PLOT: When a rogue Starfleet officer attempts to assassinate key Federation officials, Captain Kirk and the U.S.S. Enterprise are dispatched to apprehend the adversary, and along the way, discover a whole lot more than they bargained for.
REVIEW: Star Trek Into Darkness is everything that is right about Trek, offering the perfect blend of nostalgia for fans of the original series and movies whilst delivering a high-energy modern take on the source material, allowing this franchise to evolve and resonate with today’s younger generation.
Hardcore Trekkers, who feel these new films under the helm of Director, J.J. Abrams, are steering away from the spirit of the original series, are missing the point entirely. If anything, Abrams offers more of the feel of the show from the 1960’s, not less, and delivers a far more inspirational experience than anything the franchise has put on the screen in the last 20 years.
It all starts with this Alternate Star Trek Timeline.
Star Trek purist fanboys, get over yourselves! Trust me, I’m one of you. And I can honestly say, putting this Enterprise crew on an alternate timeline is the right call. This way, our beloved original series still remains intact. Only now, our new crew doesn’t have predetermined destinies, which means we don’t know who lives or dies, and this adds something to the movie called “drama.”
Anyone see Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith? When we already know the fate of Darth Vader, Obi Wan and the Emperor, the drama, and a lot of the fun in the unexpected, becomes neutered. Trekkers should relish this new “unexpected” instead of asking for a return to the monotony of the predetermined timeline.
See, what’s really the fun in knowing Sulu is predetermined to become Captain of his own Starship?
What Abrams has given us instead is something extremely special – the wink and nod to what we think is going to happen, which provides great irony and humor, yet we also know that in this Universe, the rug could be pulled out right from under us when we least expect it.
So it is such a great moment when Sulu sits in the Captain’s Chair for the first time in Into Darkness. What works is the fact that Sulu could put on a red shirt in the next film and end up getting killed. That’s the fantastic fun of this Abrams-incarnation of Trek!
Speaking of the red shirt, how about just an absolutely inspired joke! The look on Chekov’s face when Kirk makes him the engineering chief and tells him to put on a red shirt is priceless!
And if you want to talk about boldly going, how great was that opening pre-title sequence? I got chills when I saw the Enterprise rise from the ocean from the perspective of the innocent natives. Then when those warp nacelles stretched out in 3D and roared to life in space, leaving behind a trail of glowing particles while Michael Giacchino’s brilliant score reaches a crescendo! Just so Trek! So awesome!!!
The opening pre-title sequence keys us in on the reason why Into Darkness just works. It could very well be the single greatest original series episode there ever was.
In Into Darkness, Kirk and McCoy are trying to keep their identities concealed so as not to violate the Prime directive.
They may very well have been in Season 2, Episode 19, A Private Little War.
A plot involving Starfleet admirals going rogue? Substitute Admiral Marcus with Commodore Decker from The Doomsday Machine and you have another thematic tether to the original series. Check!
We have Tribbles. We have Klingons who look more Day of the Dove than they do Lieutenant Worf. Alternate timelines ala Mirror, Mirror. Literal references to Space Seed.
Also, Kirk does what Kirk does best. He makes out with alien chicks with no emotional attachment because his first love has been, and always will be, his Starship. He punches first and asks questions second with reckless abandonment. And yet Kirk knows right from wrong. Its in his DNA. He had no intention of firing those torpedoes at John Harrison and risk starting a war with the Klingons. He just kept up the charade, even to the extent of keeping his own crew in the dark, ala The Enterprise Incident, to be given permission to enter Klingon space and away from Starfleet regulations so he could go about doing things his way, the right way, the moral way.
That is so Kirk, and Chris Pine nails it this time out. Pine is definitively not doing William Shatner. He is doing KIRK! And he is making it his own. Its Daniel Craig not impersonating Sean Connery’s mannerisms, but rather, making James Bond his own incarnation to breathe new life into the character.
Pine is so strong here, so human, so real. We feel his rage when he puts Khan in his place while interrogating him in the brig. And our heart goes out to him when, with imminent death approaching, Kirk, weeping, says to his friend, “I’m scared, Spock. How do you keep yourself from feeling?” And this makes his bravery, his self-sacrifice to save his crew, his ship, all the more heroic.
Enough with the cheesy sentimentality.
Let’s talk about the SPACE BATTLES in Star Trek Into Darkness!
