Star Trek Into Darkness - "I have no idea what I'm supposed to do, I only know what I can do!"
Star Trek Into Darkness is every bit as riveting and exciting as its predecessor if not more so. The scale is grand, the story is cohesive and thought provoking & it's a visceral experience at the movies. All of the cast return as well as welcoming three newcomers Benedict Cumberbatch as the villain "John Harrison", Peter Weller as "Marcus" & Alice Eve as "Dr. Carol Marcus" (hubba hubba). All play pivotal roles that shape the focus of the film in ways that I didn't expect. Director J.J. Abrams is very secretive & protective of his scripts so few details were released before its worldwide premier, which makes for a rewarding time at the movies with all the twists and turns having their intended impact. The acting in film is unbelievable, Benedict Cumberbatch as the villain with that deep baritone voice is excellent, he's a much better villain than Eric Bana was as he actually poses a plausible threat to not only the USS Enterprise but the whole of Star Fleet. Chris Pine really had to step it up in this sequel and boy does he deliver, a very emotionally impacting performance & you really feel for him.
Zachary Quinto returns as Spock, it was interesting to see another side of him, his character arc in this film is much greater as his human half plays a greater role than his Vulcan half. The story as a whole reaches deep into space and we finally get to see some of Star Fleets greatest enemies such as the Klingon's. But it's difficult to digress anything further without ruining the very well written plot. Michael Giacchino returns as composer and his score is prevalent. I really feel as if this is the Empire Strikes Back of the Star Trek franchise, whilst there's plenty of entertaining action it's the character arcs that are the big focus of this feature. Visually it's stunning, ILM return as the visual effects producers and the cinematography is gorgeous, especially in the space suit flight scene. What's great about this sequel is that all our favourite characters have already been fleshed out and introduced in it's predecessor so the story is what's most important. There are even moments where you could tear up a little, even with it being a science fiction film set 2000 years into the future, we as an audience can relate to it because the trials and tribulations of the characters on a personal level establish a reciprocal relationship. Particularly Spock and Kirk, whilst they do have some familiar banter it's more along the lines of "I'm your captain now, you're my friend and I need to have my back at all times if we are to succeed" which is where Spock's human half comes into play.
It's a Star Trek film for Trekkies and Non-Trekkies and just overall film lovers, it's thrilling, effective, emotional & highly recommendable. Chances are if you don't like this film you're dead inside and have no business going to the movies and your opinion is invalid. In all seriousness though go out and see it as it's a wonderful science fiction film with a terribly intimidating villain and a huge payoff in it's conclusion. It's also not white-washed the cast are a collective of races, black, white, Asian, Indian, Russian.....Alien it's for everyone as it should be. This can only install hope in Star Wars fans across the globe as J.J. Abrams gears up for Star Wars VII. 5/5
The Bechdel Test: There were 2 female characters Dr. Carol Marcus & Uhura however they did not converse.
No comments:
Post a Comment