"STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS" (2013) Review

"STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS" (2013) Review

Following the success of the 2009 movie, "STAR TREK", producer/director J.J. Abrams continued the saga of this alternate STAR TREK with a sequel called "STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS". This latest film not only continued the adventures of Starfleet Captain James T. Kirk and his crew, but also re-introduced a well-known villain from the franchise's past. 

Written by Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman and Damon Lindelof, "STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS" begins a year following the events of the 2009 movie. The crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise has been ordered to observe the volcanic activities of Nibiru, a class "M" planet that serves as home for its primitive inhabitants. Unfortunately, Kirk and his crew violate the Federation's Prime Directive by using a cold fusion device to deactivate the volcano. Worse, in order to fetch Spoke from the volcano's depth, the Enterprise rises out of the planet's ocean and is seen by the Nibirians. Upon the starship's return to Earth, both Kirk and his first officer, Spock, are chewed out by Admiral Christopher Pike for violating the Prime Directive on Nibiru. Spock is reassigned to another starship and Kirk has lost command of the Enterprise and ordered to finish Starfleet Academy. 

Meanwhile, a mysterious man offers a vial of blood to a Starfleet officer named Thomas Harewood in order to save the life of the latter's dying daughter. In exchange, Harewood used the mysterious ring to blow up the Kelvin Memorial Archives (a secret Section 31 facility) on the mysterious man's behalf. This new emergency leads Starfleet to assign Admiral Pike as commander of the Enterprise. Pike manages to convince Marcus to assign Kirk as his new First Officer. The bombing of the Kelvin Archives leads to a meeting of starship commanders ordered to hunt down the mysterious perpetrator, revealed as rogue Starfleet agent John Harrison. However, an attack upon the meeting by a jumpship piloted by Harrison leaves several Starfleet officers dead - including Pike. Admiral Marcus reinstates Kirk as commander of the Enterprise and orders the latter to hunt down Harrison to the Klingon homeworld, Kronos, and destroy the rogue agent's base with 72 prototype photon torpedoes placed aboard the Enterprise. However, the manhunt for Harrison ends up providing a good deal of surprises for Kirk and his crew - including the revelation of Harrison's true identity.

When I first saw "STAR TREK" four years ago, my initial response to J.J. Abrams' reboot of the franchise had been . . . somewhat positive, yet slightly uneasy. A second viewing of the movie made me realize that it was a piece of crap, thanks to a script riddled with plot holes. I still maintained hope that this new sequel would prove to be a improvement. And it did . . . to a certain extent. The plot for "STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS" did not strike me as particularly original. Rogue Starfleet officers have been used in the franchise before - especially in "STAR TREK DEEP SPACE NINE" and the 1991 film, "STAR TREK VI: THE UNDISCOVERED COUNTRY". The John Harrison character proved to be none other than Khan Noonien Singh, originally portrayed by Ricardo Montalban in an episode of "STAR TREK: THE ORIGINAL SERIES"and the 1982 movie, "STAR TREK II: THE WRATH OF KHAN". In fact, the screenwriters not only used the Khan character, but also Dr. Carol Marcus and put a different spin on a famous scene from the 1982 movie. Khan/Harrison's attack on Admiral Marcus' meeting bore a strong resemblance to a scene from a "STAR TREK VOYAGER" episode called(2.14) "Alliances".

Despite the lack of originality that seemed to permeate the film, I must admit that I enjoyed a good deal of it. I found the conspiracy that surrounded Khan's connections to Admiral Marcus rather interesting. This was especially the case in the jumpship attack scene, the phaser fight on Kronos, Carol Marcus' rescue of Doctor McCoy from one of the photon torpedoes and finally Kirk and Khan's transportation to Admiral Marcus' ship U.S.S. Vengeance via a "space jump". These scene proved to be very exciting, thanks to Abrams' excellent direction. The chemistry between Zachary Quinto and Zoë Saldaña as lovers Spock and Nyota Uhura seemed to have vastly improved from the 2009 film. Perhaps the emotions between the two characters seemed more two-way and genuine the second time around. The chemistry between Quinto and Chris Pine's James Kirk seemed stronger than ever. Bruce Greenwood gave an intense and superb performance as Admirable Christopher Pike, even if I found the character's faith in Kirk rather questionable. On the other hand, I found Peter Weller's portrayal as the warmongering Admiral Marcus a bit hammy. And Simon Pegg's Scots accent became slightly more bearable in this film. But I do feel that Karl Urban, John Cho and Anton Yelchin had less to do in this film, than they did in "STAR TREK". Benedict Cumberbatch struck me as effectively ambiguous and sinister at the same time. However, if J.J. Abrams needed someone to portray the Indian-born Khan, why did he not consider another actor he had worked with in the past? Namely "LOST" alumni Naveen Andrews. He would have been perfect. 

