Fan Reviews (SPOILERS!)

[Hunter Rider]

Thought we needed a thread for fan reviews, BEWARE spoilers!

 

[Hunter Rider]

I saw it today and thought it was absolutely fantastic! It starts off at breakneck speed with a little nod to ROTLA and never lets up for two hours.

The story in this film is just so tight and thrilling, when you look at it, it is like a three way game of chess played out across two ships for the most part, it manages to be both epic and huge in spectacle, while remaining quite contained in it's narrative.

Everyone is on their A-game, supported by a good script that contains both heart and humour and the importance of the seemingly smaller things amidst the grander scale drama, Chris Pine really does a great job with Kirk here, finding a middle ground between the ultra reckless Kirk of the first film and the more mature Kirk from the Shatner films.

I kept a separate paragraph for Cumberbatch as he was simply magnificent, he made for a truly terrifying villain that makes you fear for Kirk and all of Star Fleet, his presence and line delivery are so powerful. I'd say he's the best screen villain since The Joker. I'm not sure how hardcore fans feel about him being revealed as Khan (I didn't know going in) but the way he revealed it to Kirk was chilling.

The action set pieces were uniformly superb, crafted with invention and skill, the fact you care about the characters obviously enhances the investment, but these sequences are also deserving of merit for their infusion of drama and tension within the kinetic spectacle. Whether it's the attack on Star Fleet's leaders by Khan, the battle with the Klingon's, Kirk and Khan halo'ing from one ship to another or the big chase between Spock and Khan, every one of them delivers.

The last thing I wanted to mention was the tone, yes it has humour like the first movie but this film has a real foreboding menace throughout, not only from Khan but from the scenes on Chronos with the Klingon's and from the Dreadnaught ship, the way it appears over The Enterprise completely dwarfing it is awe inspiring and is a cross between the first reveal of the Star Destroyer in ANH and the feeling you get when the shark is approaching in Jaws, masterful stuff.

I'm not a big Star Trek fan, I've seen some shows and a few of the older films, but I loved the first movie JJ did and this sequel trumps it in every way in my view. 9.5/10

 

[Hush]

I'm seeing it tonight, I'll review after.

 

[TyrionLannister]

Seen it twice with the second time in IMAX 3D. (If you have a chance definitely see it at IMAX. The scenes shot in IMAX that take up the whole screen are just as magnificent, if not more so, than those in the Nolan films.) Anyway loved it both times.

As i'm sure we've all heard Cumberbatch is the star of this film and because he is so good it has led to one of my few complaints about the movie. There isn't enough of him! But hopefully we may see his return and all his buddies in part 3.

My second quibble with the film was black out ending during the Spock fight with Khan. I just thought it was a bit anti climactic but maybe that's because the I could see the Kirk resurrection with the blood coming a mile away.

But those are nothing when compared to the rest of the film. Not that big of a Star Trek fan but an outstanding followup to a fantastic reboot 9/10

 

[jmc]

Reposting my review.

It's been four long years since our first journey with the new crew of the Enterprise, and man has it been worth the wait. JJ Abrams follows up his first outing with the new crew with a second adventure that is more than equal to its predecessor.

The title Into Darkness is possibly a little misleading because the tone of the film isn't all that different from film one, if anything the opening sequence points to the exact opposite, but where characters go on a personal level fits perfectly with it. This is a film about actions and the consequences that come from them. Kirk's actions in the opening sequence and events in between films have landed him in hot water. His blatant disregard for authority and arrogance toward the prime directive sees him reprimanded by Star Fleet resulting in demotion. His back seat doesn't last long however, when John Harrison strikes against both London and Star Fleet Kirk virtually demands he be the one to hunt him down.

What follows is best left unspoiled, but the journey the characters go on is quite riveting. Kirk's original intent is to kill Harrison, but it's during the journey and eventual capture of him Kirk's attitude begins to change from one of dismissal of Star Fleet's principles to one that understands their importance. Kirk's journey is about him actually knowing what it means to be a captain. It's not just about the fact you get to sit in the chair, it's about the choices you make whilst in the chair and what that chair stands for. Pine is good but I still can't help but feel he doesn't quit fit into this role all that well, he still give a great performance however.

