Star Trek Into Darkness

J.J. Abrams’ latest instalment of his rebooted Star Trek franchise has the potential to divide audiences because of certain narrative decisions that, due to their spoiler nature, cannot really be discussed here. Suffice to say, depending on individual knowledge of and feelings toward the existing canon, Into Darkness may well enthrall or infuriate.

Exploiting the ‘alternate universe’ theory established in its predecessor, the latest exploits of Kirk (Chris Pine) and his crew tread a fine line between remake, reboot, and homage, with varying degrees of success. It's not a disaster, however, mainly due to a more coherent script, a chilling adversary in the form of John Harrison, played with calculating ruthlessness by Benedict Cumberbatch, and the continuing talents of Zachary Quinto as Spock.

Racing from one action set-piece to another, it does pause to include some genuinely poignant interactions between Kirk and his loyal Vulcan friend, while there are plenty of nods to the original series that will delight Trekkers.

As is to be expected of a big budget, much anticipated film of this kind, visually it is a mass of fast-paced, mostly successful CGI, although the constant overuse of lens flare is even more distracting in pointless 3D. Entertaining, flashy, and action-packed, if rather lacking in substance, Into Darkness represents a continuing improvement on the franchise, with interesting implications as to the direction of future films.