STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS

reviewed by Matthew Schuchman | Wednesday, May 15th, 2013

Star Trek Into Darkness

Paramount Pictures
133 min., dir. by JJ Abrams, with Chris Pine, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Zachary Quinto

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Dust off your Starfleet uniform, put on your pointy ears, and brush up on your Klingon — JJ Abrams and friends are back to bring you another adventure aboard the USS Enterprise. Through a deep thatch of blinding lens flair and an odd before and after title that even Pat Sajak would stop Vanna from revealing, Star Trek Into Darkness delivers everything one expects from it. High stakes action, flashy special effects, and new twists on a beloved universe all come through, but are weighed down by a questionable story that exploits and bastardizes aspects of the original TV and film series.

An indeterminate amount of time has passed since Captain Kirk (Chris Pine) and his crew saved the universe from the clutches of a mad Romulan. Unfortunately, Kirk’s rule-breaking exploits have him slated for a demotion. However, before the paperwork that would send Kirk back to the academy can be signed, a twisted terrorist blows up the Starfleet archives in central London. Soon enough, Kirk is back the game, tracking down the man responsible for this horrific crime at the behest of Starfleet Admiral Alexander Marcus (Peter Weller). Kirk and his crew learn that this murderer, John Harrison (Benedict Cumberbatch) is hiding out on the Klingon home world, Kronos. Loaded up with a stock pile of experimental torpedoes, Kirk is tasked with one order: find Harrison, point every single torpedo at his location, and fire. Will Kirk carry out his orders to willfully murder a man, or will he disobey his superiors to find out more information behind a highly questionable attack?

Suffice it say, there are points in this story that borrow heavily from previous Star Trek adventures. In fact, “borrow” is not even a strong enough word to illustrate the unoriginality of the film’s major sections. It’s fine to play off old character archetypes and foibles, but to rest all the emotional heights of your film on “clever” re-imaginings of historic events in the Star Trek canon simply doesn’t work.

The first JJ Abrams Star Trek film (2009) introduced the idea that it was set in an alternate universe. This means audiences could enjoy the same characters and somewhat similar situations, yet indulge in brand new adventures that did not have to play into every single aspect of the source material. However, with this film, Abrams and his writers fail to build on that idea, instead rehashing all the same old jokes and morality plays with their little twists and turns added in. They have an unimaginably high budget and all the new technology to play with, and all we get is just a fancier version of what we’ve already seen before. If you wanted to be in the business of remakes, don’t set up an alternate universe — either create something fresh, or just make a straight remake.

Since it’s unclear how much time has passed since the events of the 2009 film, it becomes harder to really connect with the crew. They still look young, but the viewer has to wonder: are they that young? Or are they meant to be older or wiser based on their fantastic exploits? Kirk maintains a child-like presence here, and I’m not sure if his stubbornness is borne of his young age, or is just a play on the original character. I do feel that Chris Pine reeled in his performance from the first picture and carries himself better this time, but it doesn’t change the fact I’m lost when it comes to the both the mental and physical age his version of Kirk is supposed to portray.

Overall there are no poor performances in the film, but everyone, even the brilliant Benedict Cumberbatch, has a scene of swelled-up over acting. Abrams seems to insist on have a lot of extreme closeups during every emotional scene, and the closer you get to someone’s face, the more grandiose and exaggerated their physical actions become.

Much like Iron Man 3, if you’re heading out to see Stark Trek Into Darkness for nothing more than action and adventure, you’ll be pleased. Even I could not be unimpressed with the best use of the Vulcan nerve pinch I’ve ever seen. While Star Trek Into Darkness feels like a tragic misstep to me in almost every way, I’m interested to see the oncoming debate between true die-hard Trekkies. It’s my feeling that this film is going to create a rift in the factions of adoring fans that have eagerly awaited the first full on adventure of the new Enterprise crew. There may be plenty to argue about with your friends when it comes to the unevenness of the film, but it doesn’t make up for the failure to create something new.

Matthew Schuchman is the founder and film critic of Movie Reviews From Gene Shalit’s Moustache and a contributor to Den of Geek.

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