Reviewed by Victor Rebikoff.
Director: J.J. Abrams, Paramount Pictures, M 132 Minutes.
Following his successful rebooting of the ‘Star Trek’ franchise in 2009, J.J. Abrams returns to direct this stunning sequel with all leading actors reprising their characters from the previous production, in particular Chris Pine as Captain James Kirk.
Other crew members include Zachary Quinto (Mr Spock), Karl Urban (Dr Bones McCoy), Zoe Saldana (Uhura), John Cho (Sulu), Simon Pegg (Scotty), Anton Yelchin (Chekov), and Bruce Greenwood (‘Gold’) as Kirk’s commanding officer Admiral Christopher Pike and mentor.
Abrams’ thrilling sci-fi adventure begins in dramatic circumstances after Kirk and Spock risk their lives to save the inhabitants of a faraway planet, only for Kirk to learn he has lost the Enterprise captaincy for not adhering to Starfleet regulations.
As Kirk prepares to start a new assignment as Pike’s First Officer a new threat suddenly appears with a terrorist attack in San Francisco and London orchestrated by Starfleet officer John Harrison (Benedict Cumberbatch – ‘Sherlock Holmes’ ).
With Pike killed in the London attack Kirk appeals to Starfleet Admiral Marcus (Peter Weller – ‘Robocop’) to go after Harrison which sees him again put in command of the Enterprise.
Besides assembling the same crew, Kirk also includes the Admiral’s daughter Carol (Alice Eve – ‘Men in Black 3’), a science officer who has brought on board the starship a number of suspicious but elongated torpedo-type containers supposedly containing deadly weapons.
Following Harrison’s capture on the Klingon planet of Kronos, Kirk is soon subjected to an awesome attack from his own side, quite surprisingly from Admiral Marcus himself the head of Starfleet command.
As his starship is about to face what is certain destruction, Kirk takes the necessary heroic action to save his crew and prevent the Enterprise from crashing to Earth.
Apart from the polished performances of Pine, Quinto and Saldana the one that really stands out is Cumberbatch providing a riveting portrayal of the villain Harrison, not to overlook Leonard Nimoy’s (aka the real Spock) cameo appearance.
Abrams has created a movie blockbuster filled with several spectacular special effects, plenty of exciting spills and thrills and many memorable moments to ensure the voyages of the starship Enterprise continue well into the future.
And in tribute to Star Trek’s late legendary actor Nimoy one cannot overlook Spock’s lasting words: “live long and prosper.”
Vic’s Verdict: 4 Stars
Star Trek; Into Darkness is to be televised on 9GO at 9.00pm on Saturday 18 September.
