Review of Star Trek Into Darkness (2013) by Jan K — 19 May 2014

It boggles my mind that so many people despise this movie. I realize that it contradicts the near entirety of the original series, and there are some clear "rip-offs" of the Wrath of Khan, but what makes this movie so great is the character development between Kirk and Spock. In the original series, it always seemed like they were just friends, with a couple of different ideologies. In Into Darkness, they seem to be the closest of buddies, yet they are also incredibly distant, and this relationship captivated me. I could not give two craps about the death of Spock in The Wrath of Khan, but this movie teared me up.

The acting is fantastic, particularly Quinto, Cumberbatch, and Karl Urban, the action scenes are quite literally dazzling, and although some of the plot seems the slightest bit generic, it is competent enough to be enjoyed and is masked by incredibly articulate style on behalf of director J.J. Abrams. Good fun!