Growing up, there was nothing more intense than seeing phaser-fire from the U.S.S. Reliant tearing through the hull of the Enterprise. Or watching the Enterprise go down in a blaze of glory in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock.
With my first viewing of the film, I was disappointed with the battle scenes. There is something so mesmerizing about the specific feel of ship to ship combat in Star Trek. The Enterprise squaring off against a Klingon Bird of Prey in The Search for Spock is one of the more iconic visual references of the films. Its the nautical cat and mouse between two warring submarines being played out in the far reaches of space.
So at first, I was bummed the massive Starship Vengeance essentially cripples the Enterprise before it can even get a shot off. It was a very interesting choice to have an entire Trek movie where the Enterprise doesn’t even get one shot off.
Not one torpedo.
Not one volley of phaser-fire.
With an unlimited palette of technology at the disposal of the filmmakers, I was hoping to see more of an embellishment on the warfare tactics of starship vs. starship, beautifully played out in 3D IMAX. But Abrams intentionally keeps the action as close and contained and limited as those original movies. It keeps us wanting more. But more importantly, it preserves the dignity of the Star Trek series.
It has become too predictable, too cliché in these movies. Audiences expect some form of space battle in a Trek movie just as they expect James Bond to wear a tuxedo at some point during the movie. Here, Abrams gives us space battles, but only one-sided, which calls upon the wits of the crew to survive, and reminds us that our enjoyment of Trek isn’t solely torpedoes.
The Enterprise.
She is given her dignity in this movie.
The Enterprise is taken as close to the brink of destruction as it can possibly get, and then emerges, a bit worse for wear, but ready to carry on the adventure. That’s the spirit of the original series.
That ship somehow, miraculously, survived just about everything, from enemy Klingon warship assaults to flying through galaxy barriers, and even the occasional alien oddity along the way.
The Enterprise is every bit a member of the crew, and so her survival is as important as Kirk always living at the end. Icons are never fully destroyed.
What would Star Trek be without inter-personal relationships?
Kirk and Khan.
Benedict Cumberbatch’s Khan Noonien Singh is incredibly strong, his presence, menacing ruthless, and un-apologetic. He gives Pine a worthy adversary to play off of. Of particular awesomeness is their banter in the brig. Khan may be physically and mentally superior to Kirk, but Kirk’s stubborn pride always kicks in, and he will never give anyone the satisfaction of admitting he is defeated.
Khan is utilized more as a henchman pawn to do the bidding of the real antagonist in the film, so our intrigue with him is not in his ruthless brutality as it was in Wrath of Khan, but rather, as more of a Hannibal Lecktor, used sparingly throughout the film.
Kirk and Spock.
This is the movie where they finally find their true friendship.
Into Darkness is about Kirk and Spock becoming brothers, and in this alternative timeline, it’s Kirk’s ultimate sacrifice of his own life, forced upon them by Khan, which finally allows Spock to understand it means to truly have a friend. What better way to re-introduce Khan than to have the brotherhood of Kirk and Spock emerge out of his attempted evil.
Zachary Quinto’s take on Spock is, simply, wonderful. Quinto, inherent in his personality, is a much warmer presence than Leonard Nimoy. Nimoy was always so calculating, darker, more logical in his portrayal, so when he has those moments from the original series when his humanity comes through, its always surprising, and always handled tastefully. But you also get the sense that his Spock prefers to be Vulcan. he is never concerned with “why” he experiences the occasional human reaction. He is more interested in wondering “how” that could have happened so as to ensure that it doesn’t happen again.
But Quinto’s Spock appears to be more inquisitive about his human half. It isn’t that he fights this side of himself, its simply that he was raised to be Vulcan, and therefore doesn’t understand the concept of emotion.
Quinto seems interested in exploring “why” Spock sometimes feels.
There is a great moment in Into Darkness when the assassination attempt occurs, and amidst the chaos is the unexpected death of the mentor of both Kirk and Spock in Captain Pike. Kirk becomes overwhelmed with emotion, he bursts into tears, and as he is about to walk away, he puts a reassuring hand on Spock’s shoulder. Spock’s head turns slightly, instinctively acknowledging the gesture, and his look is of puzzlement. In Spock’s mind, Kirk’s emotions, his tears, are obvious and easily explained, and are therefore logical for a human being. Similarly, Spock’s lack of emotion over the death is also not surprising for Spock – that is as it should be.
