JJ Abrams' initial reboot of the Star Trek franchise was fantastic fun: with an expertly picked cast, well timed comedic injections and incredible visual effects dominating the screen. It did have flaws but every audience left the cinema wanting more. Abrams heard those calls, coupled with a lovely box office intake, and his sequel, Into Darkness, is pretty much the complete package.
The story picks up a few years down the line; Kirk (Chris Pine) has completely warmed to his seat in the Enterprise Captain's chair, so much so that a touch of arrogance is creeping into his commands. The film opens with a tribe of pretty angry aliens chasing Kirk and McCoy (Karl Urban) through their vegetation. The crew is attempting to prevent the obliteration of the indigenous race but Spock (Zachary Quinto) finds himself marooned inside the erupting volcano that would be the tribe's destruction. In order to save his First Office, and best friend, Kirk flaunts the Starfleet Prime Directive: allowing the primitive race to see the Enterprise rising out of their ocean as they rush to save Spock.
Fast forward to a meeting at Starfleet for Kirk and Spock where we find out that Spock filed a report of the incident, leaving Kirk to be stripped of the Enterprise and furious with his friend. Not much later, though, Starfleet Command have a reason to reinstate both to the Enterprise and the rest of their crew. A brutal terrorist attack on Starfleet archives in London, followed by another on a meeting of all the Starfleet head honchos in San Francisco, means that Admiral Marcus restores our heroes to their 'rightful' positions. Their mission is to kill the elusive Khan, played with brilliant menace by Benedict Cumberbatch, who is responsible for the attacks. The film does not stop for breath as it races at warp speed towards its monumental climax.
One standout feature in Into Darkness is the pendulum of audience support, swinging back and for between characters. There is very little 'black and white' to this story, which makes it an incredibly involving experience for the audience. The political agendas are both compelling and ugly simultaneously, and the middle section of the film will leave a lot of the audience fighting over who they should be standing behind.
Nothing has been spared here for Abrams as he creates a wholly believable and enticing universe, as well as satisfying Hollywood's lens-flare quota for the year. His visual effects are beyond stunning as the Enterprise warps around various planets and space stations. The 3D is perfectly okay; it isn't annoying as in some films but equally, it isn't a knockout feature as in Life of Pi, for example.
The audience will find real pleasure in how the characters have grown into their roles. Kirk and Spock's friendship-cum-bromance perfectly emulates their predecessors and is a credit to Pine's and Quinto's acting ability; both actors seem born to play their roles. Karl Urban is incredibly dry as McCoy, with a bitter metaphor for every situation (something Kirk picks up on). Even Simon Pegg has become a far less annoying Scotty, toning down the accent and his comedy.
Spock and Uhuru's (Zoe Saldana) relationship encapsulates the internal battle Spock is enduring, between the emotionless Vulcan and the human desire to feel. It is an incredibly interesting emotional tussle, and is something we see between Spock and Kirk also throughout the film; all kudos here to Quinto.
A matured cast and a gritty, political storyline doesn't sound very 'Star Trek' but it compensates for the grit with brilliant visual effects, involving characters and the odd, subtle one-liner. It is a boisterous, thoroughly entertaining, film: a mature Star Trek, lacking none of the fun.
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