Star Trek Into Darkness

Plot synopsis:
The USS Enterprise is sent to explore the "Class M" planet Nibiru. What started out as a mission to investigate and observe the inhabitants of the planet turns into a quest to save the planet from a volcano that could potentially wipe out the planet and all life that inhabits it. McCoy and Kirk are on a reconnaissance peace-keeping mission to the planet which is then jeopardized. They then have to high tail it to the Enterprise which is being harbored underwater. At the same time, Spock has been lowered via cable into the volcano to plant a "cold fusion" device that will halt the eruption. Due to the large amount of ash spewed into the air and the intense heat generated, Spock's cable snaps and he lands in the volcano, surrounded by lava. Sulu and Uhura have no choice but to fly their shuttle back to the Enterprise.Once on board the Enterprise, Kirk wastes no time in trying to get Spock back on board. Spock is of course not interested in surviving the mission but more concerned in observing the prime directive of the Starfleet Academy - which is not to be seen nor heard among developing civilizations. Of course the opposite happens - Kirk and Uhura do everything they can to save Spock's life. Breaking prime directive, Kirk takes the Enterprise out of hiding and heads for the volcano where they beam Spock back on board. A relieved Uhura is fine that Spock is back safe and sound, but Spock is displeased that Kirk deliberately broke the rules rather than surviving.Kirk tries to play off the fact that the burgeoning civilization saw the Enterprise as no big deal. What he doesn't know is that the new civilization has begun to worship the Enterprise and its crew. After being called back to Earth, Kirk is relieved of command, and Admiral Pike resumes command of the Enterprise. A very furious Admiral Pike grills Kirk for breaking the rules. During the meeting Spock reveals that while Kirk wrote a report in his Captain's log that broad brushed the truth, Spock was far more honest in his report. Kirk is demoted and he has to report back to Starfleet. While at a bar drowning his sorrows in alcohol, Kirk is confronted by Pike, who gives him a pep talk about how Kirk has to fight for what's important. Pike feels Kirk needs to learn a valuable lesson as a captain and tells Kirk he was the one who originally recruited Kirk, and Pike himself was recruited by Admiral Marcus.Shortly afterward, Starfleet agent John Harrison, with the compliance of a Starfleet officer, bombs a Starfleet archive installation in London, having coerced a Starfleet officer into sneaking the bomb into the facility in exchange for healing his ailing daughter. An emergency meeting of high ranking officers is called at Starfleet headquarters, which Kirk attends as Pike's first officer. Moments after Kirk determines that Harrison seemingly bombed a non-vital Starfleet facility, the meeting falls under attack by by Harrison in a small Federation gunship. Kirk takes the gunship down, but Harrison escapes by transporting himself to an unidentified planet and Pike dies.After Pike's funeral, Admiral Marcus authorizes Kirk to hunt down Harrison, who has fled to the Klingon homeworld of Qo'noS ("Kronos"). Since Qo'noS lies deep in Klingon territory and Starfleet is on the brink of war with the Klingon Empire, the Enterprise is supplied with 72 long-range prototype photon torpedoes, and is ordered to fire them all at Harrison's location once he is found. Admiral Marcus reinstates Kirk as captain of the Enterprise. Kirk accepts but only on the condition that he's allowed to reinstate Spock as his first officer. He then tells Kirk and Spock that London wasn't just a mere archive. It was a top secret branch of Starfleet that was designated "Section 31". Section 31's primary function was to study Klingon technology and to develop new capabilities that would defend Starfleet from the Klingons. The attack on Section 31 severely crippled Starfleet's abilities to defend itself. Admiral Marcus believes this was an act of war.Kirk is renamed the Captain and has Spock reenlisted as his first officer. On the way to the Enterprise, Bones' medical testing annoys Kirk while he and Spock continue the fight they had previously about the Nibiru mission. Believing the new photon torpedoes could be dangerous to the ship, chief engineer Montgomery Scott refuses to take them aboard and tenders his resignation when ordered by Kirk to accept them. The Admiral's daughter, scientist Carol Marcus also joins the crew, under a false identity, and Pavel Chekov is promoted to Chief