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| Earth's darkest hour. John Harrison (Benedict Cumberbatch) takes STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS. Images: PARAMOUNT. |
STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS
Starring
Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto and Benedict Cumberbatch
Written
by Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman and Damon Lindelof
Directed
by J.J. Abrams
A PARAMOUNT
PICTURES release, showing in UK cinemas in 2D, 3D and IMAX from May 9th
2013
Reviewed by Scott
Weller
NOTE: If you haven't seen the first three trailers for the film, this review contains mild but potential SPOILERS.
“At the end of the universe lies the beginning of
vengeance.”
Okay, so it’s the
legendary tag line for the original, mighty STAR TREK movie series blood and
guts adventures that was 1982’s iconic THE WRATH OF KHAN, but that films words
of drama and exciting promise also prove relevant and prescient to the plot and
characters in the intense but fun thrill ride that is J.J. Abrams latest warp
speed exploration- nay, re-imagining- into Gene Roddenberry’s world audience
popular universe, grabbing us by the lapels and thrusting into the unstable wormhole
that is INTO DARKNESS!
Starting off on
the kind of fun note that was prevalent in their debut film of 2009, the heroic
and determined crew of the U.S.S.
Enterprise begin their second digital spectacle with an Indiana Jones-esque race against time to
save an alien populace from the fiery destructive core of an exploding volcano.
But Kirk soon finds himself in deep trouble with his superiors at Star Fleet Command
after making a critical decision gone bad, basically overriding the galaxy-spanning
law that is the Prime Directive (a rule we all know Kirk often liked to bend or
break to his own viewpoint in the original series). But when a devastating
attack threatens the well-being of the Federation, from a mysterious,
highly-placed terrorist known as John Harrison, our heroes are soon engaged in
a deadly, high-stakes cat and mouse pursuit against a foe that seemingly knows
their every move…
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| Federation's finest! Spock (Zachary Quinto) and Kirk (Chris Pine) are back. |
Trying to keep some
of the Roddenberry-esque influences that made the original series and films so
notable, fan boy writers Orci, Kurtzman and Lindelof carve out a story relevant
to humanity and the times we live in. With a plot that could genuinely have
been pulled from todays headlines with regards to the war on terror in places
like Afghanistan and Iraq, the feel of INTO DARKNESS definitely corresponds to
the often dangerous and unsettled life and times we’ve been thrust into,
especially linked to the American superpower of the Barack Obama administration
and its inherited war on terror (in the 23rd Century we see techno-warfare
equivalents to drone weapons, whilst the films middle act has the techno baddie
Harrison sheltering in hard to reach territory-definitely shades of the US’s
determined hunt for Bin Laden in the films middle act). The original sixties
show ultimately echoed the bold, intelligent, inquisitive hopes and dreams of
the Kennedy era. Some of that positive idealism can still be found in Abrams
imagining, but less so than that was seen in his first breakout TREK adventure.
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| Changing time-lines. John Harrison (Benedict Cumberbatch) is a villain by any other name. |
Taking place a
year or so after the events of the Romulan Nero’s time travelling havoc, the writers
enjoy their crafting of the new TREK universe, and all of them know its
history, celebrating it. There are some nice references to previous STAR TREK
TV series (most notably DEEP SPACE NINE- linked to the kind of conspiracy plot
that should have been seen on a big scale in one of the previous TREK movies: Insurrection), and a surprise from a
familiar face that will most definitely warm the cockles of your heart. Watch
out too for another iconic TREK alien whose usefulness proves all-important to
the plot and one of our heroes.
The continuity and
timelines of the original series, now evaporated into a separate parallel era,
are further played about with, and positively stretched in and out, by the trio.
Their deconstruction and inversion of THE WRATH OF KHAN, still the unbeaten
TREK movie in my opinion, is clever, but perhaps too clever for its own good,
notably in the final act, with so much going on that the film starts to suffer
in its pacing structure as its breathlessly moves towards that big finish-perhaps
hampering the overall emotional impact of the story and characters on our
mindset. Such is the curse of all modern blockbusters.
As darker storytelling
times unfold at the cinemas, we need our shining STAR TREK heroes more than
ever to light the way-this movie continuing to explore the diversely
fascinating group “family” exploring the galaxy, and protecting us, from their glistening
bridge on the Enterprise. They’re not
quite the effective team that was seen in the classic series, but this new film
series is gradually working towards it, building and keeping character interest
at the same time.
Chris Pine shines
brighter than ever as James Tiberius Kirk, cementing himself as a worthy
successor to the iconic William Shatner. He’s still the
bed-hopping ladies man of the last film, charmingly brash and impulsive, with
that twinkle in his eye that Shatner often brought to his character in the
original series. But Pine isn’t a caricature of The Shat or Kirk-bringing his
own edge and style to the role. There’s some nice character moments here where
his ego has to be reined in and tempered by the return of his mentor, Captain
Christopher Pike- another fine supporting turn from Bruce Greenwood.
