Film Review: Star Trek Into Darkness

**Spoilers**
If you have not yet seen this film, please go and do so before proceeding.

        No. I didn't forget the colon. They did, though. But nit-picking those who are far more successful than me is not what I am here to do. I am here to review this strange film that has managed to both fascinate and bewilder me at the same time. Normally I make a rule of not reviewing the films that I consider my own personal 'guilty pleasures' because I can't really do them justice. I'll either spend the entire review fangirling over the one redeeming factor of the experience or ruthlessly shredding the story for every plot hole and unrealistic convenience. But I just couldn't pass this one up.

      Though I was not a fan of the Star Trek 2009 film and I do not consider myself a hardcore fan of any of the original series' or films, this particular incarnation of the saga has wormed its way into my heart and become one of my favorite movies of all time. No it's not because BC stars as the sort-of villain. I don't make a favorite film choice based solely on who the actors are. Yes while the performance of the cast is important, I don't go into a movie expecting to like it just because Benedict Cumberbatch or any of the other blokes happens to be in it. Though I have to say that his villain is worlds ahead of the last film's, in both writing and acting.

     This film is an interesting study in emotional experience. The story itself is rife with the aforementioned plot holes and unrealistic conveniences. It contradicts itself many times and has plenty of things that don't add up whenever you really think about them.

Favorite Moments & Highlights:

- The casting for this film is just perfect. I know I raved about them in my review of the last one, but I'm going to say it again because they've only gotten better with time. Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Simon Pegg, and the rest are just awesome in the roles. I haven't seen every episode of the old television series', but I've seen enough to get a fair handle on the essence of the characters and these new actors just embody it. There was one moment in particular where Pine, as Kirk, was firing at Khan's ship and I paused the player to squee and splutter a bit because I could have sworn that it was a younger version of Shatner standing there. It was uncanny...but in a good way.

- And yet, despite the fact that they've managed to mimic the mannerisms and quirks of the original cast perfectly, these characters never feel like caricatures. Everyone has captured the original characters, while still bringing their own charm and touch to these icons. Zoe Saldana, in particular, has done wonders in fleshing out Uhura's character. Let's face it, ladies and gents. In the original series, the women of the crew could be a bit...one note. The focus was primarily put on the Spock-Kirk-Bones trio (and the occasional redshirt) and the girls ended up being either eye-candy or issue-of the week. But here, helped out by the writing, Saldana has given us an Uhura that is smart, capable, and who keeps her boyfriend vulcan in line with plenty of no-nonsense snark and charm. She's not fully fledged yet as to what I would dare to call a 'strong' woman, but she's pretty darn close. As for Carol Marcus...well, the less said about her infamous underwear scene the better, but I think she is actually quite an interesting character that bears further examination in future films.

- I love how Kirk instructs the two crew-members to "Lose the red shirts" before they go off on their mission. Ha! Funny inside joke!

- The Spock/Uhura relationship was handled much better in this film than in the last. No juvenile guilting your boyfriend moves here. I even don't mind their little squabble in the confiscated ship because it was funny and it does make sense that Uhura would want to clear the air before they go to potential death.

- This film had a lot more humor in it than the last one did. Now that's a highlight, not a complaint. One of my problems with Star Trek 2009, now that I think about it, is that it tried to take certain things WAY too seriously. Lighten up! You've decided to go more the action-sci-fi route than the original series did, so don't try to take the same deep tone. You're not dealing with the same subject matter! Also...the original series wasn't devoid of humor either. Especially the early, EARLY stuff which has a campy, Classic Who-eque charm to it.

- Speaking of Doctor Who...the Star Fleet officer Khan uses in Act 1 is played by Noel Clark. Clark also played Mickey Smith from Series' 1, 2, and 4 of Doctor Who.

- I really need to talk about the soundtrack for this film now, because it is definitely a highlight! While the music for the last Star Trek was good, these new tracks are memorable. I get the tunes stuck in my head (especially that piano one) and my emotions swell every time I hear the themes. That's when I know I've found a good piece of music!

- The special effects also looked great. I'm no expert in this sort of thing, but I do watch a lot of fantasy and sci-fi, so I have seen a variety of CGI and other effects to varying degrees of competence, so I do have a good idea of what constitutes bad and decent. I even like the lens flares because they give the atmosphere and very crisp and futuristic look, with the light glinting off all of the chrome and alloys.

