A very fine piece that could live on forever.

Rating: 8/10 (11 July 2013)

In 2009, J.J. Abrams made one of the biggest and riskiest moves a film director could make. He put out a reboot of a famous series with a large and loyal fan following when he made Star Trek. Surprisingly, it was an absolutely great film that earned it's money and put every actor's career who was in it on track. In a different way, a sequel was going to be more difficult to pull off. You would have to put in a new villain, put in a new plot and work with the same cast again. Well after seeing Star Trek Into Darkness, I see it as a very fine piece that could live on forever.
With similar feel of the the terrorist acts which are happening in our world today, there is a bombing of a secret Section 31 installation in London. This was masterminded by former Starfleet agent John Harrison (Benedict Cumberbatch) who is on run with the Enterprise and it's crew in pursuit so to capture him.
The plot seems simple but once put into the bigger picture, it is much deeper. The character, John Harrison is no doubt the main highlight of this film. His performance more than matches the villain, Nero from the 2009 movie including a great Klingon fight and he fits neatly into the Star Trek world.
The third act is the most interesting part of this film. This is where everything comes together and also shows the San Fransisco of the future but it this is also where the main problem comes in. It drags and involves the death of Captain Kirk but with a plot twist on that and it seems that Abrams just didn't want to end this.
The movie does have the same main cast as the previous movie. Characters are more developed with performances that fit into each character. Zoe Saldana plays Uhura and is in the first act and only in some of the second. Anton Yelchin as Checkoff is in and out of scenes. The surprise of the film is Simon Pegg as Scotty who has a larger role than the previous movie and closes the film well. The cast plays out differently than the previous movie and I think they fit into the plot well.
As he does with the previous movie, Abrams nails the little points of this film. There is a new setting and the special effects are better than the last one. The costumes of each character are also pretty fun to look at and will help make the movie memorable.
I don't know what is next for this series. For now, I like where this series is. I do have a lot of confidence in Abrams and would not mind maybe five more of these and I bet he could do it as he has proved himself with this film and the last one.