Spock's arc is especially interesting, throughout the course of the film we get under the surface of a Vulcan character like we've never one before. For starters he's got relationship issues with Uruha. Emotions have always been a part of Vulcan history, but for the first real time on film it's explored in a way that really delves into the why's. The arc comes into full effect later on when he realized the value of Kirk's friendship. Zach Quinto seems to be the one actor in this series that has genuinely made the rebooted character his own.

Rest of the cast is good but doesn't have a lot else to do. Karl Uban as Bones doesn't have a lot of screen time but has some typically good one-liners to quip. Simon Pegg as Scotty is hilarious as always. Mr Sulu gets a run in the captains chair, whilst Mr Chekov is virtually a background character. Alice Eve is well, there, for no other reason other than she's hot I guess, she didn't have much to do, but was pretty to look at and had a totally pointless underwear shot, so I'm not complaining lol.

Best thing about the cast is without a doubt Benedict Chamberbatch. He is without doubt one of the coldest and frankly most terrifying bad guys in recent years for a mainstream film. His face is a constant mix of hate, contempt, arrogance, and is virtually made of stone throughout the entire movie. It's almost unnerving the way he speaks, he has this gravely monotone voice that would suit a serial killer. This guy would totally destroy you, your entire family and your pet cat up without a second thought, and yet you can't look away. He alone makes this film better than it's predecessor which lacked a good villain.

The films climax is without a doubt the highlight, the emotions run extremely high and for the last half an hour I was on the edge of my seat. There's so much more at stake this time around than the last film when the Enterprise is critically hit but unfortunately it loses its steam for reasons that will become obvious to many.

On the technical side, people will be happy to know the lens flair issues have been reduced substantially, and the effects are outstanding. The scene's in London really give off a Children of Men vibe in their subtlety, it's the future but it's not screaming out 'hey look at me'. We also get our first look at the Klingons in this series, and whilst we only get a brief glimpse it's really only a subtle redesign which shouldn't enrage too many people, the Bird of Prey though does get a decent overhaul though does retain the spirit of the original design.

Downsides, they are few but there were some cheesy moments early on, a couple of eye rolls here and there, and a few logic issues which had me scratching my head, and honestly I didn't really care all that much for the opening sequence. It's that stuff you kinda just accept with these type of movies and whether they call attention to themselves depends entirely on the film. It's a very well paced movie, there's never a moment that really drags out longer than it should. I do have an issue with the ending but I'll get to that when the film starts opening up to more places.

Overall I struggle to see how anyone who didn't enjoy the first film won't walk away from this one equally satisfied if not more so. It's fun but it's also got something to say, and importantly it has heart. Where things boldly go from here is anyone's guess, but here's hoping JJ Abrams is involved in some capacity.

8.5/10

 

[J.Howlett]

INTO DARKNESS IMAX 3D.

Oh man, lots of thoughts after coming out of this roller coaster of a film. In a nutshell, the '09 and INTO DARKNESS have to be considered part of the canon of films/tv series in order to truly see what Abrams and the writers are up to with this "alternate reality" of the TOS crew.

Like the '09 film, this film plays on the destiny card heavily for it's relevance and resonance. You have to know and understand the established canon of the original actors and series for this film to hit you emotionally. It's really the only way for what transpires in this story to really hit you emotionally.

I maybe would not have gone that route but with the "alternate reality" plot device introduced in the previous film, it gave the writers the excuse (some would call it lazy) to essentially play the nostalgia card with each film by cherry picking their favorite moments/stories from the original series/films but reworking them in a slightly different way to push an ensemble story about why this crew is THE CREW to fans and non fans alike.

