Lens Flare: The Movie!!!

Rating: 5/10 (27 September 2013)

Well let's get straight to the point. The actors from the first one return and I have to admit that it is well casted (minus Chris Pine who is a terrible choice for the great role that could have gone to a more deserving actor). The other members of the crew are perfect in their roles. The villain played by Benedict Cumberbatch is very convincing and does not disappoint. All the actors bar one are the right choices for their roles. The problem with this film lies in story and execution.
This is a very weak script. The story is predictable, the dialogue is very stock (and when I mean very stock I mean a rip off of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Kahn, once you watch both of them you will understand what I mean) and I can't help but feel this was rushed together. I will say that I did like the opening sequence and the scenes that followed it because it asked some real philosophical questions about responsibility of human life , but other than that I felt it was poorly written.
Which leaves the direction. J.J. Abrams is yet to amaze me. All of the films he has directed have been decent but none of them have wowed me. For someone that is supposed to be this creative genius she hasn't shown it. He hasn't really done any bad work until now. This film is carried by its actors and not by its direction. The film should have been called Lens Flare: The Movie because it is full of them. I can understand using them when you are trying to establish mood or trying to go for a distinct style but this is way over the top. They are all over the place. Real dramatic scenes are ruined by them. People have said that he likes to use lens flare in his other films and I have to admit I did not notice or at least they did not intrude upon it, but he has gone to town on this and shoved them anywhere regardless of meaning or placement. There are at least a couple of scenes where if the film was really happening then the lens flares should not appear because the wouldn't have been a light source for them to exist. I would have given this film a solid 8 (mainly because of the acting) but thanks to Flare Abrams I can only in good conscience give it a 5.
I only hope he doesn't send Star Wars into a deeper pit than George Lucas did.