Review Tuesday: STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS

STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS is the second installment of J.J. Abrams reboot of the franchise. While it dropped from the #1 spot upon opening to the #3 spot last weekend, it didn't do too shabby.

Nothing is as it seems when the crew of the Enterprise is sent on a mission to apprehend a  dangerous traitor.

I'll start off by saying that I was NEVER a TREKKIE. I never had a toy phaser. Never had a toy communicator or tricorder. Never wanted Spock's ears. I watched little of the original series, little more of The Next Generation, and barely of the other series. I think I haven't seen about half of the old Trek movies. So why am I compelled to see these new ones? It kinda looks the same. Even the cast look mostly like their original counterparts.

The answer lies in the darker path Abrams has taken. Sure, the movies look pretty slick, but what good is slick without drawing you in. INTO DARKNESS is more of an exploration into the dark sides of us all and how far we'd go for our friends. When the chips are down, would we do the right thing? What exactly IS the right thing to do anyway?  Whose definition are we using here?

For two hours you are thrown into a  universe where nothing is what it seems and you have to question every step you take. The story is compelling. What appears to be a terrorist attack by a traitor is really a countdown to all out war, but with whom exactly?

While all this seems confusing how I'm writing it, the story on screen is fluid. Everything is unveiled to you in good time and the suspense will keep you on the edge of your seat.

This is certainly a movie worth watching. Trekkie or not it s a fun ride to go on and worth the price of admission. I happened to get in and see a bargain matinee (9:20 AM?!?!) that wasn't in 3D and found it fine, maybe even less annoying than the way everything is in 3D these days. Definitely SEE THIS MOVIE!

And now I look forward to what Abrams does with Star Wars...

More on IMDB:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1408101/?ref_=hm_cht_t3

Possible spoilers beyond this point...

• Possibly one of the best kept secrets? The villain is in fact KAHN. From the beginning the rumor mill churned that out but so many sources said it wasn't so that you BELIEVED there was some other villain.
• The cast is PERFECT. You really have a feeling these guys are the original staff.
• How come Dr. McCoy never put on his helmet and whipped out his lawgiver to take care of Kahn? (Karl Urban also recently played DREDD.)
• Why didn't Robocop just whip out his pistol and kill Kahn when he had the chance? (Peter Weller as Admiral Marcus.)
• Zoe Saldana was SMOKIN HOT.
• Alice Eve was SMOKIN HOT.
• Quinto's Spock vs. Pine's Kirk was a brilliant pair. You only need those two for a fun movie.
• Okay, and Simon Pegg. He steals the movie.
• Benedict Cumberbatch takes you by surprise as Kahn Noonein Singh. It's SO unexpected as he looks nothing like Ricardo Montalban.
• They snuck in a tribble!
• Despite what the rumor mill pumped out, the Klingons have a bit more than a cameo. They look familiar yet updated, both the beings and craft, but no less brutal. They appear in one of the pivotal scenes.
• The Klingon crafts must have twin ion engines as they made TIE fighter sounds.
• The Federation Dreadnought was beastly!

Did I mention that Zoe Saldana was hot?