by Joseph Rossi
Star Trek: Into Darkness is the best film of this warhorse of a franchise. Director J.J. Abrams has crafted a sci-fi tale of extraordinary depth and character that moves at a lighting pace with the occasional stop here and there for a little exposition and some welcome emotion.
What was set up in the 2009 film was the idea of a separate universe where the events of the first series of films and this newer, more high tech venture, clashed together thus granting the filmmakers access to old storylines in a new reality. Complicated? Hey, it’s Star Trek. Get used to it.
This isn’t a normal review. I watched the special screening last night as a fan and not as a film critic. Can’t I do both? Yes and no. Last night, I felt the audience dictated how I felt. People cheered, laughed, clapped and I went along with them. I found it a satisfying film experience based on the environment of that screening. Now, I’m taking my son over the weekend to an early show. Hopefully it won’t be full of rabid fans and teenage action junkies.
This isn’t a standard summer movie plot. There are complexities within it. The film starts off with Spock facing certain death and believing that the right thing to do is to sacrifice himself for the good and safety of his crew. That doesn’t sit well Captain Kirk, who breaks federation laws in order to save him. Spock, having lost his family to an act of terror, sees his attempt at self-sacrifice as the only way to save the only family he has left. He is the opposite of Kirk, who having lost his father to war, doesn’t want to lose anyone on his crew. I find these are pretty heavy themes for a summer movie extravaganza.
The movies theme of family and loyalty extends into the motives of some other major characters, most notably the films antagonist, intergalactic terrorist John Harrison, played with malicious elegance by Benedict Cumberbatch. Into Darkness borrows, and I use the term loosely, from Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan. The character of John Harrison has ties to that film. I will not say but anyone who is familiar with that film will understand about 30 minutes in. Seeing that this is an alternate reality, we have no choice to accept this. And it’s for the better. The films writers have a love for the older generation and it spills wonderfully into their work.
Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto make us forget about Shatner and Nimoy and make Kirk and Spock their own. The rest of the cast does a wonderful job but in all honesty, we’re not really following the antics of Sulu and Checkov. The crew makes for a good chuckle here and there (Karl Urban’s “Bones” is a classic) but this story belongs to the Captain and his first officer. And John Harrison. The reasons of his motives extend into the upper ranks of the federation and into the lap of an important admiral (Peter Weller, welcome back) and his daughter (Alice Eve).
The filmmakers have made a movie that not only plays homage to a classic Sci-Fi film of the 80’s, it holds up well on its own. It’s that good. And for anyone who is wondering how J.J.Abrams will do at the helm of the Star Wars franchise; after seeing this film, he’ll do fine.
