Very disappointing when you consider what came before

Rating: 5/10 (31 July 2014)

In 2009, J.J Abrams changed the world's perception of Star Trek. Once thought of as a cult TV show with an extremely dedicated fanbase who were a little too boisterous in their admiration for it, Star Trek is now a million dollar blockbuster franchise with cinema screens filled with trekkies and non-trekkies alike. It's an admirable achievement considering how divisive the show is and it's clear that Abrams has decided on a more commercially friendly tone, with a number of explosive set pieces punctuating the drama. This was completely fine in the first Abrams movie, because the plot was interesting enough to keep the viewer engaged in what was going on. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for Into Darkness. Falling into the sequel trap of 'bigger is better', Abrams fills the screen with tons of beautiful CGI, explosions that would make Micheal Bay weep and even a few gratuitous shots of scantily clad women. Unfortunately, he has forgotten to include interesting characters and a decent story. To be fair to Abrams, it is really the script, rather than the direction, which stops the movie from being good. Rather than a standalone movie, it often feels like a simple Star Trek checklist which is trying to include every iconic staple of the show; so we have Klingons, Leonard Nimoy as Spock, 'Bones' McCoy saying 'Dammit' a lot and an unapologetic rip off of The Wrath Of Khan. It's even harder to take when you realise there is enough here to flesh out a really good plot with high stakes. It starts off well, with Benedict Cumberbatch launching a terrorist attack against Starfleet, and Kirk and Spock sent to stop him. At first it seems like Abrams may be bringing some political, real world situations into his Trek universe but, once we know Cumberbatch's true motives, it quickly devolves into an incoherent mess with the impressive action being the only reason to keep watching. A very disappointing blockbuster which seems to have forgotten the merits of a well told story. The visuals are top notch, but the script fails to engage and the ending borrows so heavily from The Wrath Of Khan that it is almost insulting.