This is the thesis of the writers and Abrams. Abrams' two films don't show how this crew got together. The films show why they should be together and why they are a family. Strip away the logic and inconsistencies in the narratives of each film and they still work because Abrams is only interested in showing why they are a family and need one another...or should say destined to be a family, to be the best crew of this universe. This is the reason why Kirk's death was inevitable. If you notice, a lot of family is taken away from certain members of the crew in these two films. To fully cement themselves as the family and to fully cement Kirk's arrival of understanding what it means to be in that chair, he needed to die. His path, in this alternate reality, was pushing him there.

So, in essence, INTO DARKNESS is truly the 12th film in the film series. For me, it's the only way the reprise of Wrath of Khan (but in reverse) works as well as it does. For non fans, I'm almost willing to bet that they won't understand what the big deal is with the climax of the picture and the major reveal of the picture.

As to the reveal, Cumberbatch's Khan is interesting. It is of my opinion that Cumberbatch's Khan finally rounds out the character in the canon. SPACE SEED and WRATH OF KHAN always hinted at the savagery of the character bu never went there with him. In this film, it's on full display and it's terrifying the way Cumberbatch goes to that place. If he showed up in the third picture, I wouldn't mind at all because the guy is brilliant. His backstory, as explained in the film, doesn't resonant unless you've seen his two prior appearances. That's why I say that Cumberbatch has finally rounded out the character fully.

The technical aspects of this film are astonishing, especially the IMAX sequences. Giachinno's score is brilliant, if a little hammy in the climax. The subtext is fantastic, even though it's not very subtle at all. Love the humor which is much better handled here than Iron Man Three.

A second viewing is definitely needed but if I had to give it a rating out of four stars, I'd say a solid three would be in order.

***/****

 

[SuperJediHero]

Only complaint other than a great movie, is that I wish they had more Uhura, Alice Eve scenes (Girl on Girl making out, or crazy action scenes, whichever). The movie seem like it's all about Kirk and Spock, but these two females didn't have that much going on. A little disappointed in this aspect, that's all.

9

 

[flickchick85]

Well, as I just posted in the other thread, I enjoyed this FAR more than I expected to. The spoilers about Khan that I had read really lowered my expectations, and I was very pleasantly surprised to see how well they handled it.

While I expected Cumberbatch to be awesome, and he was, the standout here for me was Chris Pine. I mean, I liked him in ST09 even if I came away from that more impressed by Quinto, but I was not expecting this kind of powerful performance from him this go-round at all. Kirk got put through the ringer in this film, and Pine sold it every step of the way.

I had a few minor complaints - I'm not sure Khan's backstory was handled in the most effective way for the uninitiated, but since I'm not a member of that group and know his backstory pretty well, it worked for me. I just couldn't help but feel like someone who wasn't familiar with that backstory might get a bit lost in all the expositional dialogue they used in an attempt to give the audience the Cliffs Notes version.

Carol Marcus felt like a superfluous addition to me, and I would have liked for Bones to have gotten a little more focus. It seemed like he was basically there to spout metaphors (Kirk commenting on it didn't excuse it) and snark at Spock, and his friendship with Kirk seemed to have been put on the back-burner in order to prop up the Kirk/Spock friendship more. Which is fine, I suppose. I just didn't care for it because in the original series, I saw Kirk/Spock/Bones to be the heart of the series, and not just Kirk/Spock.

There are probably other minor quibbles I'll find with the plot upon subsequent viewings like I did with ST09, but as of right now, I'd give it an 8.5/10, putting it right up there with with The Place Beyond the Pines as my favorites of the year so far, and just a slight notch above IM3, which I also loved.

 

[chicagodave]

I really enjoyed it a lot of fanservice far more than the one from 09, although the story was a bit of a rehash i still thought they did a good job. Fortunately i stayed awayed from the rumors and was pleasantly suprised at various points in the movie. I actually enjoyed it better than the 09 one.

 

[Motown Marvel]

It was okay. It was a poor mans wrath of khan and it didn't really work so well. The premise of the story had me hooked, but as it unraveled it just became a mediocre rehash that was nothing short of lackluster and underwhelming.

