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| By Steve Segal |
As you should recall, the time-travel plot of J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek set the rebooted series on an alternate trajectory. Unencumbered by the need to adhere to established canon, the new movies don’t necessarily have to follow in the precise tracks of the original television series or previous movies anymore. Among the more tantalizing prospects of the new and future Treks voyaging into undiscovered country was the possibility that, under slightly different circumstances, a nemesis from the original series might turn out to be an uneasy ally.
And vice versa.
Star Trek Into Darkness spends a lot of time toying around with this notion, incorporating nods to memorable elements and moments from the 1960s TV show and the theatrical films while at the same time subverting them with a tweak here, a reversal there and, in one pivotal instance, a double-screw twist that ought to keep even the most loyal and knowledgeable Trekkers on their toes.
By now most fanboys will have learned the film’s biggest surprise whammy—well played, J.J., well played—but, as in the recent Iron Man 3, there are oodles of red herrings and spoilers in Star Trek Into Darkness, and layers of surprise within those diversions and spoilers.
It won’t ruin the experience for the uninitiated to know some of these secrets in advance of seeing the movie, but I will guard against revealing them as diligently as possible.
But, first, let’s just get this out of the way: Star Trek Into Darkness is not as good as 2009’s Star Trek. The plot this time is rather skimpy, and though the movie is exceptionally well made, there’s a feeling of hastiness to connect the dots and checkmark the boxes at the expense of story that parallels another recent hectic follow-up to a far superior predecessor/reboot: Into Darkness is the Trek equivalent of Quantum of Solace compared to Casino Royale.
After a tense pre-title sequence in which Kirk violates the Prime Directive, he’s busted and scolded by his mentor and father-figure Admiral Pike. Young Maverick, er, Kirk must learn to obey the chain of command and not go flying off the cuff every time at risk to his ship and crew.
Disciplinary measures are short lived, as Kirk is immediately reinstated when a terrorist named John Harrison (the fiendishly good Benedict Cumberbatch) blows up a Starfleet archive in London and subsequently ambushes an Admiralty pow-wow at Headquarters. Embarking on a mission of revenge, Kirk and the stalwart crew of the Enterprise travel to the edge of Klingon space to find Harrison and bring him to justice. This excursion into enemy territory—one possible explanation for the film’s decidedly obtuse subtitle—is certain to agitate the Klingon Empire and provoke a warlike response (fodder for the next sequel?). Just beneath the surface of this rudimentary tale of vengeance at the end of the universe lies an undercurrent of post-9/11 paranoia and military preparedness, with heroism and shadowplay existing on all sides. Again, another possible rationale for the title “Into Darkness.”
Yet a third extrapolation of the title relates to Kirk and Spock, and how both men must face their own version of the Kobayashi Maru “no-win” scenario. It’s in the character-driven moments that deal with life and death that the film earns its stripes in the thought provocation and character molding department, but the emotional chords are frequently drowned out by so much flash and bombast you’ll think phasers have been set to “stupefy.”
The bulk of the film is devoted to the pursuit of Harrison, and the thrills come so ferociously and relentlessly you barely have time to ponder the simplicity of plot or the fact that its ideas don’t approach the wondrous potential of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry’s original vision. What we do get is a lot of action, spectacle and repartee that, by the time the credits roll, has set the stage for the “five year mission” launched in the 1966 television pilot.
One of the movie’s biggest shocks is its level of violence, which is bloodless but several notches more intense than we’re used to seeing in the Trek universe. There are the usual phaser battles, some roughhouse fisticuffs and an assortment of unfortunate red shirts who get sucked through blasted hulls into the void of space, but one particularly brutal moment boldly goes where no Star Trek episode or film has dared to go before. Later, when a falling starship takes out half of San Francisco, your mind will boggle at the collateral architectural damage and its inevitable—and astonishingly high—body count.
Because the movie zooms along at warp speed, such daunting thoughts won’t linger too long during Into Darkness. In the end, the visual effects are amazing, the action is exciting, the cast is uniformly good and there’s enough humor and emotion to make up for its rather simple story. Lower your expectations based on the movie’s exemplary predecessor and you’ll have a blast.
Director J.J. Abrams’ next project is Star Wars – Episode VII, and assuming the screenplay will be up to snuff, that series looks to be in very good hands.
“Geek” out.