- Okay. So you knew I was going to get around to talking about him sooner or later, so let's just do it: Benedict Cumberbatch as John Harrison/Khan. But what can I say about the guy that hasn't already been said? He's brilliant? Well that's a no-brainer! Mr. Cumberbatch has established himself as one of the greats simply because he throws his all into any performance. Even back before he got super-famous (back whenever he was William Pitt the Younger and Stephen Hawking) you could see that he was just having a great time with all the roles and really giving it everything he had. And he scares me in this film. Remember how I said that I was rather underwhelmed by Eric Bana brooding in the shadows last film? Yeah. A villain can really make-or-break a movie like this and I think the reason Into Darkness is so much better is because of Cumberbatch's performance. The scene where he takes down Marcus scares me to death. There's just something so cold and savage about it...and it's wonderful. It's everything that a villain should be.

- And, of course, this spawned a whole PLETHORA of Sherlock crossover fics. Hey...we were in a Hiatus and that drives us all a little bit crazy!

- The last real highlight of this film are the emotions. This is very much an emotion-fueled story. When reviewing movies and television, you always have to ask yourself this question: do I give the rating based on the quality of the writing/production or on the quality of the overall experience? I've always felt that it should be based on the overall experience. Many times bad writing and production will impact the emotional side of things, so actually rating based on the overall experience can be astonishingly accurate. Now this doesn't mean switch off your brain. Goodness knows a lot of people like Independence Day and that is a TERRIBLE piece of guilty pleasure fodder, but the emotional side of a film has merit too. After all, what's the point of watching something if you're not emotionally invested in it. For those of us who don't have that dream job were we are paid to review films and spend our days thinking about nostalgia and media, there isn't one. So why waste your precious time watching something you don't care about? There isn't a reason. So I always say that if a movie emotionally impacts me to the point that I'm not half-laughing at the terrible writing, I should give it a free pass just this once. Star Trek Into Darkness is my Independence Day. Every time I watch it I get swept up in the experience to the point that I don't even notice the plot holes and melodrama until well after the fact. That's gotta count for something, right?

        Okay, so that was all of the good. Now allow me to list off some...issues I take with this film. I don't even think they require a whole lot of explanation. There aren't all that many and I'm sure many others have complained about them too. But without further ado...

1. Carol Marcus Underwear. Why was this scene in there? It added nothing to the film, didn't go anywhere, and set feminism back a few decades. Honestly I think the only reason it was included as for the trailers so that males watching who (for some bewildering reason) aren't into sci-fi will want to come see this film. Sort of like the X-Men trailers showing lots of Mystique.
2. Uhura Butt-shot. Again: Why?! This wasn't even shown in the trailers, so there was literally no reason for the camera to linger on her rear as she walks bravely out to confront the Klingons. We should be cheering for her intellect there...not be distracted by how good she looks in leggings.
3. Bringing Kirk Back To Life. I know they set up that resurrection with the tribble and the comment about Khan's blood early on in the episode, but this still feels like a major cop-out. A good way for the film to end would be with Kirk dead after nobly sacrificing his life for his crew and then the next movie could start out with them trying to bring him back. But no...can't leave the hot captain out. That would be taking a risk!
4. Spock Mind-Meld/Rape. I hesitate to fling the word 'rape' about flippantly, as I feel it is used far too much on the Internet to the point that we've lost sense of the horror of it, but there really is no other term to use here. The actors try SO hard to sell it...but the scene where Spock joins with Pike's consciousness (without his permission and for no clear reason) is just unnecessary and a bit disgusting. 
5. Spock Prime a la deus ex machina. Look. I'm on board with this being a new and modern reboot of the original canon. I'm even on board with the (flimsy) alternate reality explanation that was rammed down our throats with the last film. What I am not on board with is the constant use of old!Spock as an ace in the hole to get our heroes out of each and every dead end they hit, thus removing all stakes and negating the necessity of an alternate timeline to begin with...not to mention invoking the 'self-fulfilling prophecy' enigma. Besides, wouldn't Spock Prime's foreknowledge be pretty useless now because of the canon divergences? Augh! I'm done trying to figure this mess out. I think even THE DOCTOR would have problems trying to make sense of it. 

      But yeah. That was really all that actually got my eye twitching. Everything else is just minor nit-picks and aforementioned plot holes that don't actually detract from the viewing experience.

My customary end-of-the-review Chekhov pic...

        This film is just a lot of fun. Yes there are issues with the story and logic, but the heart and emotions really pull through and the problems just become part of the fun to joke about and debate with your friends even as you kick back to watch it again. The cast is perfect, the music wonderful, the SFX gorgeous, and it's just a great, light-but-adventurous experience to watch again and again. Star Trek Into Darkness is a 4/5.

What did you think? Do you agree with my rating? If not - what would you say differently?