A fatal flaw prevents perfection.
Released worldwide in May of 2013 - this $185-million dollar science-fiction action film, the twelfth
entry in the illustrious "Star Trek" franchise took home nearly $470 million.
Helmed by returning director J.J.
Abrams, this PG-13 rated space adventure, is an effective blend of everything we go
to the movies for; action, humor, visuals, story; and "Into Darkness" is a tremendously
enjoyable time because of it.
We re-join the crew of the Enterprise in the middle of precarious away-mission, as they
frantically attempt to save a primitive planet from a deadly volcano.
This fantastic cold-open is perfect encapsulation of entertaining cinema.
When I hook up a new TV for the first time, this is the Blu-Ray I pop in to test the colors,
and sound... but I always get distracted by the adventure itself.
Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban, John Cho, Simon Pegg, Anton Yelchin,
and Bruce Greenwood all return to the roles they were so perfectly cast-in for 2009's
"Star Trek".
Thankfully, every player's unique, and often amusing personality quirks are able to shine
in the 133-minute film.
This is especially true for Pine and Quinto, whom once again showcase impeccable and believable
chemistry.
Facing insurmountable stakes, Pine confesses to his Vulcan first officer, "I have no idea
what I'm supposed to do.
I only know what I can do."
This is a more vulnerable version of Kirk than we've ever seen before - and he's far
more compelling as a result.
Despite only having one other film under their belt, it's honestly hard not to have an emotional
connection to these well-defined characters.
Joining the group is Alice Eve as a sexy science officer — ostensibly introduced as a eye-candy
— but provocatively featured for but a mere second; Peter "Robocop" Weller as a Federation
admiral whose curious motivation and unenthusiastic delivery make him mostly an afterthought;
and Benedict Cumberbatch who positively steals the show as the enigmatic "John Harrison":
a fiercely intelligent, well-spoken, and cut-throat adversary who challenges our heroes to their
deadliest showdown yet.
When he taunts the Enterprise crew by maniacally asking, "Shall we begin?"
- the tension and anxiety are ramped up considerably.
To explain — or perhaps appropriately, complain — about my biggest gripe with the twelfth
"Star Trek" film, I must spoil a major twist.
Cumberbatch is fantastic as the bad guy - but he turns out to be a very familiar villain;
Khan Noonien Singh - the augmented superhuman originally portrayed by Ricardo Montalbán
in the original TV series, and second feature film.
As I've strongly argued before, outside-media and source material should never be used as
a comparison or exposition.
In other words; if I have to read a book to understand a movie, the movie is poorly written.
Unless it's a direct-sequel, each film should stand on its own.
So when Cumberbatch dramatically reveals his true identity to be Khan, it's a completely
meaningless moment.
Through the "single-film" prism, this major plot-twist makes absolutely no sense, and
has zero impact on the story itself.
In this rebooted 'Kelvin' timeline, Kirk and Khan have no history together, let alone an
adversarial relationship.
The only in-universe purpose for this name-switch is to shoehorn in a Skype call from Leonard
Nimoy.
The all-too-brief appearance from the aging actor — functioning merely as an expositional
mouthpiece — only cheapens the wonderful integration his "Spock Prime" character had
in the previous film.
Realistically, the only thing either of these scenes accomplish is highlighting the drastic
alterations to Khan's appearance and continuity.
Even worse, Nimoy's quick cameo would be his last acting credit.
And what's most upsetting is how easily fixable these mistakes are; keep Cumberbatch as a
new villain, and remove Nimoy's part completely.
Without the shameless fan-service that drastically retcons a classic character, the movie is
a unqualified success.
That gigantic and inescapable mistake notwithstanding, "Into Darkness" effortlessly slides from light-hearted
action to its dramatic conclusion with break-neck pacing.
Michael Giacchino's wonderful score provides a deep backbone, the sharp and witty writing
help keep the material accessible to all audiences, ILM's incredible visual effects sell the futuristic
and exotic settings, while Easter-eggs give throwback glimpses to past entries in the
series.
Although it relies a bit too heavily on tired ticking-clock mechanisms to maintain tension,
a hectic space jump sequence, that sees Pine slaloming between space debris is undeniably
thrilling - especially the way it finishes.
The
final minutes are gripping, emotional, and wonderful to watch unfold, as the picture
plays homage to the original series.
Sure, there are a myriad of plot-holes and scientific conveniences, but if you're able
to overlook the ways it dishonors its namesake, it's actually an thoroughly entertaining film
on many viewings.
Perhaps the franchise's strongest entry, "Star Trek Into Darkness" is a gripping adventure
with blockbuster thrills and laughs.
Now lets hear your thoughts from the YouTube comments.
Critical of the rehashed elements central to the plot, the "Movie Night" audience was
very undecided on this picture, with your scores averaging to a SEVEN out of ten.
If not for the foolishly pointless twist - this movie becomes one of my favorite sci-fi action
movies.
But, they screwed it up.
So while it's still a supremely entertaining flick, I can only rate this an AWESOME.
That does it for this quick excerpt - but if you'd like to watch full episodes of "Movie
Night", and submit your own reviews to be included on the show, please visit the Jogwheel
YouTube channel.
My name is Jonathan Paula, thanks for watching and have a good Movie Night!