Here’s a fun summer movie that’s capable and engaging. JJ Abrams likes and respects the things that have made Star Trek one of the most enduring franchises. Into Darkness has the dependable characters acting out their dependable tags as they deal with situations before them. And the film has the little moral messages we all like such as the endurance of friendship and the importance of the heart. There’s even a trip down to a planet with a remarkably stagy look. For us fans, what’s not to like?
And Into Darkness even brings a bit of innovation. For one, the film uses the very timely element of
terrorism, and it does so without trivializing it. The terrorist attack here is real and important and not some gratuitous plot element. The story has a bit of originality, too, despite its neatness, which almost signals what is going to happen. But with so much of what you expect, it’s the visuals which often carry the film. In
The many distinctive elements in Into Darkness also contribute to experience of the film. There are Abrams’ own 80s-inspired blue lens flares to touch the nostalgia base while giving a sense of immediacy, and we have to wonder if all the alien creatures in the Federation are partly practice for future Star Wars features we’ll see from Abrams. There’s even decent acting, especially on the part of Chris Pine, who sells Kirk.
So this is a fun movie that actually has a little more takeaway than much of the other summer fare.
