When J.J. Abrams announced he would be the latest director of the Star Trek series, there were a few dissatisfied rumblings. When he went further and announced that the story revolved around the origin story of Kirk and Spock, there were more than a few worried Trekkies.
However, Abrams achieved what seemed like the absolute impossible, managing to convince the Star Trek fans that he was more than up to the task of directing a cult franchise but also bringing new fans to the series, some who had never once watched one episode of the TV series or seen any of the movies.
It’s been four years since the Enterprise last boldly went where no one has gone before and everyone has been eagerly awaiting its return to our skies. Then the great invitation came, thirty-four minutes of advanced footage, introduced by Abrams himself, to whet our appetites.
We can now confirm, despite the fact that everyone is already hyped up enough about the next instalment, Abrams has delivered again. The first twenty-eight minutes of the film were introduced by the director himself, explaining that it would be in 2D, as opposed to the glorious 3D we have been expecting, and the fact that not all the special effects were exactly up to scratch just yet.
Well if they weren’t, we barely even noticed. There are a lot of people who will scream and run around in circles if we give any spoilers, so if you wish to go in blind to the next film, you can stop reading now.
Into Darkness kicks off with another dangerous mission the Enterprise crew have managed to embark on, attempting to prevent a volcano from exploding and therefore, exterminating an entire population. However, Spock gets himself into a little bother during the mission and Kirk must endanger the entire crew, and his position as Captain to save his life.
When he returns to Star Fleet command, he is reprimanded for disobeying the rules and is removed as Captain of the Enterprise. Yet Captain Pike stresses he believes in him and he is reinstated as First Officer for the Enterprise.
Meanwhile, Star Fleet has bigger problems on their hands. One of their own, John Harrison, confirms his vendetta against them by blowing up their command office in London. In the aftermath of the destruction, the commanders of the various ships are called together to decide how best to deal with the problem which is evolving.
However, Kirk is convinced that Harrison’s mission is far from complete…
What is most evident about the initial half hour of the new Star Trek is the impeccable casting; there is literally no one better that could play Kirk than Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto as the iconic Spock is second only to the original and, perhaps most excitingly, Benedict Cumberbatch as the villain is one of the greatest casting decisions that has arguably ever been made. However grand Star Trek was in 2009, Abrams has upped the ante with Into Darkness. The scenes are jaw-dropping and although the initial footage has just been screened in 2D, the promise of 3D is enough to make you faint. On top of that, the action never, ever stops.
The box office for Star Trek Into Darkness opens early tomorrow, April 9th with the film released on May 9th. We can’t stress this enough. You need to make this your film to watch for the summer.
Live long and prosper!
