It's hard not to fall in
love with J.J. Abrams.
"Wow, this guy's a
Renaissance man." That was what Alyssa Weisberg, one of the casting
directors for Star Trek Into Darkness, said of Abrams when she first
met him. (Alyssa tells Empire magazine that when she first met J.J., he "carried on a very
detailed conversation while sketching something with one hand and composing
music at the same time." - And here I am chuffed if I can sip my mocha and read
the newspaper at the same time!) So if Benedict Cumberbatch is something
of a cult hero, then Abrams is the equivalent, according to us Renaissance
nerds.
In his first Star Trek movie (2009) Abrams wrestled the franchise away from the diehard Trekkies and gave it to us ignorant, earth-bound movie goers in the form of a jaw-dropping, visually fun action flick – backed up with a sensitivity to characters that is not often seen in action films. Star Trek Into Darkness continues this trend as it stays true to the diehards - Klingons make their Abrams debut and there's a Khan and Nimoy sighting - while continuing to reach out to those of us who didn't have William Shatner hanging on our walls as kids. However, with that said, there's something overly safe about this latest instalment. It's one of those "good but not daring" flicks which certainly doesn’t dare go where no
We first find my
doppelgänger, Captain James Kirk (Chris Pine), and his motor-mouthed doc, Dr.
Leonard ‘Bones’ McCoy (Karl Urban) on a bizarre faraway planet, where they are
dodging bright red vines and chalked white natives. It seems rather than having
done something wrong, the Enterprise team is connecting with their TV roots and
seeking to “explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new
civilisations". But this peaceful post-war view (remember the Star Trek
show began in the alternate thinking 1960s) is put under threat as internal
terrorism and Klingon aggression threatens to force the Federation's hand into
militarisation.
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| James Kirk |
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| James Kirk. |
This opening scene is a dead-set winner! It's hop-out-of-your-seat material which draws similarities to Abrams' stellar opening in Star Trek. (When I first went to see Abrams' Star Trek in 2009, I arrived late and thought I must've walked into the wrong cinema as the action in the opening scene was climatic stuff!) J.J., along with his all-star writing team (Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman, Damon Lindelof), know how to kick-start a blockbuster... in style.
Soon after Spock (Zachary
Quinto) is rescued from the erupting volcano, Kirk’s team, and the Federation
as a whole, is struck by the not-so-unrealistic terrorist acts of John 'I'm a
one man terrorist outfit' Harrison (Benedict Cumberbatch). After blowing up a
chunk of futuristic London, Harrison takes aim at high command - and then
things “get personal”.
What follows is a
Klingon-whipping terrorist hell bent on reviving his people, who happen to be
‘sleeping’ in missiles (no, that's not a grammar error - Harrison's “family”
are sleeping in missiles!). Does this register slightly left field of
stupidity? Yes. And of course who is in possession of these missiles? Why the USS
Enterprise, of course! You can take it from there…
Benedict Cumberbatch has
been widely praised for his role as the villain… who receives the most
over-the-top evil musical motifs in Hollywood history. Yet I want to argue that
while Benedict is indeed decent, the stupidity behind his character's
desires/motives makes me want to forget him. Sure, his seriousness... and
British paleness... makes us stand back and quiver - but that doesn't
stop one from laughing at the stupidity of the plot. Yet we must appreciate
Abrams' desire for us to connect with, and even understand, this villain. I
just don’t know why the plot couldn’t have been a little more believable? Then
again, we are willing to suspend our belief and accept all the space travel and
technological advances!
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| "I'm trapped in a glass case of emotion!" - Ron Burgundy. |
What has to be applauded
is the way we work out who the real “bad guy” is – in Sherlock’s (sorry, I
couldn’t help it!) break-neck speed. Is it John Harrison?
Or the one dimensional, Avatar-esque bad guy from the Federation, Admiral Marcus
(Peter Weller)?
Chris Pine and Zachary
Quinto continue to impress as the on again/off again couple of Kirk and Spock.
At one point I thought Spock's rocky relationship with Uhura (Zoe Salanda) was
meant to parallel his rocky relationship with the demoted Captain Kirk. Pine
seems to have encapsulated what Shatner brought to the series and then built
upon it with his ability to sell his sincerity and charisma onscreen. And with
Qunito handing in two memorable performances as Spock, who has to be considered
one of the greatest action movie characters of all time, audiences are laughing
at the contrasts between the two (polar opposite) mates and feeling their heart
strings being pulled when the pair face near insurmountable opposition. And just
like we could never imagine having fish without chips, audiences can't imagine
seeing Kirk without Spock.
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| Is Kirk getting lost in Spock's perfectly straight hairline? |
The supporting cast is
superb – so much so that you almost think the roles are wasted on the actors.
Karl Urban is somehow able to turn an undercooked character into a memorable
one in Dr. ‘Bones’ McCoy. The Enterprise doc stands out, especially in his
flirtatious and hilariously dangerous scene with newcomer Carol Marcus (Alicia
Eve). He’s one of those typical Abrams-esque characters, hilarious and
intelligent. As Benedict Cumberbatch confirms about the director himself,
"He’s focused and passionate but at the same time he’s got a killer sense
of humour; stand up level, very sharp."
The other comedic roles
can be found in the engine room(s) of The Enterprise, in Chekov (Anton Yelchin)
and Scotty (Simon Pegg). Both are loveable characters who bring foreign accents
into an otherwise American enterprise - and I dare say their accents (especially
in the case of Chekov) produce half the laughs. They seem to be fan favourites
too – and for good, and hilarious, reasons.
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| I just realised I forgot to mention the female supporting cast... here you go! |
Visually Into Darkness
is a knock-out. Abrams, his cinematographer (Dan Mindel) and visual effects
supervisor (Roger Guyett) probably won’t get the props they deserve in this
field because, well, they smash it every time round. Seriously, take a
look at Abrams’ resume and tell me which of his directed films doesn’t stand
out visually. MI:3? Star Trek? Super 8?
It’s that action scene
where Harrison and Kirk fly through space that makes the hairs on my arms stand
and salute. Talk about brilliant! Sure it’s cliché in that we know they’re
going to make it by the skin of their teeth – but who bloody cares?! It’s a
spectacle and that’s what we want. It’s really no wonder the folks at Disney
courted J.J. Abrams, like he was Lebron James in the free agency, to do the
next Star Wars movie.
Just beware of the flare
warfare Abrams declares on audiences in this one. It seems to be his visual,
in-movie, calling card to create lens flare on the screen – so perhaps think
about bringing a pair of shades to the cinema with you!
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| I've given you flair warning! |
Star Trek Into Darkness is a whole lot of fun. It’s that kind of
action packed (perhaps even overstuffed?) flick you have to see at the movies
to really feel its force (no pun intended). Plus let’s be honest, those
ships look bigger and better on the silver screen! Ignore the stupidity in the
plot and you will walk out of this one with your fingers separated… in a Vulcan
kind of way.
7/10
P.S. Hats off to Michael
Kaplan (Into Darkness costume designer) for making the geekiest threds around, stylish and,
well, kinda cool. Check out this Empire article for pictorial evidence!
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