Review of Star Trek Into Darkness (2013) by Jasonbowden1000 — 05 Oct 2013

A timid movie at its core, Star Trek: Into Darkness cynically milks the Star Trek cash cow with another bare bones kill-the-monster plot, propelled with melodramatic danger scenes. It is designed to please two large groups of moviegoers: obsessive geeks giddy over references to previous Star Trek installments, and those casually looking for a special effects spectacle.

We don't find any science in the science fiction, not even fantasy physics, just Cowboys and Indians in space, with any kind of arbitrary magic used to serve any plot point. The fanboy references ruin this version of Star Trek as a standalone universe, as they invite undesirable comparisons to earlier incarnations of the characters, which makes everyone seem like either a cartoonish facsimile or an inauthentic knock-off.

Nothing holds the film together thematically. Thankfully, outstanding acting from the ensemble prevents a total disaster.