Review: Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)

Directed By: J.J. Abrams

Alice Eve, one of the new additions to the cast

Star Trek Into Darkness for the most part continues in the tradition of its superb predecessor, Star Trek, the 2009 franchise reboot. J.J. Abrams is in good shape to crank out atleast a decent Star Wars Episode VII it seems.

The film opens with a cold open, sort of like a James Bond movie, with Kirk (Chris Pine) and Spock (Zachary Quinto) in the middle of a short mission. But this 10 minute pre-title sequence instead of being an unrelated appetizer actually turns out to be the trigger for the rest of the plot and also a thematic touchstone for some of the ideas the script wants to explore.

And it’s a doozy of a script. Credited to Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman & Damon Lindelof, the script is as convoluted as its predecessor but just as clever and imaginative. It is absolutely packed, some might say almost to a fault, with incident and plot, and manages to muster up immense momentum as it builds event upon event to hurtle through two very engaging hours. The story is compelling from a purely story-telling point of view as it has a pleasing linearity and cause-effect coherence that makes it clip along nicely. And being as fast as it is, you will certainly find yourself thoroughly interested for the run time also paying attention to keep up with the information flying around in the repartee and banter between characters.

The film means to be serious as asserted by the early death of a major character and numerous situations of peril for many of the main characters. Indeed the stakes are always life and death or even more, though there might be a bit too many close shaves or near misses or deux ex machina for some, but this might be Dickens on steroids for you. It is a very busy script and maybe a tad over-written, but admirably so.

The staging of the scenes is good as usual as Abrams seems to follow the Spielbergian action film-making syntax very well. There is a violence to the action scenes that seems perhaps noticeable for a family friendly blockbuster but make no mistake; the film is definitely made with the entertainment of an adult audience in mind. Conversely, Abrams’s work with actors is slightly suspect, as all the “emotional” scenes fall slightly flat and seem heavily affected. It might also be due to their atonal earnestness compared to the overall arch tone of the movie.

The production is solid across the board, well-mounted, detailed and expensive. Special props to Michael Giacchino’s fully symphonic score which makes sure to underline every badass moment with a thunderous statement of the fabulous main theme. The production design, costume design and specially the visual effects are all aces to bring the verisimilitude to the tale.

The ensemble cast makes its contribution as well, and “ensemble” is highlighted, perhaps surprisingly, by the billing of the actors which is alphabetical. John Cho, a benefactor of this scheme, actually becomes the first billed actor due to this and series stars Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto have to settle for 8-9^th billing. It’s a curious but admirable move, but honestly kind of eyebrow raising because of how heavily this feels to be Kirk’s story. He seems to be in every single scene, involved in some way or another in every incident and in general present everywhere. The movie thus becomes heavily reliant on Chris Pine who solidly delivers with a leading man performance full of confidence, swagger, virility and charm. The illusion does break in the scenes where he has to earnest but he is competent and this role seems to bring him alive like no other role does. He’s also a handsome motherfucker and Abrams lingers on his mug often to gain the most mileage out of the audience’s connection and empathy with him. Stronger is Quinto, who by the very demands of his character plays things more subtly and to very good effect both for registering bits of comedy as well as emotional conflict. Indeed a lot of jokes are made at the expense of the absolute unflappability of his character.

Benedict Cummerbatch makes a credible action man and even with his wiry frame, plays a convincing and physically threatening badass. The rest of the cast all do get their moments, indeed the way the script is written, absolutely each and every single character plays a role in the plot of the film but that’s that, they become more like plot points and only the two leading men are afforded arcs or development. So the ensemble work’s slightly weaker than the first film as everybody apart from the two lead men register more feebly than before.

On the whole though, this is clever summer entertainment and thus a welcome surprise. Its speed and pace is appreciated and it definitely won’t be surprising if this ends up being one of the better films of the summer blockbuster season.

3.5/5

PS: The science and the physics shown in the movie remains as confounding as ever. But I believe these movies are not supposed to be scientifically probable. I mean there’s information being transferred faster than the speed of light, but that’s Star Trek for you.