Star Trek: Into Darkness

"When were you going to tell me that?"

"When it became relevant, as it just did."

While on a Starfleet mission, Captain James Kirk (Pine) disobeys an order to rescue Commander Spock (Quinto).  Spock reports the incident and Kirk is demoted to 2nd officer, under his mentor Admiral Pike (Greenwood).  They are immediately called to a meeting of all the Starfleet leaders to locate a rogue officer, John Harrison (Cumberbatch), who destroyed a Starfleet archive.  Harrison attacks the meeting, killing many of the leaders, including Pike.

Fleet Admiral Marcus (Weller) reinstates Kirk's command, with orders to find and destroy Harrison.  The mission causes divisions in the team, especially when the USS Enterprise is equipped with prototype photon torpedoes.  They also are assigned a new member, Dr. Carol Marcus (Eve), a weapons expert.  Can the team stay together and save the world?


In 2009, J.J. Abrams re-imagined / rebooted the Star Trek franchise.  They effectively reset the stories and characters from the original TV show.  It was a risky move, would fans accept it and could the producers / new cast do justice to the show while making it feel fresh and new.  The risk paid off and the producers and cast were asked to return for a sequel.

This film is actually the reason I watched Abrams 2009 Star Trek film.  My boss is a Star Trek fan and raved about Abrams films.  He suggested I watch the 2009 film, and then watch Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan to prepare... and it was good advice.

The story is strong, a nice mix of action and storytelling that keeps you on the edge of your seat throughout.  While it isn't necessary to come into the film with any previous knowledge (although watching the 2009 film probably helps so you understand the relationships in the film), it did help to watch The Wrath of Khan moments before launching into this... because the story plays on some of the dialogue and story from that film.  They even preserved the scream "Khan!", although a different character gets to yell it this time.  In addition, the film features nods to the TV show and films for the diehard fans.

Once again the cast is good and works well as an ensemble.  While the story still focuses on Captain Kirk and Spock, other characters had the opportunity to shine.  They also introduced compelling new characters with Alice Eve and Benedict Cumberbatch.  Eve's character sparked controversy with the scene of her in her underwear... and Cumberbatch is engrossing (as always) in his role.

I look forward to seeing if they make more films (I think they could easily make more) and what other aspects of the show / films they take on next.

Star Trek: Into Darkness (2013) 132 minutes
Director: J.J. Abrams
Rating: PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi action and violence
Starring: Chris Pine as Captain James Kirk
Zachary Quinto as Commander Spock
Zoe Saldana as Lieutenant Nyota Uhura
Karl Urban as Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy
Simon Pegg as Lieutenant Commander Montgomery "Scotty" Scott
John Cho as Lieutenant Hikaru Sulu
Benedict Cumberbatch as Commander John Harrison
Anton Yelchin as Ensign Pavel Chekov
Bruce Greenwood as Admiral Christopher Pike
Peter Weller as Fleet Admiral Alexander Marcus
Alice Eve as  Dr. Carol Marcus