Engineer.En route to the Klingon homeworld the Enterprise's warp core malfunctions, leaving the ship stranded in space a short distance from Qo'noS. With repairs underway, Kirk, Spock, and Uhura use a previously commandeered trader ship that they had confiscated and fly to Qo'noS. However, they are detected by Klingon patrol ships and are forced to land. Despite Uhura's attempts to negotiate, the Klingons prepare to kill the trio, when a mysterious figure attacks the Klingons. After wiping most of them out single-handedly, the attacker reveals himself to be John Harrison. He confronts the landing party, but surrenders after learning the precise number of torpedoes aimed at him. Kirk beats him severely for Pike's murder but Harrison seems to feel little pain or show any injury.Back on the Enterprise, Harrison reveals his real identity: Khan, a genetically augmented superhuman who has been in cryo-sleep for 300 years after waging an unsuccessful war on Earth to eradicate all those inferior to himself and his superhuman comrades. He suggests Kirk should take a closer look at the 72 prototype torpedoes and gives him a set of spatial coordinates. Kirk orders McCoy to take apart one of the torpedoes, and contacts Scotty back on Earth to investigate the coordinates. The torpedoes are found to each contain a genetically-engineered human in cryo-sleep - the remaining members of Khan's crew from the Botany Bay. Khan explains that Admiral Marcus awakened Khan to force him to use his superior intellect and savagery to develop advanced weapons to start a war with the Klingons, keeping his crew as hostages. Kirk realizes that the Enterprise warp core has been sabotaged on Marcus' orders, making the covert operation to kill Khan a one-way ticket.Kirk sends Carol Marcus and Dr. McCoy down to a remote planet to inspect one of the torpedoes. As the two investigate, Dr. McCoy finds out that there's something inside the torpedo: a cryo-frozen human - which is why Khan had an interest in the torpedoes in the first place -- inside them are 72 of his comrades from the past. Meanwhile, Kirk manages to regain contact with officer Montgomery Scott, who he tells was right all along about the torpedoes on the Enterprise - that who placed them on there was not to be trusted, and enlists Scott to find out the truth about who placed these weapons on the Enterprise.At the same time Scott arrives at the coordinates which have been revealed by Khan; they are near Jupiter. Scotty discovers a secret Starfleet shipyard, which he infiltrates. Back on the Enterprise the defective warp core is brought back online, but Chekov discourages Kirk from using it yet. Shortly after, another ship arrives: an unregistered Federation battleship, the USS Vengeance - a massive vessel built strictly for combat which dwarfs the Enterprise. It is twice the size and designed to be operated by a minimal number of crewmembers, one if necessary. Admiral Marcus reveals himself as the commander of the vessel, demanding Kirk hand over Khan. Kirk refuses, and the Enterprise warps away to Earth, to return Khan to stand trial for his crimes.Shortly after, the Enterprise is attacked in warp by the Vengeance, halting their escape near the Moon. Outgunned, the Enterprise is severely damaged. Ultimately Kirk agrees to hand over Khan and the 72 bodies in cryo-sleep in exchange for the lives of his crew. Marcus refuses and beams his daughter aboard the Vengeance to prevent her being used against him. As the Vengeance is about to destroy the Enterprise, it suffers a ship-wide power outage, caused by Scott who had boarded the ship earlier at the secret shipyard. As the Enterprise' weapons are too damaged to continue the fight, and knowing that Khan was the designer of Marcus' ship, Kirk allies himself with Khan and boards the enemy ship. They reunite with Scott and take the bridge. Meanwhile, Spock contacts Spock Prime to learn of Khan's history and how to defeat him. Khan betrays Kirk and takes control of the ship, injuring Carol Marcus and killing Admiral Marcus in the process. Khan negotiates with Spock for Kirk's life, and beams the 72 torpedoes aboard the Vengeance.Khan beams Kirk and the rest of the boarding party back to the Enterprise in order to destroy it. Spock reveals that the torpedoes beamed to the Vengeance were armed, while the cryotubes still remain on the Enterprise. The torpedoes detonate, crippling the Vengeance and sending Khan into a furious rage, believing his crew have been killed. Both ships start descending towards the Earth's surface. The crew of the Enterprise manage to halt their ship's