Star Trek Into Darkness: The Enterprise Heads into Warp Drive

Director J.J. Abrams has been frank about the fact that he was not a Star Trek fan until he had to start working on the movie. As a result, 2009's Star Trek reboot served as a tremendous cinematic experience for both Trekkies and the uninitiated. I was enormously entertained despite never having seen a single episode of the original Star Trek series. Now Abrams has gathered the crew of the USS Enterprise together again for Star Trek Into Darkness, a sequel that is just as engaging and enjoyable as its predecessor.

The movie's opening sequence is action-packed, funny, and fantastical. The actors form a crew that seems genuinely fond of each other both onscreen and off. Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto, who play Captain Kirk and First Officer Spock, are expert at letting emotions flicker across their faces (a particular challenge for Quinto who has to play the half-human half-Vulcan Spock who prizes logic over emotion). Their relationship serves as the emotional core of the film, more so than Spock's relationship with Lieutenant Uhura (Zoe Saldana).

The movie's villain is John Harrison, a rogue Starfleet agent who is responsible for various terrorist attacks and needs to be captured or killed. Played by Benedict Cumberbatch, he is an awesome adversary for our heroes, possessed of superhuman strength, superior intellect, and the ability to deliver a menacing monologue that makes your blood curdle. There's a big revelation about his identity, which drives the rest of the movie forward and will delight Trekkies and/or people with only a cursory knowledge of Trek villainy. The movie also allows for some surprisingly relevant political discussion about the ethics of warfare and how terrorists should be treated. However, this is a summer blockbuster, so the moralizing is kept to a minimum and the audience is treated to incredible space sequences, twists and surprises, hilarious banter, and a rollicking good story.

As with any Hollywood movie, particularly of the sci-fi persuasion, there isn't a lot for the women to do. Uhura gets to take part in some action while mooning around as Spock's frustrated girlfriend, but Alice Eve, who plays Dr. Carol Marcus, a new Science Officer aboard the ship, has woefully little to contribute apart from stripping down to her skivvies. This is particularly galling coming from J.J. Abrams who brought female characters to such prominence on his TV shows. One can only hope that when the franchise continues, Uhura and Marcus have more scenes together and actually give this series a chance to pass the Bechdel test.

Star Trek Into Darkness is a fantastic movie for movie lovers, particularly those who love sci-fi. In his desire to not alienate non-Trekkies, Abrams may have made these characters slightly too Hollywood (particularly Spock, who many complain is much too emotional). It's the age-old dilemma of adapting something with a strong fan following - if you're faithful to the source material (e.g. like The Hobbit), the regular moviegoers complain, but if you're not strictly faithful, the fans get upset. However, the moviemakers have done a fine job of including allusions and inside jokes that will speak to Trekkies. I caught a few things but I'm sure most of the references flew right over my head. The special effects are top-notch, and this is actually a decent film to watch in 3D (I'll admit to jumping out of my seat at certain points when things came flying into the screen). The great storytelling and genuinely close-knit cast will keep the Star Trek franchise alive and well in coming years, and I look forward to following their adventures into the final frontier.