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| Captain Kirk is up to his neck in danger- again! |
This time out, Kirk’s
confidence and belief in himself is tested to the limit during his event packed
first year commanding the Enterprise,
some of his decision making and risk-taking getting him into trouble as he is
forced into questioning and re-evaluating his capabilities and instincts. The
winds of destructive change, however, soon sees him undertake his deadliest
mission yet when the horrific attack on Star Fleet’s top brass is initiated by
Harrison, sending send him out on a perilous, personal vendetta quest to
capture the self-outcast, laying in wait in the ruins of a wrecked city on the
hostile planet of the Klingons: Kronos.
On that journey, INTO
DARKNESS is clearly Kirk’s true courage under fire test. In this dangerous
game, has he overreached himself? The Kobayashi Maru test that Kirk never
liked to lose, and which he always treated as a game, becomes very real for our
hero in the spectacular final act.
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| Spock has a cool-down moment. |
The yang to Kirk’s
yin, Zachary Quinto once again plays Vulcan First Officer Spock with integrity
and respect to Leonard Nimoy, whilst adding his own unique flourishes, and
aggression, to the character. His head may be based in logic but his heart
remains humanly fragile - just as rash and impulsive as Kirk in many scenarios,
but using the veil of his intelligent reasoning to justify his actions against
his Captain, unable to stretch to his rules, and the sometimes
unorthodox but clever command decisions he reaches. They’re not thumping each
other’s brains in like the last film, but the bond between Kirk and Spock, so
important in the original series, hasn’t yet happened as the film starts.
Though the turn of events witnessed by them during its exhilarating end will
surely change things for the better. Spock’s idealism, loyalty and courage will
be just as supremely tested as Kirk’s when they encounter John Harrison for the
first time.
A ship needs its
Captain, but a Captain also needs his crew. And Kirk’s got the best in Star
Fleet. All of our iconic supporting cast have moments in the sun, but they’re sadly
all too brief. Karl Urban’s Dr. McCoy continues to be a fun tribute to the
talents of the late, much-missed DeForest Kelly, but, against expectations, he’s
yet to form his part of the all-important troika with Kirk and Spock that
became so standout in the original series. Perhaps they’ll be a better chance of
that with the next film.
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| A danger-ready Uhura (Zoe Saldana) takes on a mighty foe. |
John Cho as Hikaru
Sulu and Anton Yelchin as whizz-kid Pavel Chekov get little screen time, whilst
Zoe Saldana is mostly wasted as Uhura after such a good entrance and early
character development in the first movie. INTO DARKNESS shows her in an on/off
moody state over her relationship with Spock. Though its good to see her out
and about on away team missions, as Nichelle Nichols interpretation should have
been back in the sixties, this talented and beautiful actress deserves better.
I don’t want these guys ending up the way the original supporting cast were-
basically neglected- in the later eighties TREK films.
And though he has
a reasonably good side-plot here, I’m sorry to say that I’m still not a fan of
Simon Pegg’s playing of Scotty, making it even more of a stereotype than the
stalwart Jimmy Doohan ever did in the series (or even the later movies). And
can we please make Scotty a little less of a whinge bag next time, and a bit braver- Jimmy Doohan’s
portrayal wasn’t afraid to get stuck into the action when he had to!
With equal and
opposite reaction, there has to be a dastardly villain, and the idea of resurrecting
and reimagining a classic baddie from the original and legendary film and TV series
must surely have proved too irresistible to let go by both PARAMOUNT and the
writers. But it also proves a poison chalice in some respects, as their choice
of antagonist has a lot to live up to-not only in his villainous interplay with
Kirk, but also in having to sustain himself on-screen without coming across as
a rehash of the past.
His US fame
launched by Spielberg, Brit star made good Benedict Cumberbatch may at first have
seemed an unusual choice of villain, but his casting proves wise the moment you
see him on screen. Hollywood loves our British thesps too much to not have them
play to the dark side, and Cumberbatch’s confident presence as the nexus for
INTO DARKNESS is better than I expected- at his finest in the film’s first half
when he’s “John Harrison”, as it all builds towards his confrontation with Kirk
and co. Cumberbatch spars particularly well with Chris Pine. But who has “the superior
intellect”?
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| A one-man army. The hunted Harrison fights back! |
Possessing the
impressive, haunting and menacing voice required for the role, Cumberbatch also
has a top notch physical frame to back his character up- the terrorist leader
with a dangerous secret showing his martial arts training to the fullest during
an effective fight sequence against the Klingons (seen in the teaser trailers)-
finally getting their brief but memorable time in the sun after their prior
deleted participation from Abrams first TREK.
Harrison’s
physical strength also shows in an exciting fight between him and Spock, the
two opponents possessing similar abilities, in a crowd-pleasing hand to hand
sequence whose original green screen filming had previously been leaked out to
the world and annoyed JJ Abrams.
