To boldly go where no-one has gone before is exactly what director J.J. Abrams set out to do with his second Star Trek outing.
The first film was not only a box office success, taking over $250million, but also did wonders to refresh and revive a waning cult sci-fi franchise.
Into Darkness aims high, trying to take the newly formed Enterprise crew and place them in a situation which will test all the different on-board relationships.
The breakneck pace barely gives you a moment respite, and the visual effects are consistently dazzling.
The film is available in both 2D and 3D format, but the 3D effects were amazing, and in my opinion, are totally worth the extra ticket money.
BBC Sherlock’s star Benedict Cumberbatch absolutely chills as the main villain of the piece and Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto’s funny and poignant portrayal of the developing ‘bromance’ between Kirk and Spock practically steals the show.
Simon Pegg and Karl Urban are excellent as Scotty and Bones respectively, and Zoe Saldana is sultry but brilliant in the now-expanded role of Uhura.
What is great about this film is that they have managed to somehow balance the high expectations of die-hard Star Trek fans and the rest of theatre-going public.
There are enough quotable lines and catchphrases uttered as to not alienate the fans completely, but not as many as to exclude everyone else.
This film is unique in the Star Trek film franchise in that we finally get a glimpse into the futuristic non-American cities of Earth – specifically London.
I admit I was curious to see how they did this, but I am pleased to say that after seeing the image of St Paul’s Cathedral in between hovercrafts and skyscrapers, it made for a memorable image.
This film would get top marks all around if it wasn’t for a few unfortunate plot holes in the end which let it down slightly. Overall though, this second outing has done a great job re-defining the term ‘space opera’.
Catch Star Trek Into Darkness at ODEON Wimbledon, Wimbledon Piazza
Photo courtesy of Sam Hughes, with thanks.
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