Sci-Fi Pick: Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)
I’m certainly not here to debate the merits of J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek franchise in comparison with the canon that had been set in place since the series kicked off in 1966. What I will say though is that the phrase everyone insists on using about Abrams’ two films is that they “breathed new life into the franchise,” and I honestly can’t think of a more appropriate way to put it. Those films took what people had loved from the movies to come before and injected a heavy dose of space western. Well, OK, in the case of Star Trek Into Darkness, there was also a heavy dose of destruction porn – you know, Michael Bay’s favorite.
Star Trek Into Darkness is a fresh add to the Netflix Watch Instantly library in the United States, and I highly recommend you watch it as soon as possible if you’ve not yet had a chance. The consensus is that this sequel isn’t as good as Abrams’ 2009 film, and I suppose I would agree, but in my opinion Darkness is even more fun than its predecessor. It’s got crazy action and in many ways is as good of a disaster movie as anything Roland Emmerich slams into theaters – which is kind of a compliment, I guess?
Plus, there’s the small aspect of a guy called Benedict Cumberbatch. My main qualm with the 2009 film is that Eric Bana’s Nero simply didn’t hold up to the rest of the characters or performances. The same can’t be said for John Harrison. Cumberbatch is always exceptional and as Harrison he brought a villain that was worthy of such a fine franchise (see the clip below for proof). I won’t go into any specific details here, but I’d also like to say I was a big fan of his later scenes, too.
Really though, all you need to know is that Star Trek Into Darkness is an excellent action romp set in one of the most iconic sci-fi worlds ever. That alone should be enough of a reason for you to give this a watch, shouldn’t it?
That’s it for today, but be sure to tune in next week though for another edition of We Got Netflix Covered! Also, be sure to leave a comment and let us know if you enjoyed any of these picks.