 

[Solidus]

I enjoyed the film quite a bit. I will give a short review.

STID I would put a little bit less then ST09. But still a great movie. The visuals, action, and most of the story was well done, and the characters/acting was superb, of course Cumberbatch rocked it as well. Though the problem with most of the film was I agree as some have said a little too much fan service and rehashed plot devices. So it made some parts feel a little uneven in some areas. And as a Trek fan there are some things that were slightly cheesy, and made me kinda roll my eyes a tad.

But after having said that, still a great film. It did some things better then the ST09 version and some worse. I think some of the story/fan service was a little much and it was more then what they had did with ST09. However, there were many things that were better as well, lots of things in the ship, the over all emotional bond between Spock and Kirk was wonderful. The emotion of the film was strong and I really liked that. I also liked that Kirk was not blood thirsty in this one. He did what he always did in the TOS which was go out wanting to fight, but then realizing that it would be wrong to do and he would take the hard but right path of not killing the bad guy ect. That to me was very Trek and done much better then ST09.

Also at the end you felt that Kirk earned it very much, and you know with the third they will make a much more "exploratory" film.

Besides the flaws in the film, after it sank in, I was still grinning from ear to ear, just having a blast with great action and character moments blended in nicely. Though some of the characters were kinda just there, or thrown in there the main people in this film were great.

Pros:

-Great Visuals
-Great adventurous fun
-Loved the Klingon stuff
-Great action sequences
-Strong acting with main characters
-Great emotional arch.

Lows:

-Too much fan service
-Some rehashed plot points (though they barley work it still could have been done slightly differently)
-Some characters like Carol were a tad weaker, not bad but just kind of there.

Bottom Line:

Star Trek Into Darkness is a solid great fun film, it actually becomes more Trek like as the film goes on in terms of philosophy of not being war mongering murder happy types. I really enjoyed Kirk and Spock's development into the characters that we know and love from TOS. Overall a great blockbuster adventure with lots of heart, even if there is some story problems and over zealous fan servicing at times.

9.0/10

 

[pr0xyt0xin]

Loved it. [BLACKOUT]When the villain was revealed[/BLACKOUT] I wanted to start saying nays, but 5 minutes later I had no nays to say. The movie was pretty phenomenal. This coming from a huge fan of each TOS, TNG, a few of the motion pictures, and 2009. Especially 2009 as it was what first attracted me to Star Trek. I had seen plenty on tv, but was never truly interested until I saw the reboot.

Anyway, JJ Abrams kills it again (in the best of possible ways). Everything was just as good as the first. Not necessarily better, but in not a single way worse. All of the acting was great. The obvious shining stars are Pine, Quinto and Cumberbatch. Those three alone made this movie worth watching. Not to say the rest of the crew wasn't also amazing. Pegg and Urban are my personal favorites. All of the action was great. Kept me glued to the screen and had some gut-wrenching, eye-watering moments just like the first.

Anyway, I went in with high hopes... there was turbulence, that ended up being a blessing in disguise... and by the end, my hopes were fulfilled. I'll be back to rate it officially after it's sunk in... Right now, I'm feeling somewhere between 9 and 10.

So for now we'll just say 9.5/10. Best movie of the year so far.

 

[hopefuldreamer]

I absolutely loved this film. It's the first time in ages i've wanted to vote 10/10. I usually always have at least 1 complaint about a film that stops it hitting that top spot, but I honestly don't with this.

It was relentlessly exciting, emotional, with IMO the perfect balance of humour and drama.

I've seen it twice now, and both times had me crying. I love it when a film doesn't loose the impact of it's emotional scenes on second viewing, and it's a hard thing to pull of. Nothing is as upsetting when you already know it's coming, so when it still gets to you and the tears start coming, you know it's because the perfomances are just so good that empathy is really high.

And that's what I think is the movies strength - empathy. When Cumberbatch delivers his lines, you can FEEL the intimidation and tension. There is so much actual danger in this film, and because the cast have been handled so well that you care about each and every one of them, you become really invested in the outcome.