descent, as Kirk sacrifices his life to re-align the warp core, succumbing to radiation poisoning. Khan sets the final destination for the Vengeance: Starfleet headquarters in San Francisco. The enemy ship crashes into the city. Having survived the crash, Khan tries to escape in the chaos, but is pursued by an enraged Spock, whom had been with Kirk in his final moments. Meanwhile, Doctor Leonard McCoy discovers that Khan's blood may reanimate the dead Kirk. At the last possible moment, Uhura prevents Spock from killing Khan, and he is taken captive.Kirk reacts positively to the treatment and is revived and put back on active duty. Khan is sealed into his cryotube and stored away with the rest of his crew. As the film ends, Kirk addresses a commemoration service one year later, the Enterprise is re-christened and departs for a 5-year mission of deep space exploration. The movie ends with Kirk reciting the Captain's oath and the Enterprise departing for its next mission.

Tags: boring, murder, violence, revenge, good versus evil, action, romantic, sci-fi

Review:
We watched ' Star Trek - Into the Darkness this afternoon (May 9th 2013).I am not going to reveal specific details because this film is so new that I am aware that many people still have not had the opportunity to watch it, and I do not wish to ruin their experience.Having read the points raised in the 'maddog' review I just wanted to say that we found it to be a truly absorbing and brilliant film, and our views are so diametrically opposed to 'maddog' that I genuinely wonder if he/or she actually watched the same film - or slept through it and took a wild guess as to its quality.Star Trek - Into the Darkness is mainly a fast paced action film interspersed with scenes of human interest which facilitates the deeper development of the main characters and their inter-relationships.
I tremendously respected and appreciated the ties in this movie to the elements that make Star Trek great - strong story line, deep connection to the characters and a philosophical element.
And the Carol Marcus character was underused to a criminal degree, they would not have let that happen in the Original Series.In some review there was mentioned how this film with its potentially sombre tones came a little to early for the yet young crew of the Enterprise, and I tend to agree.
Also the way he executed his plan showed a lot more cutting edge creativity than especially most modern blockbusters, not to say it's done nearly to the same level of genius but something I haven't felt in a villain's characterisation/acting since The Dark Knight.Overall, a mesmerising film with nice homages to the original series, one filled with heart, grace, innovation, superb characters and acting and some impressive, clever visuals and immersive 3D, one of the only times I can say that.
Other reviewers have said the effects aren't that good but the 3D is obviously quite well done in places.The worst thing about this film (apart from the acting which is woeful) is that if you're unfamiliar with the general Star Trek narrative it's easy to assume that the pathetic attempts at interactions between these 'characters' are nothing but simplistic portrayals of the 'goody' / 'baddy' dynamics in kindergarten nursery rhymes.
While these rhymes have their place (namely child-care centers) a 38 year old father like me who's forked out $30 for the Gold Class 3D version now expects some kind of 'reverse-ratings' system to warn me to keep well clear of such trash in the future.Other reviews have delved into the actual 'plot' in a way I am unable to but it surprises me just how astonishingly bad the writing has been in this and Prometheus by Damon Lindelof who's work I enjoyed massively on Lost.
I'm never going to enjoy his success even though I dabble with writing but it has obviously gone to his head.I found myself emotionless and bored throughout this movie which has nothing in common with good science fiction pieces from the recent-past such as Event Horizon or even newer works such as Sunshine by Danny Boyle.If I were a Star Trek fan I would be affronted by this rubbish which, personally, I find myself being unable to give only 1 star only due to 'flashing-of-cash' special effects which may be boldly going somewhere but not anywhere – well – special.However, remove the nice graphics and some of the action sequences, and you are left with nothing but a straight-to-video, 'Worst 10 Films of All Time' TV show contender which bored my socks off and made me question whether it's even worth actually paying to go and see any Hollywood movies ever again..
