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Star Trek Into Darkness (3D)

Paramount Pictures
What it's about:

When the crew of the Enterprise is called back home, they find that an unstoppable force of terror from within their own organisation has detonated the fleet and everything it stands for, leaving the world in a state of crisis. With a personal score to settle, Captain Kirk leads a manhunt to a war-zone world to capture a one-man weapon of mass destruction.

What we thought:

Early in Star Trek Into Darkness, Scottie turns to Captain Kirk and asks something along the lines of, "Is this a military operation or are we explorers?" It's an apt question as one could similarly ask of the film whether it is an action film or science fiction. More on that later.

When Starfleet suffers a brutal attack perpetrated by a rogue officer, John Harrison, Kirk and his crew are tasked with hunting Harrison down and killing him (with a missile, because you want to be certain when it comes to these matters). As it turns out, things aren’t as simple as they first appear, and figuring out what’s going on takes the crew of the Enterprise into the dark corners of Starfleet.

As far as this reviewer is concerned, Star Trek Into Darkness is, without a doubt, an action movie and taken as that, it is entirely acceptable fare. It features some exhilarating sequences (a space-jump between two ships is a particularly thrilling example) and your appetite for spectacle will certainly be satisfied. What is disappointing, however, is how the film squanders the opportunities presented by its world and its supposed genre.

The crew of the Enterprise have a ship that can explore new worlds and cultures light-years away from our own. In this film the crew goes to another planet to blow things up, kick, shoot and otherwise maim its inhabitants (the Klingons, not that it has much bearing on matters). Perhaps that's a commentary on American foreign policy but I'm not so sure.

The film wears all the expected clothing of the science fiction genre, i.e. futuristic tech, shiny clothes, spaceships, etc. but it doesn't explore the possibilities of what any of these things could mean, merely employs them as adornments in its breathless rush from one plot point to the next.

The performances are good, though one gets the feeling they would be better if Abrams slowed things down and let his characters breath a bit. Chris Pine is once more cocky, brash and hot-headed as Kirk, though I do wish he'd be allowed to grow up and leave the boyishness behind. Zachary Quinto is fine as Spock, nothing more, nothing less. Benedict Cumberbatch, as the villain Harrison, manages the trick of being very good while still feeling wasted.

More than its pretence of science fiction, the most annoying thing about Star Trek Into Darkness is how often it references earlier films in the series. Presumably, this was meant to appeal to the fans, but I can't imagine any fans enjoying this when it's done in such a clumsy, contrived manner as it's done in this film. 

Which brings us to the sad irony of Star Trek Into Darkness, which is that, for a film that so proudly uses that famous dialogue ("To boldly go where no man has gone before...") it doesn't actually go where others haven't gone before. In fact, it happily goes where others have gone before, and it does so without bringing much that is new to the table.

Put simply, if you liked the 2009 film, you'll probably enjoy this one. It's often quite funny, the special effects are top draw, it's action packed and, like the earlier film, moves like a runaway train.

Still, it's likely that you'll forget about it once you leave the cinema and, sadly, it wastes the opportunities that its sci-fi roots afford it.

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