Well I've just got back from watching Star Trek Into Darkness. What did I think? Well you can breath a sigh of relief. Star Wars VII is in very good hands. The movie was simply brilliant. I'm not going to give any thing away in regards to the plot, so this is spoiler free. What I will say, though, is that the pace is good, the sets are second to none, the soundtrack is incredible and overall the movie is almost perfect.
J.J. Abrams could have fallen into the trap of using too much green screen but the director quite cleverly uses a nice balance between actual sets and CGI. What this results in is impressive set pieces such as the warp core set and the other interior shots of the Enterprise. Twenty-third century London was believable with the use of CGI, whilst still being able to recognise the familiar buildings of the UK capital. It also seems Abrams has toned back (slightly) on the lens flare. It's still there but not as noticeable as the 2009 Star Trek.
The acting and dialogue are consistently good, with Benedict Cumberbatch being the stand out actor. His character is suitably evil and sinister, and Cumberbatch easily delivers on the evilness with his British accent. The rest of the crew perform brilliantly, and Chris Pine as Kirk and Zachary Quinto as Spock have really found their pace. I would easily watch seven seasons of Star Trek with the current cast, although I'm still not convinced with Simon Pegg's interpretation of Scotty. I keep getting the impression he's just trying too hard, especially with the Scottish accent.
The soundtrack by Michael Giacchino is impressive and full of emotion. Although very similar to the 2009 movie, it still delivers and why change something if its not broke? If he had to replace John Williams for Star Wars then he would be the best choice. He's proven he can do big movies and big sci-fi movies at that.
The movie is almost perfect but there is one negative point. The last few scenes of the movie are a rehash of a previous story told in Star Trek with a slight twist, and this didn't fit too well with the overall movie. I don't think it was needed and replicating some of the lines from a previous incarnation of Star Trek didn't work and wasn't really needed.
Saying that, this was the only gripe and I came away from the movie thinking that this was my second favourite movie, right behind Star Trek First Contact. It left me wanting to see more of the current crew of the Enterprise. The characters have become more three dimensional and you start to care for each member. It really is that good and will not disappoint Star Trek fans or casual movie goers.
Go see it!
Rob Wainfur
@welshslider
Comments
Post a Comment
I would love to hear your thoughts. Please leave a comment, don't be shy.