Star Trek into Darkness

With the success J.J. Abrams had with his 2009 “Star Trek” remake, in 2013, he released the sequel, “Star Trek into Darkness.”

Tom Meek started his review out by saying, “I now know why Paramount was so tight about letting the press get an advance peek at the second installment of J.J. Abrams’ reboot of the Star Trek enterprise; there’s a huge reveal in the middle of “Star Trek Into Darkness” that will have Trekkie loyalists either in rapture or pandemonium.”

Meek continued he review by stating, “That aside, the 2009 release of Abrams’ series resurrection hit a nasty snag here in Boston when the Globe ran a review more than 24 hours before the embargo date the studio set and expected the media to respect. It was a four-star review, but you could see people at the studio and the PR firms here in town that were handling the press leaping from the windows.”

Getting back to this sequel. Many sci-fi franchises – including “Star Wars,” “Alien” and the main theater launch of “Star Trek” – hit their highest peak with the second installment (“The Wrath of Khan,” “Aliens” and “The Empire Strikes Back”). Not so much here, but it’s close. Meek mentioned, ““Darkness” has a lot more action and twists than the 2009 film, but while that film was hampered by setup and backstory, it’s addled by too much circumvolution and plots within plots. It’s great to see how it intertwines with longstanding Trek lore, making connections that hit with sudden realization and nostalgia, but I’m not entirely convinced all the plot threads that begin here tie neatly into the Trek future we already know.”

At the source of Abrams’ brilliant rebooting, beyond the smart and well-measured use of eye-pleasing special effects, is the inspired casting of Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto as the younger Kirk and Spock. They’re perfect younger selves, but maybe the most accurate incarnation is Karl Urban as “Bones” McCoy. His inflection and mannerisms are mysterious to a creepy point.

At the start, the principals and crew of the Enterprise have yet to land their “five-year mission” show. They get a test run, during that they can’t interfere with intelligent original extraterrestrials. Meek noted, “The mission leads them to a wondrous planet bristling with red trees and inhabited by alabaster humanoids with big black saucer eyes still at the spear and papyrus stage, and Kirk, in trying to save them and Spock from a catastrophic volcano eruption, exposes the Enterprise to the Neolithic newbies who have a “Chariots of the Gods” moment and embrace the iconic space vessel as a deity.”

Back on Earth, Kirk is in so much trouble for the violation, but a terrorist bombs Starfleet’s record in London and afterwards attacks headquarters in San Francisco. Kirk’s misbehaviors are a sudden non-starter as the man behind the attack turns out to be one of Starfleet’s own men – with the rebellious gone scoundrel, James Harrison, played by a frightening Benedict Cumberbatch, being no ordinary insider. He’s a specialist in special weapons and everything Klingon and, as the icing on the cake, he has super blood as well. (If you want to know exactly what that means, or to say any more, would really be a spoiler alert.)

A quick meeting with Command and Kirk gets his ship back and goes after Harrison, who’s now situated on an abandoned planet inside Klingon jurisdiction. It’s there that matters become complicated and political, which you could say is redundant. Gears involving 72 suspect photon torpedoes, the destruction of the planet Vulcan and a warlike admiral, played by a skinny but ready Peter Weller, winning at the helm begin to spin, and you can throw in the sociable Mr. Scott as well, as he gets a pink slip and, according to Meek, “becomes a barfly.”

You can’t blame Abrams and his team of (three) writers for their motivation, but maybe a wider departure into the unknown might have produced greater success. Overall the production is top notch, crisp and adrenaline rushed (which you can see in IMAX and 3D, whichever theater you go to and how much you can pay). There is never any disappointment, but there are so many last-second death tricks that by the time you get to Abrams’ fast-paced finale you might be tired and need to take a break. Meek credited, “The tempo’s off, and there could have been more quiet moments between the rocket shots to let the characters spar and evolve like there were in Abrams’ last go at Kirk & Co.” The love triangle between Spock and Uhura with Kirk may be where the film spent the most money on minus special effects.

Perhaps what the promising wonder behind the camera needed was a friendly reminder that this is James Kirk we’re watching and not James Bond.

In the end, as good of a movie this might be, it felt like a mediocre remake of “The Wrath of Khan.” Especially in the last act, like in the final 15 minutes. I would say check it out, especially since it’s not half bad, but bear in mind, you will be noticing that a lot.

Alright everyone, if I don’t get a chance to see the new movie before this Friday, check in to see my review on a “Star Trek” spoof which is actually pretty funny.