in Karl Urban and the legendary Leonard Nimoy who are dreadfully under-used. The film's only stumbling block in the characters is in Alice Eve, who's posh, edginess fail to fit the film's style, and surprisingly, Benedict Cumberbatch. Apart from the fact that he is miscast as a character supposedly Indian, the British actor portrays his character very one-dimensionally in the first half, and then very awkwardly over-dramatic in the second half.
Another problem with Star Trek Into Darkness is that it feels very much like a remake of The Wrath of Khan in 1982. The characters background is told in a way that the filmmakers want you to think of him as a new character. But anyone who has previously seen the older Star Treks will struggle to do so. My most awful and cringing moment of the film, however, was a recreation of Spock's final scene in The Wrath of Khan. This time it is Kirk in the glass and Spock on the outside. I haven't compared them but I'm pretty sure they say roughly the same thing, which it very boring and you know the outcome. It fails to pack the emotional punch it was trying to make. To make matters worse and to plunge this thing in to darkness, Spock screams KHAN! Just totally cringing.