Movie Review: Star Trek Into Darkness (Spoiler-Free)

Besides having one of the harder to understand titles this summer (Is it “Star Trek Into Darkness” or just “Into Darkness”? I really can’t tell . . . ), the latest Star Trek movie was one I’ve been very excited to see. JJ Abrams did a great job with the first one, in my opinion, and I’ve liked his stuff overall. Plus, Benedict Cumberbatch. Win, right?

So I went to see it by myself, knowing that Denisa and I won’t be in theaters until MC is old enough to get babysat. (I’ve vowed never to be the parent with the screaming baby in the theater. I’ve stayed true to that vow for two kids, and I’m not about to go back on it with the third.)

I thoroughly enjoyed the movie, although I think I might be seeing lens flares for the next few weeks. (Seriously, JJ. Tone down the lens flares. It’ll still look futuristic without them–promise.)

The plot is simple: Star Trek. I don’t want to give away any more than that. If you liked the first JJ Abrams flavored Trek, you’ll like this one. If you’re a long-time Trekkie . . . I don’t know what you’ll think. It depends on what sort of a Trekkie you are. Some of you will love this. Some will loathe it. But if you’re That Sort of Trekkie, you’re going to see it one way or another, so I suppose my review doesn’t matter.

There are twists and turns. Nods to original Trek movies and episodes. One minor complaint I’d have is that because I was familiar with the original material, it was pretty easy to guess what was going to happen–right down to how certain scenes would play out and be blocked. But even then, I enjoyed the spin those scenes took, and so it was all groovy more or less.

The action scenes are very explodey. It’s an exciting movie through and through, so top marks for that. This is definitely one of those movies where paying some to see it on a big screen is worth it. Three and a half stars out of four. Definitely check it out.

(And in other news, I really want to do some mashups of movies. What I mean is Cumberbatch is going to be playing Smaug later this year. How awesome would it be to have Smaug be the villain of Star Trek Into Darkness? And then you have Sylar as Spock, Shaun as Scottie, Harold as Sulu–see where I’m going here? Best. Movie. Ever.

Is technology far enough on that we can make this happen? Now? Make it so!)

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