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| Lovers-to-be? Carol Marcus (Aliced Eve) and Kirk. |
Rounding out a
fine guest cast, Ex-Robocop hero/legend
Peter Weller has a bigger part in the film than I anticipated as Admiral Marcus
- which is great, whilst British actress Alice Eve plays his daughter,
scientist Carol (another deliberate link to THE WRATH OF KHAN), giving a solid
and cute performance, though the anticipated romance between her and Kirk fails
to materialize – perhaps being saved for another film. Oh, and she’s got a
great figure, too.
Keeping the
British end up, watch out for a brief but important cameo from DOCTOR WHO’s
Noel Clarke as a family man whose worries for his wife and sick child lead
to devastating consequences. Finally, in nice continuity to the previous
adventure, it’s fun to have Deep Roy back for the ride as Scotty’s little alien helper in
engineering, Keenser.
Deliberately
keeping a lot of the film Earthbound so as not to alienate general audiences
(who, watching a sci-fi film, can’t seem to take in sci-fi environments-explain
that to me?!), we get to see a lot more drama and action within the Star Fleet
confines of San Francisco, as well as London, which doesn’t have a good time of
things after a section of it is blown up in John Harrison’s opening terrorist
salvo.
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| Harrison is having a smashing time in San Francisco. |
Meanwhile, on the
good ship Enterprise, we notice the
familiar ships bridge and a few other places getting some mild set design upgrades,
and there’s some new, more expansive corridors making the Federation flagship look
like a plush set of modern office corridors than a starship (or is it is vice
versa, what with STAR TREK having affected and influenced so many peoples designs
lives?). There’s a return to the immense metallic beer factory in Los Angeles for
the ships engineering section, and the use of a real-life neutron generator as
the ships warp engines, which looks intriguing, though I’d be wary of getting
too close to it in real-life in case I actually was transwarped somewhere!
Lively opener aside, the film's main planetary
visit beyond the confines of our solar system is the aforementioned Kronos - a dark, ash storm battered
world- for the middle of the film. Interestingly, the Klingons seen here aren’t
too different from what’s gone before, but at this point in TREK history they
are more nomadic and have yet to become a dominant enemy force against the
universe, though their first steps are causing problems for the Federation (a
scenario that will likely powder keg detonate with the next film!).
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| Kirk, Uhura and Spock witness a change in fortunes... |
A worthy
continuance to all the good set-up work which the BAD ROBOT people brought to
the table with their 2009 re-imagining, INTO DARKNESS is capably staged by J.J.
Abrams, who brings some worthy wow moments
to the table that will surely capture your attention. Early criticisms of the
films have cited it as being too mechanically driven, but I disagree. It takes
a person with an incredible amount of ingenuity and flair to pull off a movie
as big as this, and get so much of it right.
There are shocks
and surprises in store, too, that perhaps not all die-hard STAR TREK fans will
like, and would most likely have made the late Roddenberry a little uncomfortable,
but, in this modern movie-making entertainment climate, the series has to take
risks to keep earning the box office and win over the demanding general
audiences. The 3D is pleasingly achieved (looking greater in IMAX) but
ultimately, the plot and characters are rightly considered the all-important
reality here.
The STAR
WARS-esque adrenaline flavor of the original 1977 to 83 movie series, and a
touch of some of the Prequels (an air chase in and out of buildings not
dissimilar to ATTACK OF THE CLONES), also feels more prevalent here than Abrams
first TREK outing, especially on the action side (I was expecting some
lightsabers rather than phasers to light up!)-I’m looking forward to seeing
what he’ll be bringing to the George Lucas created universe in 2015 in its
directing seat.
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| It's Enterprise's David versus the Vengeance dreadnought's Goliath in a thrilling space battle. |
Spectacular second
unit work from Roger Guyett adds to the palette, alongside ILM’s supreme computer
generated imagery. The shots of the crippled Enterprise crashing through the Earth’s atmosphere, and the WRATH
OF KHAN-esque homage to the Enterprise
and Reliant space dogfight fight, the
latter a prototype Vengeance-class destroyer
(used so evocatively in the newly released teaser poster for the film) are impressively
staged. Kudos also to the return of sound veteran Ben Burtt, his ears and
microphones attuned anew, along with Matthew Wood, giving their all for the
project. And we like that!
Composer Michael
Giacchino reprises his majestic score/main title from the first film in several
key scenes, alongside the classic TREK theme composed by Alexander Courage, but
a lot of his new music ultimately gets lost amongst the visual eye candy and explosions.
So, a success on
so many levels, but with a few flaws in its story structure, INTO DARKNESS nonetheless
has what it takes to be a box office champ. Abrams and his sterling teams work
will keep the TREK flame alive for a few more live long and prosper years to come…
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| The lovely individual character posters for INTO DARKNESS. |
AFICIONADO RATING: Firing its phaser banks to the full, INTO DARKNESS isn’t quite THE
EMPIRE STRIKES BACK of the new TREK franchise that we were all hoping for, nor
does it bring as much creative freshness as we expected. Pretty much an
equal-perhaps slightly better- to Abrams first re-imagined adventure, it has a lot of heart and holds itself up high as a spirited
summer holiday blockbuster that’s well worth spending two hours plus on. 4 out
of 5.
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