Star Trek Into Darkness

I didn't grow up watching Star Trek and, with a few exceptions, haven't really enjoyed watching the old TV shows or movies as an adult. The cheesy lines and the campy, over-the-top feel of the old episodes that I've seen (no, I don't know if they were the Original series, Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager or Enterprise...though you should be impressed I could list them off!) have just never been something I was drawn to.

I was pleasantly surprised with the new Star Trek movie that came out in 2009 and greatly enjoyed seeing its sequel last night, Star Trek Into Darkness. While still retaining some very "Trek-y" moments with sappy dialogue and a few overly dramatic characters, these two new Star Trek movies are more technological and aesthetically pleasing than their older siblings in the Trek family and I think can be enjoyed by Trekkies and non-Trekkies alike.

There are several "Ooh Kirk" moments throughout the movie, from head-shaking support to face-palming annoyance. For example, the movie opens with a scene from the commercials, with Captain Kirk (Chris Pine) and Bones (Karl Urban) running through a red treed forest, fleeing the white plaster looking natives. Reckless disregard for orders (ie. not interacting or interfering the native population) is very Kirk. though since his actions lead to saving the entire planet from an impending volcano eruption, you feel like Kirk made the right decision, albeit he defied orders and risked severely damaging the ship, with the potential of losing his entire crew. A face-palming event takes place they get home from the red fringy planet and as the camera glides through Kirk's apartment, across his clothes strewn floor and up over the bed, where he's under the sheets with a pair of tail-flicking alien women. I know, I know...it's very Kirk...but it's still annoying. Thankfully it's very short, as he get a phone call that sends him out the door to a meeting that ends very differently than he had anticipated. For a more detailed synopsis of the content of the movie, I would suggest checking PluggedIn.com.

All I have to say about Benedict Cumberbatch is....BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH! I thoroughly enjoyed his performance and think he did an excellent job. He plays a evil genius almost too well and has an epic voice, which makes him all the more frightening.

Last but not least, Scotty (Simon Pegg), Chekov (Anton Yelchin) and Sulu (John Cho) need mentioning for their contributions. Sulu has a great speech when he sends out a threatening transmission that causes Bones to comment that he hopes he never ticked Sulu off. Scotty stands up for what he thinks is right and while drunk ends up calling Captain Kirk something like "Mr. Perfect Hair" and poor Chekov is running around like a crazy person most of the movie trying to fix a problem that's not his fault.

Overall, I would recommend seeing Star Trek Into Darkness and would encourage that it be in theaters, because I think some of the spectacle will be lost once it's only watchable on a regular TV.

Live long and prosper! (someone shoot me!)



~ Katie