STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS

year: 2013 cast: Chris Pine,  Zachary Quinto, Karl Urban, Simon Pegg, Peter Weller rating: ***1/2

The Starfleet Federation often gets in the way of the intensely intrepid and equally stubborn James T. Kirk. He’s the Captain of a Starship, sure, but as a risk taker he tends to land himself, and his crew, in loads of trouble. So now he’s really in his element as the Enterprise winds up on a classified mission that has nothing to do with Federation rules or having to stick by them.

First we begin with another mission – one gone completely haywire. Thrust into a perilous situation, director J.J. Abrams lets us know this won’t be anything short of a rollercoaster ride. Thankfully there are enough cerebral elements further along that... reminiscent of the original series that relied more on chess match precision than adventurous gusto… brings us back into an old school aura including prosthetic aliens and various references to other characters from times past – or in this case, present…

Where Kirk, after putting the Prime Directive (to not interfere with the internal development of alien civilizations) in jeopardy... and following an act of domestic terrorism... the Enterprise ventures to a planet to find the culprit, a mysterious superhuman named Harrison, who did undercover work for the Federation – Marcus (Peter Weller) in particular, the man responsible for bringing Kirk’s mentor, the endearingly lecturing Admiral Pike, into the Federation.

The second half roars with unbridled energy: a resilient Enterprise shuttle lands on a planet replete with the usually combative Klingons. Yet these fallback foes mean little to our story: it’s Harrison – who we eventually learn is the infamous warrior Khan – holding most of the cards... Within this constantly shuffled deck are twists and turns (while another important antagonist lurks in the shadows) that shouldn't be spoiled. And the way all secrets are revealed gel smoothly with the action sequences, each pivotal to the story and with little downtime in-between.

While not entirely flawless... The awkward post-romantic banter between Spock and Uhura feels contrived; one particular scene is way too similar to a past TREK movie; and  Kirk eventually becomes a brooding Marvel style superhero… Thankfully the other crew members, especially Spock... tempted to follow his human emotions… and Scotty, given his own subplot that ties loose ends together… has important footing in this sequel to a reboot of a franchise that hasn’t neglected its primal roots and doesn't completely adhere to a video game generation.