Valerie Ettenhofer
Staff Writer
If 2009’s reboot of “Star Trek” was the glossy origin story, “Into Darkness” is the darker, less self-assured next step.
Yes, the film still shines with the signature wit, simplified sci-fi and lens flare cinematography expected of its creator; geek god J.J. Abrams. Yet this second outing, which is free to answer the question “What next?” in any way possible, sometimes sticks with the familiar instead of ‘boldly going.’
Chris Pine returns as the cocksure captain James Kirk, but his confidence is quickly shattered by a death and a perceived betrayal early on in the film. This leaves room for a more vulnerable Kirk, whose levelheaded arrogance is tested throughout this installment by lose-lose situations.
Spock [Zachary Quinto] begins the film as humorously disconnected from human emotion as ever, but circumstances eventually allow him to appear as more than just a set of pointy ears and a statistician. The bromance between Spock and his captain will please fans of The Original Series, as they share moments both as cheesy and as touching as their previous incarnations ever did.
The plot of this film centers around a mysterious terrorist played by Benedict Cumberbatch of “Sherlock” fame. The actor nimbly maneuvers through action scenes and bared-teeth exchanges, all while keeping up a deep and deeply intimidating British drawl that marks him as a villain.
After Cumberbatch’s character makes an attack on London and escapes to Klingon territory, the Enterprise crew is tasked with finding and eliminating him.
The temporary militarization of Starfleet, which leads to much ethical debate among characters, is controlled by Peter Weller’s Admiral Marcus, a blustery, boring character with an agenda of his own. His daughter, played by Alice Eve, is reminiscent of the one-dimensional love interests or women-with-a-cause in the original series.
Once the Enterprise actually goes into darkness [after much shouting about losing signals, transport beams and failing power,] the plot picks up with a few twists and pulse-pounding moments.
A revelation about Cumberbatch’s character will likely leave fans divided, but a role reversal taken from the climax of an earlier “Star Trek” is sure to leave old and new fans emotional.
In a film overstuffed with life-or-death moments, the most genuine and enjoyable ones come in the final half-hour, when so much has gone wrong onboard the Enterprise that it would seem surprising if a character didn’t die.
While some nods to the original series seem too obvious, others, like the familiar final lines, will surely warm the hearts of even the most critical Trekkies.
