Star Trek Into Darkness

The long awaited sequel to 2009’s Star Trek, Into Darkness sees JJ Abrams return to direct Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana and the rest of the crew of the USS Enterprise as they undergo a new mission.
After a standard observation mission is screwed up thanks to Kirk’s ignorance of Star Fleet’s regulations, the Enterprise and her crew are forced to return to Earth. Not long after their arrival, John Harrison, a man formally involved with Star Fleet, attacks a secret facility, killing many innocent people. Star Fleet call for Harrison to be hunted down, and Kirk and the Enterprise are more than willing to take up the challenge.

Into Darkness is more of the same from JJ Abrams, but this is definitely not a bad thing. While some characters get less screen time than they perhaps deserve, no-one is thrown in for the sake of showing their faces, and named characters often give way to other crew members in the line of duty. This, along with the series trying to distance itself from the original, keeps characters in apparent danger, which physically builds and builds with little respite. This would be tiring in most cases but the great cast, soundtrack effects and overall feel keep you enthralled. Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto and Benedict Cumberbatch all give powerful performances.
There’s plenty to satisfy series fans and newcomers alike with great action that hangs on a good, simple story. The only problem is this makes it more than a little predictable, but the sheer scale and spectacle of everything else makes up for this. There is one plot hole that is only really there to round up multiple threads in minimal time.
As with the previous instalment, technical vocabulary is kept to a minimum unless it refers to a physical task the crew must complete, where, as the crew are from varying backgrounds, some welcome explanation is given. This should keep casual sci-fi fans happy without patronising hard-core fans of Star Trek. We are also introduced to more characters from the original universe proper, like the Klingons.

The last Star Trek was incredibly likeable and watchable, and Into Darkness is on a very similar level featuring shoot-outs, emotional struggles, cross-city and galaxy chases, jokes and the odd underwear shot. Huge fun. 8/10.