A blisteringly paced action film

Rating: 8/10 (14 May 2013)

"Damn it Jim, I'm a doctor, not a torpedo technician!"
The much hyped sequel to J. J. Abrams reboot is here, and it does not disappoint. Star Trek Into Darkness is an exhilarating fast paced action extravaganza.
When a terrorist declares a one man war against the Federation, Captain KirK and the Enterprise crew, are charged with tracking him down. All of the cast from the first film return, with Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto continuing to impress in the roles of Kirk and Spock respectively. With a good supporting cast well suited to their roles. Except and it really pains me to say, the exception is Simon Pegg who is a lesser copy and essentially a caricature of the original.
As originally stated the film does move at an exhilarating pace moving the story along, keeping the adrenaline high, and providing plenty of entertaining action. The best addition to the franchise is the introduction of Benedict Cumberbatch as terrorist John Harrison. Having recently just caught up with the BBC show Sherlock i knew Cumberbatch would excel at the psychological side of being a threat to the Federation. But i was not so sure about a physical threat but he does across as a definite bad-ass. Especially shown in a scene once the Enterprise track him down to the planet he is hiding on. In the end providing a very real threat to the crew and Federation.
Regarding the shooting style of J.J. Abrams, i have liked everyone of his movie so far, especially Super 8. But does anyone else get a bit fed up of the lens flares he uses on the film way to much. Also the film moves at such a blistering pace, it does sometimes make it hard to fully invest into the story.
For anyone who like Abrams first jaunt into the Star Trek universe should like this, and i hope to see some more adventures of the Starship USS Enterprise in the future. Also going off this the Stars Wars universe seems to be in safe hands.