JJ Abrams has managed to drain the life, the spark, the joy that was the original series, and to a less extent, the spin offs, and re-animate the hollow corpse into a blundering zombie of a movie.Nothing original, this travesty could have had the title and characters names changed, and it would have been indistinguishable from any of a dozen sci-fi action movies from the last 4 years.The awe and joy of a possible future, the thrill of exploration, the wonder of the universe is totally lacking in this film.
For instance, a transporter that the enemy uses can transport him light years to another planet, but the transporters on the Enterprise have a hard job locking onto a person on the planet they are orbiting, a hand-held communicator that can call someone in a bar on Earth from the Klingon home world light years away, infiltrating a top secret military base with a shuttle craft without being spotted by sensors, and the list goes on.The last part of the movie they just got so lazy that they re-created the whole death scene at the end of Wrath of Khan, but mirrored it by reversing the roles.
And if that's not enough, the writers blatantly do a copy/paste of most of the dialogue like "If we go in there we'll die, the radiation will kill us" and "The decontamination process is not complete, you'll flood the whole compartment."Later on they even forget that the attributes that makes Khan's blood special, and which is needed to revive Kirk, also flows through the veins of the other 72 augments sitting in cryogenic tubes in McCoy's sick bay, the same cryogenic tubes that McCoy himself says earlier in the movie he could not risk opening without possibly killing the person inside, which could have been a solid reason to send Spock chasing after Khan in a foot- chase through downtown San-Francisco to retrieve a sample of Khan's blood, but instead, they have McCoy open a cryogenic tube and remove it's occupant in order to freeze Kirk so he can preserve his brain functions, I believe his exact words were "Get this guy out of the cryo-tube, keep him in an induced coma." but still, poor McCoy doesn't realize he could use that person's blood to revive Kirk.
Since it has now become (dilithium) crystal clear that J.J. Abrams and his team of writers have COMPLETELY dismantled the entire Trek universe we once knew -- the one that was built so meticulously by Gene Roddenberry (and later, Harve Bennett and Nick Meyer too) -- we must now embrace a Trek product that will likely insult and disgust most purists, plus any ticket buyer who wants something more than a movie enjoyed by ADHD attention spans.This "Into Darkness" film continues where the 2009 effort left off, and with much the same approach, but the decibel level is harder on the eardrums this time: more explosions, more stunts, more fisty-cuffs, more chases (both in space and Terra Firma), more phaser shots and more temper tantrums from Kirk and Spock both.I could rhetorically say something like, "WTF?
By forcibly shoving Khan into the "Into Darkness" storyline, the writers seemed almost desperate to include a familiar face as a crowd pleaser, but I found this "unmasking" about as convincing as a cheesy moment in a daytime soap opera, and it is essentially where I gave up on the film (about when the third act began).From there, the movie worsened (for me) because soon after, we are then supposed to shed tears for our gallant Captain Kirk sacrificing himself in the Enterprise's warp core chamber to save his ship and crew.
They are reminding us that they know their Star Trek, but I found this moment to be gimmicky and as such, it registered a complete emotional zero.Spock himself, as written by Orci and Kurtzman, also seems little more than a gimmick in these films now, especially at the film's climax, which uses our ever-logical Vulcan as a John Rambo wannabe, as he mercilessly pounds his fists into Khan's face, all in the name of revenge for the loss of his pal Jim Kirk.
NOT A FREAKING SUPER SOLDIER WHO JUST MURDER-DEATH-KILLED FOR NO REASON.AND ABOUT THAT PLOT.Kahn was a one man army in this movie-- So one would think if he defrosted his people, all 72 of them, they'd be unstoppable-- Instead he puts them in Torpedoes to ruin Robocops plan of starting a war with the Klingons to defrost them later...WHAT THE AM I TALKING ABOUT I DUNNO BUT THAT WAS THE PLOT!!This movie is for morons who couldn't get into the original Star Trek because they probably see it as old, boring, and full of bad actors.
