After a mission to observe the plant Nibiru, which nearly see’s Spock (Zachary Quinto) lose his life in order to save the planet from a volcano on the verge of erupting and taking out all inhabitants of the planet, Captain Kirk (Chris Pine), Spock and the rest of the USS Enterprise return home, to Earth, only to encounter a relentless force of horror and destruction at the hands of John Harrison (Benedict Cumberbatch), an ex-agent of the Star Fleet organisation. The womanising Kirk takes it upon himself to volunteer in the Man Hunt to bring down this evil force, not only to bring this man to justice but to settle his own personal vendetta for a friend that was killed at Harrison’s hands.
Star Trek: Into The Darkness is an extremely impressive blockbuster of a sequel to the 2009 revamped Star Trek franchise. Director J.J. Abrams, who is best known for his work on Cloverfield and Mission Impossible – Ghost Protocol may just be the new genius of science fiction, he delivers a humorous, yet cheesy at times, especially with the so called love story between Spock and Uhura (Zoe Saldana), action packed package of entertainment that will not only appeal to your die hard Trekkies but to a whole new wider audience.
From the very moment the film begins the audience are greeted with high octane action and scenes bursting with colour. The 3D format has never been used as effectually as it has here, from the warp speed effect, the infinite views of space and the spiralling out of control ships, every inch making you feel as though you are actually part of the film, feeling engulfed in the surroundings, each scene was practically eye popping.
The cast of Into the Darkness see’s the return of Chris Pine as Captain Kirk, he has really grown into this role, it’s like it was made for him. He delivers humour and emotion and the essence of Kirk brilliantly. Next we have Zachary Quinto as Spock; again the make-up department did an excellent job in transforming this actor into looking like a very young version Leonard Nimoy (Spock from the original series and films). Pine and Quinto play off each other with what looks like great ease and the banter between the pair is flawless.
However, Benedict Cumberbatch as Kirk’s arch nemesis, John Harrison aka Khan completely steals the show. Sometimes you wonder why the Americans always make the English actor the bad guy, this is the reason why. There is something quite regal about his presence on screen, He is calm and mysterious, and he just oozes evil to perfection. His portrayal just pulls you in and quite frankly you may just find you’re on his side.
The plot of this sequel is somewhat predictable, some would say almost primitive, but it’s never dull, that added to the futuristic set and spectacular visual effects and stellar cast of both British and American actors this is one blockbuster which just pulls you in, wraps you round its little finger and doesn’t let you go until the very last scene. This will surely be one of the great blockbusters of 2013.