Star Trek Into Darkness Review
Grand Total: 7 ½
Star Trek Review
Grand Total: 7 ¾
Technical
Engaging 6
Moving +1
Suspenseful +1
An amazing scene (opening) +½
Great performance/character (Zachary Quinto as Spock) +½
Obvious plothole -½
Total: 8 ½
Overall impression
Star Trek is the J.J. Abrams directed reboot of the popular television series that later spawned a film series. It features the same characters, though with a brand new story and a brand new cast. The story, which is far too complicated and fast-paced to really summarize, follows James T. Kirk (Chris Pine), a reckless outcast who is convinced to join Starfleet, an intergalactic police organization. He enlists the help of Dr. Leonard McCoy (Karl Urban), Spock (Zachary Quinto), Uhura (Zoe Saldana), Scotty (Simon Pegg), and Sulu (John Cho) to investigate a strange lightning storm in space, one that had appeared on the day of his father’s death.
The opening scene of this film is really brilliant, full of visual storytelling, a lot of plot, and some great emotion that moves he every time I watch it. Emotion that was never quite replicated in the film, despite events that should have merited it. Still, this film is a pretty good blend of action, character, and heart; it’s plenty entertaining. On top of the entertainment, it sets up each of the characters really well, bringing out good performances from everyone. The best performance, I think, comes from Zachary Quinto, whose character was probably the most demanding. The events of the story really bring out a lot of the character that I was not expecting but greatly appreciated. There’s even a romance there, one that just pops up out of nowhere.
The problems I have with the film are in its incredibly complicated story and in its villain, Nero; there are just so many things that don’t add up. Nero’s motivations are clear, but he was given a chance to fix his problems, and just didn’t. There are a lot of interesting ideas floating around in this film that weren’t explored when they probably should have been, resulting in a lot of places where I wish the story replaced its action with science-fiction story. Star Trek is more of an action movie than the science fiction of its source material. While I dislike this take on source material, the film just be judged by what it is.
Overall, Star Trek is an entertaining film featuring good performances, a fast pace, and a great opening scene. It may be more action than science fiction, but it’s a good action film. There are definitely some holes in its story, however, and I wish the story was little slower to replicate the emotion captured in its opening scene. Still, given how much this film was able to accomplish in terms of creating a dozen distinct characters, make scenes matter, and keep the whole thing entertaining, I can’t help but call this film a success.
Total: 7
Technical
Engaging 6
Moving +1
An amazing scene (I can save her) +½
Great performance/character (Chris Pine as Captain Kirk) +½
Great music +½
Obvious plothole -½
Total: 8
Overall impression
Star Trek Into Darkness is the sequel to the highly successful 2009 film Star Trek. It features the same characters, who this time have to respond to an attack on Starfleet by John Harrison, an attack that leaves countless dead and requires Captain Kirk and his crew aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise to venture into enemy space.
Now, this film had a lot going for it before it even began: well-established characters. Each of these characters have proven to work well together, something they continue to do in this film. The chemistry between the crew is stellar. Even aspects of the chemistry, such as a certain romance, that I didn’t like in the previous film, work well in this one, adding depth to the characters involved.
This film continues in the footsteps of the previous film in feeling like an action movie with the name “Star Trek” stamped onto the front of it. There are some interesting things going on in the film that could definitely have been explored in a sci-fi setting, but just weren’t. Still, it’s action-heavy story is entertaining.
Furthermore, the story is a lot more straightforward than the story in the previous film, at least at the beginning. The villain is also a lot more fleshed out. All of these elements, at least in the first half of the film, made for a really great time. But, while the movie never ceases to entertain, it slips a little downhill in the second act due to exploitation of the plot. What I mean by that is that this film invents things or uses aspects of the previous film to completely solve its problems, which I found frustrating. You see, I like it when films, especially science-fiction films, have clever plots that keep you really invested. When Star Trek Into Darkness essentially pulls out an ace in the hole, I had to just throw my hands up into the air as the stakes just disappeared. This film pulls out three of these cheats, which I just can’t forgive.
Plot aside, this film is still really enjoyable. The performances, this time, are even better, with Chris Pine’s performance as Captain Kirk the standout. There are so many scenes where you can feel what his character is going through that you can’t help but just break down with him. Of all of the characters in the first film, Kirk was probably the least likeable. In this film, he really turns that around.
Overall, Star Trek Into Darkness is a really entertaining film with great performances, a more straightforward story, a better villain, and more emotion than the previous film. Where it falls short of greatness is in its ability to cheat its way out of difficult situations, which it does on at least three occasions.
Total: 7
Star Trek: Beyond Review
Grand Total: 7 ¼
Technical
Engaging 6
Suspenseful +1
An amazing scene (watching the tape) +½
Great performance/character (Karl Urban as Bones) +½
Obvious plothole -½
Total: 7 ½
Overall impression
Star Trek: Beyond continues the adventures of Captain Kirk and his crew aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise as they slowly progress through their five-year space exploration quest, venturing into uncharted space to discover new worlds. When Kirk and his crew are stranded on a planet by a creature called Krall who is after an artifact, they have to figure out why Krall is after this particular item and why they ended up on this particular planet.
Now, I enjoyed the previous two films for what they were: good action films with Star Trek characters. I wished they had included more science-fiction elements, but they were good as action films nonetheless. Star Trek: Beyond is definitely still an action film, but it, more than the previous two, incorporates science-fiction elements into its story, particularly with its villain, Krall.
The characters, which have always been my favorite part of these films, are great once again. When the crew is stranded, certain members end up in small groups. One of the groups is comprised of Spock and Bones, who couldn’t be more different. This made for a lot of good humor, and a great performance from Karl Urban as Bones, who hasn’t really had as much time to shine as some of the other actors have had with their characters. The other characters are given plenty to do as well. Kirk has finally begun to settle into his role as Captain of his crew. He’s a much less reckless character now, making good decisions about how to take care of his crew. But he’s also a little conflicted about his mission, as five years in space is a really long time to spend with a select group of people. Spock is also going through some problems of his own, as he feels a certain duty toward rebuilding his race, as their are so few Vulcans left. Together, these character struggles work well to give you a feel for how far the characters have come since the previous films.
But just like those films, the story itself is where most of the problems arise here. It’s not particularly bad, but there are just too many holes to ignore in this one. I appreciated a lot of the new characters it introduced, such as the villain and Jaylah, a native of the planet, but it felt like there were just a few too many things stuffed into the story, which didn’t allow it to focus on any particular character or theme. And I don’t think it was because the film didn’t have enough time to do it either. In fact, I think some of the action scenes go on a little too long; they could have been shortened to make room for a better story.
Overall, I enjoyed Star Trek: Beyond. I think it’s pretty much as good as either of the previous installments, with an interesting sci-fi twist that I wish had been explored more, great action, and the same great characters I’ve come to love.
Total: 7