But the simplest of gestures, a reassuring hand on the shoulder, a connection that reinforces the notion that a friendship has, indeed, been formed between Kirk and Spock is what is puzzling for Spock. Why would Kirk even be thinking of Spock’s well-being at that time? Logically, Spock provided no emotion that would have tipped Kirk off to his needing a reassuring hand, and yet Kirk offers the gesture instinctively, knowingly, the way two lifelong friends might, without having to utter a single word.
Amidst the high-octane action, explosions, and epic set pieces of Into Darkness, it is a moment such as this, so simple and yet incredibly touching, which makes this film so wonderful, and just so Trek.
Spock and Uhura.
The weakest aspect of the film is the relationship between Spock and Uhura, not because the two don’t have chemistry, or aren’t interesting in their attempts at sorting through their differences. Its simply that the “love story” in the movie, really, is between Kirk and Spock, obviously not romantically, but as brothers and kindred spirits. This dynamic brings the film, again, closer to the original series, but makes the Spock-Uhura connection pretty irrelevant.
This is a really tough dilemma for the filmmakers. The marketing of this reboot of Trek emphasizes the trio of Kirk, Spock, and Uhura, with Uhura showing up on all the movie posters instead of McCoy. The rationale is obvious – market a strong female lead with a gifted actress in Zoe Saldana to broaden the appeal of Trek to today’s younger generation of girls and boys.
But when we see this dynamic executed on screen, it is a little bit of a conceit, especially when we see just how Karl Urban absolutely steals the show as Dr. McCoy!
Kirk, Spock, and McCoy.
Urban’s take on McCoy is one of the most inspired. With Saldana, you get the sense she is fighting for her relevance in each scene, but Urban makes the most of his opportunities. He genuinely seems to enjoy his time in the role, and his presence, somehow, just brightens every single scene he is in. While McCoy has been reduced to a secondary player from a marketing perspective, clearly Urban thinks of himself as being absolutely vital to the outcome of the adventures of Kirk and Spock.
The Kirk-Spock-McCoy dynamic from the original series is integral to what makes Trek work. With Spock being the logical calculating perspective for Kirk, it is fitting that McCoy is the highly emotional human counterpart. Kirk needs Spock to keep him focused when his emotions get the better of him, but he equally relies on McCoy to remind him that his human instincts are what matters the most.
There is a great episode in the original series called The Galileo Seven, when Kirk is separated from Spock and McCoy, who are trapped down on the planet with an away team. Using logic alone, Spock finds two crew members dead under his command, and every single one of his logical decisions backfire on him. McCoy tests him with each and every decision, never betraying the authority of command, but desperately pleading for Spock to utilize his human half. What ends up saving them is Spock’s purely instinctive human decision, despite all logic, is a great test, and reminder of the bond and friendship that even Spock and McCoy have with each other.
In Amok Time, when Spock is allowed to have his “friends” accompany him to Vulcan for a very personal ceremony, he invites Kirk, and surprisingly, McCoy as well, a testament to the true feelings he has for McCoy.
Presumably, it’s Uhura in the reboot that provides the opportunity for Spock to explore his humanity in a different way, but amidst all the action and chaos, it doesn’t feel as impactful.
The ending of the film sets us up perfectly for the deep space exploration, the 5-year mission, which this Enterprise crew is now ready to embark on. I’m sure fans were hoping to see a bit more of the breathtaking awe and mystery of deep space, which only Trek is capable of exploring, but one step at a time.
Into Darkness shows the Federation getting its affairs in order so that it can focus on what it really was meant to be by allowing humanity to “boldly go.”
It is also about securing the bond and trust between Kirk and Spock to enable the perfect harmony amongst the crew for this vessel to thrive under such a long journey ahead of them.
Lastly, it is about Kirk becoming a legend, and setting out with what he was destined to do. There is an interesting exchange between Kirk and Spock when Kirk flat out says that he is incapable of commanding the Enterprise – that Spock is more suited for the job. It isn’t that Kirk really is incapable of it – its that the job the Federation was asking him to do as Captain, to accept all authority without question, even when his instincts tell him that it is morally wrong, is what Kirk was incapable of doing.
Kirk understands the moral rules, but his destiny is “out there” in deep space, not as a military commander, not as a politician, but as an explorer. That is as it should be, as it was in the original series, and is what Trek will now become.
This latest Trek installment had to go Into Darkness to find its soul, but when it finds it and emerges, it does so beautifully.