Movie Review - Star Trek - Into Darkness

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2013 – Spoiler alerts. I have enjoyed the Star Trek reboot movie series, and this, the second in the series, (Twelfth movie overall) is one of the best, with some very radical brave ideas, like being a sequel and remake at the same time of the Wrath Of Khan movie that was the second big movie adventure for the original cast. The director, J J Abrahms denied for some time that the villain in the film was going to be Khan, but fans saw through that easily and it is no surprise when Benedict Cumberbatch’s superbly played John Harrison proves to be Khan in disguise. The DVD box makes no pretence that the character is Khan. The film is in many ways a study of terrorism, and the dangers of over-reacting to a threat. The jokey opening when the Enterprise Crew break the Prime Directive to save Spock from roasting in a volcano and become gods to an alien race is soon offset by the darkness offered in the title. Khan uses a Star Fleet officer as a suicide bomber and then kills other Star Fleet commanders including Kirk’s mentor, Captain Pike. Peter Weller (the original Robocop) insists on Harrison being killed, even if it could spark a war with the Klingon Empire. Kirk, sufficiently enraged by Pike’s death, seems happy to comply with the assassination mission, even using deadly new high yield photon missiles to do it, resulting in protests from the crew and Scotty’s temporary resignation. Kirk draws back from the brink however and settles for capturing Harrison for trial. This enrages Weller’s Admiral Marcus who sets out to finish the assassination personally despite his daughter joining Kirk’s crew. Kirk and Harrison, now openly revealed as Khan agree to work together to take down Marcus but Khan uses this as a chance to hijack Marcus’s ship and reveal his own plans for superiority over everyone (being a genetically enhanced super-being). Kirk uses the photon missiles to wreck the ship commandeered by Khan, but ends up with the Enterprise itself severely crippled. He saves his ship by irradiating himself, leading to a near-death scene echoing Spock’s end in the Wrath Of Khan movie with Kirk & Spock in a cleverly staged role reversal. Spock, who has spoken with his older self (Leonard Nimoy in his last ever screen appearance), is enraged past his control of his emotions. He tries to personally batter Khan to death until the calming voice of Uhuru tells him that only a blood transfusion from Khan can save Kirk, in effect absorbing part of his enemy’s rage to survive himself. Kirk is also now part tribble though so he can presumably duplicate himself at will as well. Lots of fun ideas and digs at the over-simplification of the war against terrorism. If flawed it is in the casual resignation of Scotty only to start work again right away, Spock reassigned but given his old job back right away, Kirk losing command only to be reinstated as soon as Khan starts his war, etc. We are told that discovery on their world by the Klingons will lead to war with them but they are forgotten right after the initial attack when they are caught up in the struggle to capture Khan. That Khan and his crew endure in cryogenic suspension gives an option for their return one day. Early scenes on the volcano World parody the Star Wars prequels with Kirk & McCoy dressed in Jedi style robes and Spock close to the lava in Anakin/Vader mode. Alice Eve’s strip down to her underwear may be the most pointless gratuitous erotic insert in any mainstream movie ever. One of the better Star Trek movies by far. Arthur Chappell