My Movie Review on Star Trek: Into Darkness (Plus, a Bonus) · 12:17pm Sep 23rd, 2020
Salutations, my friends.
This is your top-of-the-line film, TV show, and episode reporter here with another review.
Today, for my 180th film analysis, I'm gonna give you guys my take of "Star Trek: Into Darkness".
Here's the rundown of this adventure:
In the wake of completing their latest mission, James T. Kirk and Spock are informed that a former Starfleet Commander named John Harrison has gone rogue and has declared a one-man war against Starfleet. When Harrison later attacks and kills a group of Starfleet officers, Christopher Pike being among them, the mission to hunt him down becomes something personal to Kirk.
After tracking Harrison to the planet Kronos and later capturing him, though, Kirk and his crew find themselves discovering a boatload of secrets and surprises, including ones revolving around Harrison and Starfleet admiral Alexander Marcus.
What sort of secrets will Kirk and his friends uncover? And will they ever live after finding out what they are?
There's something I'd like to admit:
When I read about the many criticisms this film received, I didn't know what to think. I mean, yes, there was one criticism I agreed with, but there were others...that I didn't agree with or understand at all.
The one thing that I do agree with is that the scene showing Admiral Marcus's daughter, Carol, in her bra and underwear before replacing her clothes was an element that I found to be far from necessary or needed. The same with a scene featuring Kirk in bed with two ladies that had cat-like tails and ears.
Other than that, though...even now, I find this movie to be as amazing as I remember it being. And to me...it brilliantly succeeded the first film in more ways than one.
For instance, the acting, casting, characters, and character development were as incredible as ever.
The additions of Alice Eve as Carol Marcus and Peter Weller as Alexander Marcus were among what I enjoyed. Their performances were marvelous, and their parts were ones that I believe they were born to play. The characters themselves had dynamic development.
The performances of the cast from the previous movie, as well as their characters, were likewise phenomenal. The portrayals of Chris Pine as James T. Kirk and Zachary Quinto as Spock were the ones that particularly stood out to me. I loved how undeniably witty they made their characters, and the large amount of emotion they incorporated was outstandingly powerful. And just like Carol and Alexander, Kirk and Spock's developments throughout the film were awesome. I'd also like to add that the scene with Leonard Nimoy and his character of Spock Prime was extraordinary.
Perhaps the best performer out of everyone, though...was Benedict Cumberbatch and his portrayal of John Harrison, who is secretly Khan Noonien Singh. Every moment he was on the screen, I got instantly entranced. The clear passion and commitment Cumberbatch put into performing the character was admirable, especially with how he threw himself into the role both physically and emotionally; he was even able to capture the spirit grasped by the late Ricardo Montalban in the previous series while making the character entirely his own. Khan himself was well-developed as both a villain and a character.
And this is just my opinion, but...whenever I look back on the comments criticizing Cumberbatch's casting as Khan, I often thought that people were making a big deal out of nothing.
If I recall correctly, Ricardo Montalban was not only of Mexican heritage, he was white just like Cumberbatch. I know that based on seeing him in "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan" and the second and third Spy Kids movies. Every time I look at Cumberbatch, I find that this version of Khan bears a striking resemblance to Montalban's, which made me think he was all-the-more perfect for the part. I have noted that the only differences are that the two of them each had different hairstyles and colors, as well as that Cumberbatch's version had blue eyes while Montalban's version had brown eyes, but that hardly made a difference to me. All in all, I actually believe Benedict Cumberbatch was the right guy to play Khan Noonien Singh.
Moving on from that...
The direction by JJ Abrams, and the story by Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman, and Damon Lindelof were amazing!
A big thing I enjoyed about this movie was its themes about the enemies within more than out. In this case, an enemy is not just someone from another country or culture, but someone inside of a country too. The way the filmmakers also addressed our struggles with anger, fear, hate, and our thirsts for vengeance, was nicely done as well.
Coming from a guy who did watch "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan" not too long ago, I did notice a couple of similarities between it and this movie, but yet...the filmmakers managed to incorporate them in a way that was completely fresh and different, and they fit those moments into the overall story flawlessly. The storyline itself tied together beautifully, and there was a great amount of action, wit, heart, drama, and emotion to help it be far from lifeless. Plus, there was a side dish of outstandingly entertaining dialogue from the characters, such as this line said by Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy:
"Sounds like we have a Superman on board."
The special effects were spectacular, if I may add. The team was able to make everything feel like it was literally taking place in space on other planets, of course. But, they managed to heighten the levels of awesomeness up as well, extending themselves creatively and pushing the boundaries as much as possible.
Finally, the music by Michael Giacchino was as magnificent as ever. I deeply enjoyed the increase in crescendo that Giacchino gave his score, and the music was not only powerful enough to reflect the emotions of the characters, but to get audiences to feel what the characters are feeling too. Plus, the music wonderfully matched every scene the film had.
In conclusion, "Star Trek: Into Darkness", like the first film, isn't a perfect movie. But, it's nonstop fun and intriguing, the performances were top-notch, everything!
So, I rate "Star Trek: Into Darkness" 4½ out of 5 stars.
As a bonus for you guys, I'd like to show you all what my new favorite outfits worn by Rainbow Dash are. The Equestria Girls version to be precise.
So, what do you guys think? Of my review? This movie? And the pictures?
I pretty much enjoyed this film.