Star Trek Into Darkness:

Light years ahead of competition

Ruwini Jayawardana

After a confident take off J J Abrams’ ‘Star Trek’ franchise has come up with a bigger and better production in the form of ‘Star Trek Into Darkness’. The movie comes in 3D and is probably the most thrilling of the series since ‘First Contact.’

The film takes off to a thrilling start with the rescue of Commander Spock from the gut of an active volcano. Then the scenes shift to earth where Captain James Kirk is pulled up for his irresponsibility. When Admiral Christopher Pike, Kirk’s mentor and father figure, is murdered during a surprise attack Kirk seeks revenge. He sets off after the killer with his team only to discover that an unstoppable force of terror is unleashed within his own organisation.

One of the truly wonderful features in ‘Star Trek Into Darkness’ is the bond between Kirk and Spock. This is touchingly presented in a number of scenes where Kirk saves Spock’s life at the beginning and Spock manages to bring back Kirk from the dead before curtain call.

Most of the logic has dispersed from this movie. This is mainly because it involves a complex plot where the team members too are confused about the who the real baddie is. There are also some slight disagreements between Captain and Commander when they make plans on how to outwit the enemy. It is a matter of Kirk’s ego vs Spock’s logic. Kirk is shown as a man with flaws and makes a perfect foil for Spock. This adds a touch of realism to the science fiction movie based mostly on the power of imagination.

Kirk’s struggle for leadership is admirably etched. His idols are either dead or transformed into cowards or traitors. The safety of his crew are in his hands. He is not merely an individual seeking to find identity at this stage but one who is vying to become an admirable leader. This and more of his emotions are brilliantly brought to the fore by director J J Abrams.

Most of the movie has been set aside to make an underdog out of Chris Pine’s Captain Kirk but it is ultimately Spock’s heroism which emerges towards the end. Even Alice Eve’s Dr Carol Marcus fails to enthrall the viewers mainly because Zoe Saldana’s Lieutenant Nyota Uhura overshadows her. Ultimately it is the supporting characters which shine in ‘Star Trek Into Darkness’ rather than the lead actors.

Another notable feature in this movie is that you get a lot of objects crashing into each other at most times. This is where the action and excitement mostly lies along with the chasing and falling episodes. There are a few deja vu moments but since the action is fast paced the audience is able to pick up on the excitement.

The background details are well done in space, in the spaceships as well as on earth. Abrams has taken a safe route in this action flick and the movie does its job in providing visual entertainment for those who have stepped into the theater to revive themselves from a stressful day. True it does not leave much to ponder over but it provides good light entertainment.

There are a few surprises that Abrams pulls out of his hat like the moment that the team realizes that they will be able to give life back to Kirk as well as the manner in which Benedict Cumberbatch’s Khan wavers between being a villain and a victim seeking revenge on behalf of his fellow beings.

The movie retains the freshness and excitement of the original. This is a good attempt by the film-makers and a good start to adding more sequels to the line up. Other directors too need to take their cue from Abrams on how to mould sequels which manage to surpass its predecessors.