Remember when that Star Trek movie came out in May? I certainly do. It would be a tragedy if I also never reviewed this movie before the Summer of 2013 ends. Let's do this..
Star Trek Into Darkness is a sequel to J.J.Abrams 2009 Star Trek film which was a huge hit with fans and in the worldwide box office. This film picks up where we left off from the first one - James Kirk is the captain of the U.S.S Enterprise and is accompanied by his crew as they undertake dangerous missions in outer space.
The whole premise of the movie makes you believe that the Enterprise are simply chasing after a criminal. It's a bit more than that! It has unexpected layers and depth, to put it simply!
The movie starts off with a sequence on a far off planet where the Enterprise is trying to stop a volcano from erupting and wiping out the entire planet and all of it's inhabitants. The following 20 minutes of the movie after that are a little misleading in the fact that it makes you believe it is taking a certain direction you weren't expecting. When I first saw it I became slightly concerned. However, the plot rectifies itself and all is very well indeed for the remainder of the movie.
Now J.J.Abrams said before Star Trek (2009) came out, the movie was mainly for movie fans who just want to watch an entertaining movie, with a little bit of heart, that isn't a huge fan-service movie for Star Trek fans. This movie is very much like that plus (just like its predecessor) does involve fan service within the movie. This pleases everybody!
One of the highlights of the 2009 Star Trek was the relationship between Kirk and Spock. It was the driving force of the movie! I was afraid this movie would completely re-hash it. It doesn't, thankfully! It is in the movie still but in no way is it completely recycled material. The relationship between the opposite personalities of Kirk and Spock is as always fascinating to behold -in order to capture that you need 2 great actors with fantastic chemistry between them, which this movie has.
Chris Pine as Kirk is fantastic. He does a good job at showing us audiences that although Kirk isn't the wisest of people, he's still a good guy doing what he thinks he can do to help his crew. I like how he does that with the character as it makes him relatable. Pine rocks!
Zachary Quinto as Spock is fantastic. He does a good job at portraying the character he is given really well. Spock is a Vulcan so is unable to lie. He's straight talking and logical, which Kirk is not. This characteristic of his makes for a few light, comic-relief moments. Him, like Pine, rocks as his character. They have such fantastic chemistry between them, the best chemistry of any 2 characters in any film I've seen in 2013.
Now, I know nothing about Star Trek lore or mythology. This just makes the film even better for me because I can know nothing about this franchise yet be absurdly entertained by this film and maybe even learn something along the way. You can have no complaints on that level! J.J.Abrams does such a good job at blending in Star Trek lore with Summer entertainment!
As for the supporting cast, all great. Zoe Saldana and Karl Urban are very good in their roles. Simon Pegg also offers the right amount of comic relief which a movie like this needs. Loved his Scottish accent! Even Alice Eve was good in her role!
Undoubtedly the scene-stealer is Benedict Cumberbatch. He is sensational in this movie! Playing a villain his just perfect for him as he just has everything. The voice, the posture, you name it! Even when he is just stood their he just feels so menacing! You get the sense that not only is he badass in combat, but he's superior in terms of his intelligence and efficiency. Plus, his character is given another dimension to it as he has motives for the things that he does. Cumberbatch as this movie's villain is my favourite acting performance from any actor I have seen so far (currently in August 2013) this year. I mean that, he acts impeccably well!!
Many gripes about the 2009 Star Trek were the overuse and annoyance of shaky cam. If it was there in this one, I didn't notice it so it mustn't have bothered me (or it was there, but I was just sat there captivated by Cumberbatches performance!). There is a definite over use of lens flares in this movie which is slightly distracting, unfortunately!
But, the special effects, CGI, green screen are all fantastic. They look crisp, colourful and realistic. The warp drive in particular is brilliant! It looks, feels and sounds so good and easily convinces you that that ship has just gone to the other side of the galaxy. The lasers and other special effects all look as convincing and sound just as good too! Again you have an action sequence which illustrates the "no-sound" environment of space, which is always so cool, plus a whole glut of fresh ones.
There are more fight scenes in this movie as well. These films just do such a good job with it's audio and sound effects. They're so good that you literally feel the crack of the bone if someone is being punched around the jaw! Another cool action sequence is the "ship-jumping" sequence. If you've seen the movie you know what I mean! That part is well-captured and exciting. Much like the whole movie. It's so exciting and enjoyable plus has that little bit of heart in it that makes it a perfect Summer movie. What more could you want? Oh yeah, this..
Now, I don't expect to get emotional during a Star Trek movie. This Star Trek movie made me emotional. There is a certain parallel to past Star Trek films that is just executed fantastically. The mood of the moment is just captured so well by the acting, the mood, the soundtrack. It is sensationally executed and made me feel more upset than I should have been (probably because the movie does such a fine job at pulling you in and making you care).
My biggest complaint of this movie is the ending. Not what happens, but the fact that it is very abrupt! It just seems to wrap up before you really want it to. It's the only badly-paced part of a well paced action/adventure/science fiction movie.
I loved this movie to pieces. The acting, the characters, Cumberbatch, the special effects, the pacing and action are all just so fantastic! The cinematography is also cool as well. It makes you feel like you are actually aboard the enterprise which is skill in it's own right! Cumberbatches performance alone is worth the price of admission to this movie! It's my favourite movie of the Summer!
Rating - A
1 sentence summary - The best possible sequel to the 2009 Star Trek, Kirk and Spock on form as always plus Benedict Cumberbatch doing a sensational job as a villain!
Love this movie! What do you think? Plus, what's you're favourite 2013 movie so far?
Thanks for reading,
Matt
No comments:
Post a Comment