DramaKirk in Spock running in the woods in opening scene - why?Prime directive trashed for no good reason - huh?Spock relationship issues during mission - really?Kirk revived by Khan blood - no one saw that coming?Big/mean Enterprise is faster and more powerful that small/peaceful Enterprise - oh no!Kirk and Khan are buddies (temporary).Plot:Still unclear who wanted to do what.Slow, predictable, dialog really lame (school like)Khan never reveal his ultimate goal.Kirk was pretty much a dice (remember his captain of Enterprise) - slightly constant was his need for mindless vengeance - nice touch.The only one actual important element to the story came in the form of a paranoid admiral that wants to fight Clingons in a improbable vessel.In the end it all proves that Kirk is nothing more that incredibly stupid, vengeance indulging, risk freak Enterprise CAPTAIN - we all like that don't we?.
But in J.J. Abrams' version of Star Trek, we are expected to stop thinking and just watch the loud, frantic action.Now we come to Khan Noonien Singh.
Also, Kirk's death gives Spock another excuse to act like a brutal savage (what would Sarek say?), and Abrams an excuse to stage an absurd high-altitude fight scene.Let's debunk the basic defense of J.J. Abrams; i.e., that he saved Star Trek.
With its target audience seated in place however, doubtlessly willing to overlook the obvious whilst simultaneously blinded by the startling visuals and 'tacked-on' 3-D (the film wasn't originally shot in 3-D, instead the process being added in post-production) this 'casual' viewer can safely check their brain at the door and, in all likelihood, enjoy...In this befuddled story, with its foot stuck firmly in Trek's The Wrath of Khan (1982), Into Darkness hauls its audience onto a seeming roller-coaster ride, dragging the viewer from one outrageous action set-piece to another, while its central characters are barely given a chance to 'grow' into their respective roles.In a likely nod to Trek VI – The Undiscovered Country, Sulu is afforded a brief turn in the captain's chair (a role which at least offered the actor some nifty poker-faced dialogue), whilst Chekov is contrastingly tucked away within the pipework-strewn bowels of the Enterprise' engine room.
Oh well, things disintegrate further when its finally realised just how incredibly stupid Kirk has been, trusting a known terrorist whilst the viewer, during the film's final reel, is woefully pulled along during their frantic re-attempts at his capture.With an ending pulled directly out of The Wrath of Khan, albeit with Kirk and Spock on opposite sides of the radiation screen doors, I was beginning feel as though I had been robbed of my admission: the contrived nature of this protracted scene, deriving itself virtually word-for-word from its thirty-year-old original, played out while the audience undoubtedly watched in astonished déjà vu.
Peter Weller makes an excellent admiral and really does bring presence to the screen.The action and visual effects are all excellent, but this is to be expected of a film this large and Abrams does a solid job giving every crew member their moment to shine, bar one character whose names should have been Mrs. Plot Point.(SPOILERS)My main problem with this film is the fact that for those fans out there, there will come a moment where you put two and two together and sigh in contempt - which I heard about another 70 people do at the same time as me.
But me thinks now our director and screenwriters are spreading themselves a little too thin with too many gigs.The film brings back an old and beloved original series villain and in doing so serves to remind fans how good Wrath of Khan really was.Into Dumbness is a convoluted mess.The characters have completely devolved into caricatures.There are too many jokes by too many characters – a misstep which also strips the drama away with misplaced humor.
Action in Sci Fi is OK if it serves a good purpose.But bang crash, run for kilometres and never get puffed out, ignore the Prime Directive, freeze a volcano, get demoted, get repromoted, ooh there's a bad admiral in star fleet (Star Trek VI) blow up, smash, do the Millennium-Falcon-sideways-to-escape-the badies, die and come back to life using super-human blood (Battlestar Galactica), jump 30meters and don't brake an ankle...A great SciFi movie can get away with a few things that are beyond reality IF there's enough good story telling/acting/drama to help you make that leap.
