Captain James T. Kirk (Chris Pine) has officially worn out his
welcome. Starfleet has grown quite weary
of his blatant disregard for protocol. Unfortunately,
there are far more pressing matters afoot.
A mysterious new enemy (Benedict Cumberbatch) has declared all-out war
on the federation. Kirk is given
clearance to seek out him out and destroy him if necessary. With the crew of the U.S.S Enterprise in
tow, he sets course for the Klingon home world.
Together, they will engage a foe unlike any they have ever faced.
Star Trek Into
Darkness is the direct sequel to J.J. Abrams successful franchise
reboot. It’s also the 12th Star Trek film. This time out, the proceedings aren’t without
a certain feeling of Déjà vu. That’s to
be expected with a sequel. However,
Abrams sticks a bit closer to cannon this time out. Before, he sought to wipe the slate clean and
start anew. This time he recycles and reinterprets
past ideas. Thankfully, such pilfering does not hinder the film’s entertainment
value.
Just as before, Star
Trek Into Darkness bares all of Abrams’ visual trademarks. The ever present lens flares are a given at
this point. The framing and use of space
emphasizes closeness of proximity. That
sense of spatial economy heightens the intensity of the verbal exchanges. Every situation presented rings with
immediacy. Abrams has also grown bolder
with his stylistic flourishes. Subtitles
appear at the lower corners of the screen rather than in the middle, as do
timestamps. It’s a more refined
approximation of the latter part of Tony Scott’s filmography. Though effective, it often comes off more
like a frenzied distraction than a deliberate nuance.
Abrams takes an adventure serial approach to the action that
might be better suited for his upcoming Star
Wars film. He stresses forward
momentum at the expense of all else. Like
the films visual style, this plays as a diversionary tactic. Save for a nice little game of “dodge the space
debris” (which plays a call back to The
Empire Strikes Back) most of the set
pieces feel indistinct. That’s not to
say that any are substandard, just that many of them don’t really stand
out. Like Spielberg, Abrams is deathly
afraid of boring his audience. I can
hardly blame him for that, but just a little more ingenuity wouldn’t have hurt.
From a screenwriting standpoint, Star Trek into Darkness might’ve benefited from one less cook in
the kitchen. There are a number of
inverted callbacks to an earlier franchise entry. As with so many of today’s blockbusters, the
overly convoluted plot relies too heavily on twists and surprises. The villain’s scheme is needlessly
complicated. He isn’t just cunning, but conveniently psychic. The same goes for the crew of the U.S.S Enterprise. When characters should be able to anticipate
each other’s moves, their aforementioned psychic abilities inexplicably fail
them. The internal logic is
inconsistent, and nearly derails the film at certain points.
Like its predecessor, Into
Darkness succeeds largely on the strength of its cast. Supporting members have reduced their
characterizations to an amusing short hand.
The trio of Kirk, Spock, and Uhura is given the spotlight. All three bring their A-Game. Zachary Quinto brings a penetrable humanity
to Spock. Benedict Cumberbatch makes a compelling
villain, the true identity of whom will be obvious to devout Trekkies. The film’s conception of him owes much to
Ridley Scott’s Alien. He’s an amalgam of the android Ash and the
xenomorph. That comparison may sound
farfetched, but it makes sense upon closer analysis.
Star Trek Into
Darkness does its job efficiently.
It allows the current cinematic iteration of the franchise to survive just
a little while longer. It looks great
while zooming past the viewer at highway level speeds. However, it doesn’t stop long enough for one
to appreciate the craftsmanship. That is
by design, because the product is obviously flawed. Abrams needs to slow down a
bit and pay more attention to detail. Star Trek has endured on the strength of
its ideas and concepts. A Star Trek
movie shouldn’t just be an amusement. It
should truly resonate on a deeper level.
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