Star Trek: Into Darkness might just be the perfect summer blockbuster. (Yes, I know it’s still spring, but my thesis stands.) It’s big, it’s loud, it’s well crafted, it’s immensely entertaining and quite clever (or, more important, feels clever in the moment). What else could you want from a major Hollywood popcorn flick?
Better yet, it’s also a great Star Trek movie. Director J. J. Abrams, with the help of his writers, the Nerd Herd (genre specialists Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman and Damon Lindelof), has crafted a worthy sequel to his 2009 reboot of the franchise. To me, as an origin story that flick felt a little too orchestrated. But Into Darkness kicks off with an explosive setpiece that feels like something right out of the original 1960′s TV show. And perhaps that’s why Star Trek: Into Darkness is even better that its predecessor. It’s not only a cool flick; it’s everything a Star Trek geek could want.
While the USS Enterprise is on an assignment to observe a primitive civilization, Captain James T. Kirk (Chris Pine) violates the Prime Directive to save Spock’s life (that’s so Kirk). Of course, Spock (Zachary Quinto) then writes a mission report that details Kirk’s wrongful actions (that’s so Spock), which leads to Admiral Christopher Pike (Bruce Greenwood) to reassuming command of the Enterprise and demoting Kirk to First Officer (that’s so Star Trek). (more…)
