Star Trek: Into Darkness is...Trektastic!
J.J. Abrams has not only invigorated the Star Trek world for fans with his latest, ‘Star Trek: Into Darkness’ but should also be raising hopes for his next project, ‘Star Wars: Episode VII.’
Opening May 17, ‘Star Trek: Into Darkness’ is a sequel to the blockbuster 2009 reboot of the venerable Star Trek franchise created by Gene Roddenberry for television over forty years ago.
‘Into Darkness’ is a sequel that should please not only the casual Star Trek fan, but resonate even more deeply with longtime fans of the original series and films. There’s something here for everybody. ‘Into Darkness’ has action, humor, terrific chemistry amongst the cast of characters, not to mention some truly epic special effects.
If you are a fan of the original films and television series, there are some very nice additional touches and layers woven through this new film that will truly satisfy.
That’s not to suggest that only “Trekkers” or “Trekkies” will enjoy the film. It’s just that director Abrams has layered so many other story elements into this movie for longtime fans such as myself.
‘Star Trek: Into Darkness’ opens with Captain Kirk (Chris Pine), Mr. Spock (Zachary Quinto), and Dr. McCoy (Karl Urban) violating the “Prime Directive” of Starfleet Command. That directive is, essentially, to avoid interfering with the natural evolution of less-advanced civilizations.
As disciplinary measures are meted out to the senior officers of the Enterprise, the repercussions lead to Kirk coming into conflict with John Harrison (Benedict Cumberbatch) who is a former Starfleet Officer with a huge chip on his shoulder.
To divulge more about the movie might ruin the surprises in store for you. And here at Flixnerd…we don’t do spoilers. Why would you read a review to ruin a movie for you? That would be like buying someone a gift but telling them what’s inside before they can open it. That’s not our style.
Abrams, in a sense, has ironically violated the “prime directive” of remaking movies. His vision of ‘Star Trek’ is a complete re-imagining of the franchise. He has seamlessly taken some of the best elements of the relationships, plot lines and details from Roddenberry’s creation and blended them all into something that feels fresh and entertaining and exciting to watch.
Let’s face it, as the films with the original cast wore on into their sixth movie sequel, we went to those movies to see Shatner and Nimoy, et al because we loved the characters so much.
Director Abrams ‘Star Trek’ crackles with life and energy, originality, and fun. He has found a way to incorporate these facets into a creative universe that we already love to escape to.
J.J. Abrams makes greatly entertaining movies for popular audience experiences. Thank you, J.J.
Not only did I leave the theater wanting more (we know the seldom-mentioned Klingons must become important at some point) but cannot wait to see what Abrams does with ‘Star Wars: Episode VII’ which is currently scheduled for release in 2015.
In an earlier article, I compiled a list of my top five film sequels of all time. After seeing ‘Star Trek: Into Darkness’ I may need to reevaluate my list. It’s that good.
Flixnerd Rating: ★★★★☆