Do I consider "STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS" a vast improvement over "STAR TREK"? There are a good number of fans who view the first film as superior. I simply do not share this opinion. However, I would not exactly label "STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS" as one of the better movies for the summer of 2013. In fact, I view it slightly better than the first film . . . and nothing more.

However, this movie did have its share of problems. And one of them proved to be the film's opening sequence on Nibiru, which found Kirk and Dr. McCoy being chased through some kind of forest by some of the planet's inhabitants. Apparently, Kirk had stolen some sacred scroll to led the Nibirians away from the volcano. This tactic proved to be unnecessary, considering there were only two means to save the Nibirians - Spock's cold fusion device into the volcano's core, or the physical removal of the planet's inhabitants. In other words, this chase scene proved to be completely irrelevant. Another aspect of this sequence that proved to be irrelevant was Spock's protests against Kirk raising the Enterprise from the planet's ocean floor and exposing it to the Nibirians. One, what was the Enterprise doing below the ocean? Why not simply allow it to orbit the planet? And the Enterprise does not have the ability to land on the ocean floor, let alone on solid ground. It was never the 23rd century version of the U.S.S. Voyager. And why was Spock complaining about Kirk violating the Prime Directive in regard to the Enterprise's exposure, when he was violating it by saving the planet with the cold fusion device? I suspect his decision to save Nibiru may have been related to the loss of Vulcan in the first movie. But why did he even bother to protest against Kirk's actions, when he was just as guilty? And by the way, what happened to Earth's defense system? This movie is set in the mid 23rd century. There is a defense system for early 21st century Washington D.C. Why was there not one for mid 23rd century San Francisco, the main location for the Federation and Starfleet? Khan's ship could have been easily destroyed before it had a chance to enter Earth's atmosphere. I would go on about the photon torpedoes that harbored members of Khan's crew. But I found this scenario too confusing to discuss.

There were other problems. Why did Khan risk his hide to fire at the room of Starfleet captains and Admiral Marcus, when he could have easily achieved his goal with a bomb? What happened to the situation on Kronos? Marcus had sent the Enterprise to Kronos in order to hunt down Khan and start a war against the Klingons. Kirk, Spock, Uhura and Khan's encounter with the Klingons proved to be violent and especially deadly for the latter. But no war manifested after the incident on Kronos. In fact, the screenwriters and Abrams completely forgot about the Klingons once Admiral Marcus appeared aboard the Vengeance. Many critics complained about Alice Eve (who portrayed Carol Marcus) being shown in her underwear, accusing Abrams of exploiting the actress. Where were these same critics, four years ago, when both Zoë Saldaña (as Uhura) and an actress who portrayed Uhura's roommate stripped down to undies in "STAR TREK"? I found both Khan and Admiral Marcus' plans somewhat convoluted. But I was willing to . . . tolerate them. What I could not tolerate was the movie's last twenty to thirty minutes. Apparently, the screenwriters and Abrams decided it would be cool to pay some kind of "homage" to the famous Spock death scene in "STAR TREK II: THE WRATH OF KHAN". I wish to God they had not. I really do. I found it embarrassing to watch Kirk and Spock switch roles with the former sacrificing his life to prevent the Enterprise from crashing upon Earth. Listening to some of the titters from other members of the audience did not help. And when Zachary Quinto channeled William Shatner's cry of "Khaaaannn!", my inner mind screamed "Whhhhyyyy?" I have never been so embarrassed for any actor as I was for Quinto at that moment. To make matters worse - if that was possible - McCoy brought Kirk back to life by using Khan's superpower blood. And all I can say is . . . "Whhhhyyyy?"

We come to the main problem of "STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS". James T. Kirk. I had no problem with Chris Pine's performance. But I am still wondering why his Kirk is in command of a top-of-the-grade starship. Why? He never finished Starfleet Academy. He never even finished his third year. Yet, Christopher Pike not only saw fit to give him command of the Enterprise at the end of "STAR TREK", but also prevent Kirk from being sent back to the Academy to finish it. Even after watching "STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS", it was plain to see that Kirk was not ready to be a starship commander. Yes, he sacrificed his life to save the Enterprise. Hell, anyone - crewman or officer - could have done this. It was Spock who discovered a way to damage the Vengeance . . . . and prevent it from destroying the Enterprise. He should be the one in command of the Enterprise, not Kirk. I wish I could say that Pike paid his decision to make Kirk a starship commander with his life. Unfortunately, Kirk's command skills had nothing to do with his death. Only bad writing.

What else can I say about "STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS"? I found it somewhat more bearable than 2009's "STAR TREK". I found the movie's photography and special effects rather impressive - except for the lens flares, which I despise. And the movie did feature some solid direction by J.J. Abrams and very solid performances from a cast led by Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto. But in the end, I was not that impressed by the movie. If I must be honest, the screenplay by Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman and Damon Lindelof nearly sunk it in the end. Better luck next time, fellas.