Review: “Star Trek Into Darkness”

Captain’s starlog May 17, 2013: The USS Enterprise is ready for warp speed, once again going boldly where no man has ever gone before.

Well, not quite. “Star Trek Into Darkness” moves fast but achieves little in the way of new frontiers, instead sticking with the same formula that made “Star Trek” a novelty and success in 2009. Lacking the inventiveness of its predecessor, this movie is nothing more and nothing less than a solid action-packed blockbuster helping kickstart the summer season.

The casual moviegoer needn’t worry; this film offers plenty of adrenaline-pumping action and fantastical visual effects, all in 3-D. The film may pose a problem, however, to hardcore Trekkies looking for something more dedicated than a typical summer flick.

“Star Trek Into Darkness” picks up where “Star Trek” left off, continuing the journey of Captain James Tiberius Kirk, Commander Spock and the crew of the USS Enterprise. As Captain Kirk and Spock struggle to balance internal conflicts with their professional duties, a mysterious new nemesis (an old friend of seasoned Trekkies) wreaks havoc on the heart of the Starfleet headquarters, wiping out much of the agency’s leaders and a secret “Section 31.”

As the crew members of the Enterprise attempt to track him down, they uncover deceit and corruption within their own Federation on the verge of war with the Klingon species, a plot point that bears an uncanny resemblance to the Republic and Confederation in the Star Wars saga.

Kirk and Spock return to the big screen with the flavor and personality that made them household names about 50 years ago. Chris Pine plays the legendary commander with the same youthful swagger of a certain William Shatner, before Comedy Central roasted it out of him.

Perhaps more impressive is Zachary Quinto of “Heroes” and “American Horror Story” fame. He offers a more dramatic take on the logical, half-Vulcan half-human Spock, immortalized by Leonard Nimoy, who makes a brief, holographic cameo as his older self.

Simon Pegg returns in his role as “Scotty,” while John Cho continues to man the wheel of the USS Enterprise after the iconic George Takei. But even this crew of promising actors can do little to steer the film away from a formulaic action movie plot.

Take “GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra,” a typical summer action flick of 2009; substitute Agent Duke with Captain Kirk, Cobra Commander with the villain of “Star Trek” and sprinkle in some plot points from the Star Wars saga, and you essentially have the plot to “Star Trek Into Darkness.”

Putting aside the unnecessary melodrama and cheesy cliches in the script, “Star Trek Into Darkness” is good, clean fun. The action is grand, and the special effects and set design are spectacular – nothing less than expected from director J.J Abrams, the man responsible for the recreation of two of the most beloved science fiction sagas in Hollywood history, Star Trek and the heavily anticipated “Star Wars:Episode VII.”

In this film, he gives us roaming landscape shots of meticulously detailed cities, space and rubble that whet the visual appetite and make the idea of a seventh Star Wars movie that much easier to swallow.

Klingon, the official language of Trekkies, makes a triumphant return, and the four-fingered Vulcan salute stays gracefully classic, but there’s still something missing in this film.

The original “Star Trek” captured the imagination of millions in a time of change and uncertainty, delivering ideas of acceptance, peace and leadership through an exciting form. Although an entertaining effort, “Star Trek Into Darkness” does little to carry on this tradition of bold innovation and does little to help the iconic franchise “live long and prosper.”