These are all key Star Trek components are shouldn't be tampered with.Having Dr. Carol Marcus change uniforms in a shuttle while Kirk is asked to turn his back, is just a pathetic excuse to see Alice Eve in her underwear, and is completely unnecessary to the story.Many parts of the story were predictable and were taken directly from The Wrath of Khan with a slight twist.
So I'm giving it a 3 out of 10.I liked the first J.J. Abrams Star Trek movie, even though I couldn't really follow the plot.
Most of the spaceships look uninspired on the outside and preposterously cavernous and complex on the inside.There was an audible groan when people in the audience realized this was just a rehash of Wrath of Khan.There are a lot of things wrong with this movie, so you have to dig deep to find the worst one:Forget that Kirk got his command back about five minutes after he lost it, following a scene pulled straight from Godfather III (not to mention dozens of space-based video games).Forget the preposterous chase of a Millennium Falcon rip-off through a rebuilt-Death-Star-like maze.Forget that Scotty somehow single-handedly sabotaged a double-size, weaponized Enterprise rip-off (oh yeah, it was automated for a skeleton crew, that explains it).Forget that Nimoy Spock made a pointless cameo that broke the fourth wall by practically saying "Here's what we did in the original movie..."No, the worst part of this movie is the whole Khan backstory and motivation.
I saw this film at a private screening and it is basically a remake of Star Trek 2: Wrath of Khan.Benedict Cumberbatch plays the role of Khan very well but everyone else is pretty lame.So much goes on and so may films are borrowed from that halfway through you feel that you've been in the cinema for 10 hours.The crew are quite irritating and every time they evaded disaster or death I was a little disappointed.If you are new to Start Trek it might not be so bad but as an admirer of Wrath of Khan it felt like a bit of a wimp out by the writers..
The tricks of your common 3pm soap opera are taken and just poured into the plot - bad parenting, painful memories of the past, couples fighting, hands touching through the glass, good guy dies then wakes up and smiles.And just like that, the great story of Star Trek is not played in space opera minor, but in soap opera major instead.
Nothing new, nothing of interest.Besides all that this movie is just a collection of special effects and poorly executed references that will not please a single Star Trek fan and will not appeal to anyone who didn't saw the old movies and therefore doesn't get the references at all.Instead of writing to much abstract stuff, I will just list some of the several things that came to my mind while watching this flick (you always know it's a bad movie if you have too much time to think about it while you're watching):SPOILER TERRITORY STARTS HERE The film starts with the Enterprise being hidden underwater so it can't be seen by the people who live on the planet.
You are my bestest friend too!"Basically the entire film was ruined with terrible dramatic scenes and tears and just really uncomfortable acting – this definitely ain't how Star Trek should be.Abrams over-played the Kirk-Spock relationship so much I was almost expecting them to have sex.
***WARNING: SPOILERS*** Please note that this review does contain spoilers.I have been a fan of Star Trek since watching it as a child during the first run of the first season of The Original Series on Australian television (then in living black and white).I was so bitterly disappointed in Star Trek Into Darkness.My issue is the plot and writing.The acting, direction, cinematography and SFX were all of very high standards, however...However.Kirk has the Enterprise taken off him, demoted then put back in the chair - I saw little point in that other than to address the concerns about the rapidity with which Kirk was promoted to Captain in the earlier film by JJ Abrams.
Otherwise, the character was one-dimensional and was going through the action-packed motions from that point on with requisite snarling.Overall, I hope J.J. Abrams gives up the Star Trek franchise when he makes the new Star Wars movie.
A Star Trek movie is not supposed to be a pack of fight scenes every 10 min.,followed by a few wannabe smart-humorous lines between the supporting characters,and as a cherry on top,a half naked blonde showing her goods to Kirk,just for the hell of it.
The movie was a rip off of The Wrath of Khan and has action just for actions sake and had very little story and character development and none of the philosophy that made Star Trek great.There are so many things wrong with this movie when compared to the original series and movies.