Well-made stand alone sci-fi, fumbles in the last act

Rating: 7/10 (29 July 2013)

I was never huge into Star Trek growing up. The most I saw was an occasional Next Gen episode and I heard nothing but jokes and parodies of the Original Series. Only saw Wrath of Khan a week ago, so I wasn't too connected to it, but this is on scale with it by all means. This newest effort from Abrams and Company was a charming, biting sequel to a mediocre reboot. The characters were inhabited, rather than forced impressions, and the villain was scary and relatable, so much so that I felt at times I was on his side rather than the Enterprise's. Also, Brad Jones was right when he said that all the good Trek films realized that the Enterprise itself is also a character, not a prop. This was what I wanted out of Trek'09, but didn't get. And then Damon Lindelof had to stumble over his own pen and do nothing but pander and line drop for the last 15 minutes! Can this guy conclude anything? Seriously, LOST was a joke that went on 5 seasons too long and ended on an anticlimax to challenge that of The Sopranos. I understand the little nods here and there to Old Trek, that was part of the fun of this film. However, Spock's exclamation of "KHAN!" now rivals Revenge of the Sith's "NNOOOOOOOO!!" in stupidity and ridiculousness. Thanks Lindelof, you miserable, misguided clod. But enough of that bile. Overall, Into Darkness was a great stand-alone installment with brilliant effects work, not as many lens flares as beforehand, and still had the feel of an Episode of Trek, you don't need an introduction to it, just hop in, enjoy the ride and brace yourself for a disappointing third act. 4.0/5