MOVIE OF THE WEEK (5/16/13): STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS



"C'mon man - I TOLD you we should have just taken the bus!" Dr. "Bones" McCoy (Karl Urban, rear left) and Captain James Tiberius Kirk (Chris Pine) run for their lives in a scene from director J.J. Abrams' action packed STAR TREK INTO DARKNESSCredit: Industrial Light and Magic © 2013 Paramount Pictures. All Rights Reserved.


KEY CAST MEMBERS: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zöe Saldana, Benedict Cumberbatch, Karl Urban, Simon Pegg, Alice Eve, John Cho, Anton Yelchin, Bruce Greenwood, Peter Weller and Noel Clarke


WRITER(S): Robert Orci, Alex Kurtzman and Damon Lindelof (screenplay): Gene Roddenberry (original television series on which the film is based) 

DIRECTOR: J.J. Abrams 


60 SECOND PLOT SYNOPSIS: The sequel to 2009's (yes, it was that long ago) critical and commercial franchise reboot, Star Trek Into Darkness finds the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise in disarray following the removal of its leader, Captain James Tiberius Kirk (Chris Pine) following a successful – but dangerous – mission on a remote planet.

Meanwhile, the Starfleet finds itself under attack after a man (Noel Clarke) carries out a fiendish plot originated by John Harrison (Benedict Cumberbatch), who just happens to be an elite special agent that the organization's leader Marcus (Peter Weller) employed. Throw in some domestic issues between Uhura (Zöe Saldana) and Spock (Zachary Quinto) and the Enterprise crew find their selves facing some serious matters.

But once Harrison's actions cause the crew of the Enterprise to have to chase him down to the far ends of the galaxy, all of the crew's personal issues take a distant second place to stopping a man who could single-handedly destroying the universe as we know it.

WHO WILL LIKE THIS FILM THE MOST: Fans of the 2009 reboot,  Sci-Fi enthusiasts, people who like smart scripts and dialogue, plot twists, Chris Pine, JJ Abrams, Zachary Quinto and/or Benedict Cumberbatch

WHO WON'T LIKE THIS FILM: People who hate 2-hour plus movies, people who think the plot draws too much from recent American military policy, people who like their Sci-Fi to deal more with superpowers than intelligent strategy 

BOTTOM LINE – IS IT GOOD, GREAT, BAD OR DOWNRIGHT AWFUL? In a word, Star Trek Into Darkness is great – and possibly one of the best executed sequels to a sci-fi/superhero (not that it is in an Avengers sense, but let's just role with it, OK?) film in a long, long time.

WHAT'S GOOD (OR BAD) ABOUT IT?: The script is tightly written, delivering clues and connecting dots down the line to give you a complete story arc that not only showcases each character's individual importance, but their relationships to one another and how equally important they are in regards to the events that follow suit. Likewise, the actors – especially on the part by Cumberbatch, Quinto and Urban in particular – not only pay a strong homage to the characters in the way their predecessors famously portrayed them previously, but add their own enhanced, definitive touch to each role (with phenomenal results).

In short, if you are looking for a film that packs a good amount of action with intense scenes that are as dramatic as they are finely constructed under the helm of director J.J. Abrams, the latest journey of the U.S.S. Enterprise is a trip you should take ... Even if it leads you Into Darkness. 

RATING (OUT OF FOUR BUCKETS OF POPCORN):

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