Review of Star Trek Into Darkness (2013) by Dylan D — 10 Sep 2014

Star Trek Into Darkness tops its 2009 predecessor in nearly every way, a difficult task to be sure considering that film's excellence. Into Darkness is huge in scope, infinitely fun, dramatically sound, and very well balanced in terms of recreating critical pieces from "Space Seed" and The Wrath of Khan and combining them with new ideas and new execution of favorite old moments, of which there are too many to mention and at the cost of spoiling the surprises.

The performances are fantastic, the action is insanely exciting, the special effects are seamless, and the drama is top-notch. It's the perfect Summer blockbuster and a film casual audiences and Star Trek die hards alike will love, even if the film is absent the thematic subtext of A Tale of Two Cities that brought the previous "Khan" film full circle.

But then again, Into Darkness tells a different story for a different time with its own themes built around other classic Star Trek, and innately human, themes.