Review 210: Star Trek Into Darkness
After being called back home, the crew of the Enterprise find a seemingly unstoppable force which has attacked Starfleet and left the planet in chaos. Captain Kirk (Chris Pine) and the crew of the Enterprise are tasked with leading the deadly manhunt to capture the party responsible and settle an old score.
The plot is a work of sheer genius, not only does it continue the story set up in the previous film, it give us such a grander story, it breaks new ground in showing what a Star Trek film can be. Whereas the first Star Trek film had an amazingly fun time reintroducing the characters and taking its time to get to know them as well as beautifully establishing a new status quo for the series. But with this sequel returning director J. J. Abrams and his crew have really put their heads down and taken us on a rollicking fun and exciting ride.
If Star Trek (2009) was Batman Begins, Star Trek into Darkness is most certainly The Dark Knight - the title obviously indicates some sort of ominous turn for the rebooted franchise, doesn't it.
A lot of the themes in this film are very contemporary and reflects a lot of things that going on in our heads right now; The idea that the enemy might be walking among us at this very moment - not on the other side of the ocean, so to speak. The films' villain, John Harrison (Benedict Cumberbatch) is a very ambiguous character. We don't who side he's on or who he's working for. The Enterprise crew don't know who to trust or support. Sometimes, Kirk seems to be acting in exactly the same way. They're both motivated by revenge in some way. The title into Darkness is very much about Kirk's indecision: Him not knowing what is the best course of action in dealing with the threat posed by Harrison.
A prominent theme in Star Trek into Darkness is "How far will we go to exact vengeance and justice on an enemy that scares us? How far should we go from our values? Harrison's attack on Starfleet puts Kirk in a very profound, very interesting place and gives him a real emotional motivation to go after Harrison and bring him to justice at any cost.
How much does an enemy win when an enemy makes us devalue what we believe in? Immediately fighting ourselves, how far to go to exact the enemy among us? How far will we go? The enemy's blood is within us; we are the enemy. We must not succumb to it; we are the same. Harrison and Kirk are justapposed to each other because both of them will go to great lengths to protect their "crew".
Colonialism is also a major subtext in this film: John Harrison is a member of a genetically human that was designed to superior to normal humans and Adm. Marcus revives him because of his superior intellect will help him prepare for a potential war with the Klingons.
For me, this breaks new ground in what a Star Trek film can be.
J. J. Abrams' direction is precise, the cinematography is gorgeous, the special effects are tremendous, the score by Michael Giacchino is majestic, bombastic, thematic and energy-filled, the locations are stunning, the scenery is breathtaking, the production design is terrific, (the Klingon world of Qo'noS is depicted as a bombed out, irradiated wasteland with Aztec ruin esque structures). The costumes are mystical, the creature design is spellbing (the Klingons look terrific), the make up is rich, the sound effects are great, the tension just keeps notching up and the ending was superb.
The acting once again is brilliant, Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Karl Urban, John Cho, Zoe Saldana, Anton Yelchin and Simon Pegg are just brilliant and they are just as good in this as they were in the first film.
Chris Pine properly cements himself as the James T. Kirk of the 21st century. Brilliant playing him as a man of passion and emotion and who follows his gut. Kirk feels that he's above the rules in some ways, he has a self serving quality to him, he wants to prove that best and that he can get away with all of this. Now he's being tested to earn that distinction and appreciate it, so we're treated to a more vulnerable Kirk on round two. His arc going forward is about what it means to be Captain and how is he going to be the captain that we need him to be.
Much like the Joker in The Dark Knight, John Harrison knows every button to push psychologically which really put his leadership skills to the test.
Zachary Quinto, once again shines as the intellectual and logical Mr Spock. His arc going forward in this film is about understanding how important it is to be emotionally available which is something he's, understandably, not particularly skilled at. This leads to a lot of interesting and philosophical questions like What is it like to be a friend when you're not completely human and you've chosen to live in this more logical and less emotional way? This is something that Spock tries to resolve and come to terms with along the way.
Returning as Christopher Pike, Bruce Greenwood,
Alice Eve is absolutely charming as Dr. Carol Marcus,
Benedict Cumberbatch and Peter Weller make for an utterly superb pair of villains.
With Cumberbatch playing John Harrison, he encaptulates the fact that he is a terrorist with his own purposes. But he also challenges the crew particularly Kirk, psychologically. The care he harbours for his family and crew is also a parallel to Kirk. How far will either of them go to protect them?
He's someone who has been activated and manufactured by Starfleet, been brought back from death, has been defrosted and alighned to play a spearheading role in militerising Starfleet and creating weapons of mass destruction as well as heading up an army of elite warriors.
His motivations, ultimately fit the adage "one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter." which add a hint of moral ambiguity to his actions and beautifully parallel to the current world order wether it's U.S. policy or the actions of terrorists.
With Weller as Adm. Alexander Marcus, you get what is essentially a post 9/11 political figure in the year 2259. He's convinced that a war with the Klingons is inevitable and that Starfleet won't be strong enough to win it. He believes that ultimately the ends justify the means and that he's doing what is "necessary" to ensure the Federation's survival. Unfortunately those motives become quite impure considering the amoral acts he commits.
Space: The Final Frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Its five-year mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before, 5/5.
The Anonymous Critic.
With Weller as Adm. Alexander Marcus, you get what is essentially a post 9/11 political figure in the year 2259. He's convinced that a war with the Klingons is inevitable and that Starfleet won't be strong enough to win it. He believes that ultimately the ends justify the means and that he's doing what is "necessary" to ensure the Federation's survival. Unfortunately those motives become quite impure considering the amoral acts he commits.
Space: The Final Frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Its five-year mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before, 5/5.
The Anonymous Critic.
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