Star Trek Into Darkness

Okay, so here's the warning: Further down the page, this review will contain spoilers. Do not click on the G+ link or read any further if you haven't seen the film yet. I'm going to start with the spoiler free version, but then I'm going to get spoilery. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

So, basic impressions: I loved it. I thought it captured pretty much all of the things I have loved in Star Trek, beginning with the Classic Series and running through to the darker, post-Roddenberry era, while also retaining its own, distinctive style. In the latter camp, the film retains the bright-white Enterprise main set designs, the slightly tweaked exterior appearance (which is matched to other Federation vessels) and the more industrial look of the engineering section, the updated uniforms and the sleek, silver phasers with their rotating kill/stun emitters, helping to establish the new universe as a coherent entity in its own right.

The film balances action, pathos and humour well, the action is fast-paced, with suitable breaks for the audience to catch its breath, and despite the trailer's best efforts retains a couple of surprises. On that subject, man but that trailer is an odd one, rearranging some lines in a way that actually goes against the key point of the scenes they come from.

So, yeah, this is another good one.

Is it as good as the first reboot? More importantly, perhaps, is it as good as the former second film?

I would say yes to the first, no to the second, but only because Wrath of Khan is so goddamn good.

And now, the spoilery bit.

Benedict Cumberbatch is not your father's Khan Noonian Singh; he is, however, awesome, and has a different backstory to explain the changes in the character. He is also, as ever, an ideal foil to the Enterprise crew because he can match them all on some level. Smarter than Spock, bolder than Kirk, stronger than any three of his enemies. I predicted the basic model of Kirk pursues a vendetta against Khan way back and they work it well, at the same time threading in Khan's own quest for vengeance and a surprise drop from DS9 in the shape of Section 31.

In terms of lifts from the older material, we also have Carol Marcus, torpedo designer, Bones performing surgery on a torpedo (and of course an 'I'm a doctor, not a...' line). There is a whole section towards the end which serves as almost a flat inversion of an iconic scene from Wrath, and the obligatory roar delivered in fine style if from an unexpected source. On the subject of those last two, they are things that could have been done very, very badly indeed if mishandled even slightly, but the emotional control of Zachary Quinto's Spock continues to be played as more fragile than Nimoy's, and in this film is specifically noted as a choice that he makes, rather than a state of being. It's also never noted, but having effectively snubbed the Kobayashi Maru test in the rebooted universe, Kirk not only faces the no-win scenario for the first time here but also correctly determines its creator's solution.

Oh, and there be Klingons here, somewhere between the old and the new with their more refined cranial ridge, helmets and redesigned bat'lehs. Being a colossal nerd, I was disappointed to see their homeworld names Kronus, rather than Qo'noS, but I guess that would have been a tad confusing. I wasn't wild about the new Bird of Prey design, but then I really loved the old one.