Seriously, anyone who hasn't seen it, should go and see it now!

It's films like this that make the cinema going experience great

 

[titansupes]

I absolutely loved this film. It's the first time in ages i've wanted to vote 10/10. I usually always have at least 1 complaint about a film that stops it hitting that top spot, but I honestly don't with this.

It was relentlessly exciting, emotional, with IMO the perfect balance of humour and drama.

I've seen it twice now, and both times had me crying. I love it when a film doesn't loose the impact of it's emotional scenes on second viewing, and it's a hard thing to pull of. Nothing is as upsetting when you already know it's coming, so when it still gets to you and the tears start coming, you know it's because the perfomances are just so good that empathy is really high.

And that's what I think is the movies strength - empathy. When Cumberbatch delivers his lines, you can FEEL the intimidation and tension. There is so much actual danger in this film, and because the cast have been handled so well that you care about each and every one of them, you become really invested in the outcome.

Seriously, anyone who hasn't seen it, should go and see it now!

It's films like this that make the cinema going experience great

I've only seen it once, and while I have significant issues with

Spoiler

Kirk's Wrath of Khan death and, imo, disappointing resurrection

I still agree with most of what you said. The atmosphere, the intensity of the action scenes. I actually gasped a couple of times. I felt under siege myself when the characters were because of the staging, timing acting etc. It was really excellent.

 

[The Shape]

I really liked the film.

Spoiler

I just think the whole "Harrison is not Khan" campaign they've been putting on for the past year was a waste. Everyone knew/assumed he would be Khan anyway. The denial wasn't hiding anything special like Marvel was hiding with IM3. Abrams and company could have admitted we would be seeing Khan without divulging any story details...

 

[Motown Marvel]

I feel the potential for the Hutchison character was far greater than what they ended up doing with the Khan character. Making him Khan was nothing more than fan service. And within the confines of this movie, the character was nothing interesting. They could have done far greater things with the idea of a super powered Star Fleet member turned rogue terrorist.

 

[Spuzz]

I feel the potential for the Hutchison character was far greater than what they ended up doing with the Khan character. Making him Khan was nothing more than fan service. And within the confines of this movie, the character was nothing interesting. They could have done far greater things with the idea of a super powered Star Fleet member turned rogue terrorist.

I think they did some pretty special stuff with what he was. Also his name was Harrison.

As a non-Trek guy I can confidently say this was such a fun/good movie. Fully gave me faith in Abrams handling Star Wars.

 

[Motown Marvel]

Ah, yes, Harrison. Sorry. For whatever reason I keep saying its Hutchison. Blargh.

 

[Kevin Smith]

How is the score?

 

[Solidus]

Good score. Michael usually always does great music. I loved the "Kronos Warlet" during the Klingon chase.

 

[Kevin Smith]

Do they use the motifs from the first movie? I really liked the score to it, and the end title.

 

[Solidus]

Oh ya, many themes are back from the original.

 

[Kevin Smith]

Oh ya, many themes are back from the original.

That scene where the Enterprise comes up out of the mist or whatever in the first one....the music cue makes my hair stand. Lol.

Anyway that is awesome to know...I can't wait to see it later today.

 

[OnTheAir]

Just got out of the theater...I absolutely loved it! It hit all of the right notes for me. I'll go into detail later when I have gathered my thoughts (and when I'm at a PC instead of using my phone), but it was the most fun I've had in a movie theater since The Avengers. Personally, I enjoyed it even more than Star Trek '09, which I loved.

 

[Frodo]

I think they did some pretty special stuff with what he was. Also his name was Harrison.

As a non-Trek guy I can confidently say this was such a fun/good movie. Fully gave me faith in Abrams handling Star Wars.

I thought it was good as well, and I was raised on Wraith of Khan back in the day.

I think the reaction to this film may be a bit like Iron Man 3 in the sense that the die hard fans may be polarized by it, while alot of the non-diehard fans will enjoy it for what it is.