★★★★☆
Now I am reviewing the sequel to JJ Abram's 2009 adaptation of 1960's TV series Star Trek starring Chris Pine,Zachary Quinto,Zoe Saldana,Karl Urban,John Chu,Alice Eve,Bruce Greenwood,Leonard Nimroy, Peter Weller,Noel Clarke,Simon Pegg and Benedict Cumberbatch,Based on 'Star Trek' by Gene Roddenberry,Score composed and conducted by Michael Giacchino,Screenplay by Robert Orci,Alex Kurstman and Damon Lindelof,Directed by JJ Abrams,Produced by Bryan Burk,Alex Kurstman and Robert Orci.
The film starts off with a bang,not a firework neither an explosion just something different something a little more Star Trek. The First film as I reviewed relied a little bit more on action and really there really wasn't much planet exploring and so but as we see Kirk and 'Bones' running from a bunch of alien natives taken from POTC but not with cannibals. Pine oozing the rougish charm and mischievousness grin and Urban still the bumbling sidekick we saw in the predecessor we now see that Kirk and Spock's rivalry has gone down. At the minute Kirk and Spock are a little heated but they really are fine. As we see an epic sequence as Spock is jetted inside a volcano being thrown into desperate measures to save a planet. Uhara portrayed by Zoe Saldana relationship with Spock seems to be a more concerned one as later one we discover things are not going overly well for the couple. Spock near death really shows a variety of great emotions with Pine not just a joker but showing emotion and great dramatic weight oozing from his performance. Spock saved from the volcano seems to be a pain in the neck to Kirk. Bruce Greenwood returning as Pike really is more stern but more emotional that really contemplates the tone and with all these new rules such as alien natives discovering the Enterprise and it starting a war really brings the plot and the story up a notch and events begin to shape that Kirk isn't enjoying. As Spock is relying on his logic more than his emotion following the rules and raising the stakes on Kirk's nerves. Greenwood showing a fermness and seriousness that we never got to touch on in the predecessor and Pine delving into emotions we saw in the first few shots is broken. Now we switch to a family. Noel Clarke and an unknown actress. Now firstly the background piano score greatly evokes the emotion and feeling of this family. Just a piano solo nothing else nothing generic just an adding emotional experience. Clarke,I thought by look of marketing and trailers would of had a bigger part to play in the story but honestly he is as underused as many characters I've seen this year. Cumberbatch comes up and then London is attacked. Cumberbatch has a strong,villainous, theatrical performance delving into a villainous,theatre, Shakespearian like villain showing just great emotions. As we switch to Kirk hanging at the bar in the first film...
Pike comes and helps. Kirk's punishment is resolved yet his faithful friend Spock is being transferred. As we meet Admiral Marcus portrayed by Peter Weller holding the meeting we see Cumberbatch attack the meeting killing Pike and then the vendetta starts. Kirk taking down the ship has now a personal vendetta and as we see Spock delve into moral emotion Kirk decides to go to Marcus. Weller has a really old Pike feeling to him as he is a leader. Now Klingons are in the original TV series and several old movies featuring William Shatner and Patrick Stewart but this time their relationship with Starfleet is very heated. Now the truth to a number of missiles is a great twist. The twists are strong and hold the plot up and making the film feel more like what the first Iron man 3 trailer was. Now Spock is a much more rebellious first officer seeing that this is really not right. Spock just delves into a bunch of rules and Simon Pegg arguing constantly really shows that he isn't just good at comedy. Scotty gone down to Earth and Kirk unsure of his decisions we are sent into Kronos,home of the Klingons. Now we discover as Kirk with Spock and Uhara the happy couple have been fighting with each other and they begin arguing on the ship. The stakes are higher and attacked by a Klingon ship we get a fast paced action sequence involving the Klingons going on a little chase. Outgunned and at the edge our team trust in Uhara not to get them killed. As the Klingons, brilliantly recreated in a modern universe by excellent prosthetics are untrustworthy of them their taste for bloodshed goes a little bit higher than expected. The Klingons attack with extreme attack and weaponary and then the turn comes from Cumberbatch. Harrison leaps into battle, killing the Klingons with extreme prejudice and Hitman like moves providing a Bane like secaniro that this villain is both smart but physically talented as well. The Screenwriters keep on making more of twists turning round the constant visuals and images that we saw of the trailers and turning them on their poor little heads. Cumberbatch is a slow Shakespearian mover careful and smart but with no cold hearted charisma we saw in the Sherlock TV series.
Cumberbatch is quickly handed over without a problem and is a small similarity to the Avengers but no flaw. We see a curvy twist, unexpected, unpredictable and making this a film filled with surprises. Pine makes a conflicted performance with Kirk and then makes a choice which has just a similarity to Thor 2. Kirk calls Scotty as Kirk prepares to join with John and make Weller pay for his twist. Alice Eve in her performance is characterized as smart, emotionally conflicted and Eve does show those things. A fast paced, exciting action sequence squared out and characterized perfectly. As they threaten Weller after he does massacre the innocent crew and then it comes. A twist with help from Nimroy. Not hard to follow just a good surreal twist with every good ounce. The battle is paying off and as the finale begins to climb we see Kirk do something that he would never do before. The Enterprise bams and bangs into every living soul destroying everything and then Spock goes Kirk. Quinto and Cumberbatch are emotionally invested in the story and create great fight scenes. The twist changes and we see a great finale pay off with a different Kirk by our side.
So this deserves 5 stars because it's strong, invested cast with a balance of humour and heartbreaking Nolan action adding a more professional and fresh look to franchise and Michael Giacchino's great scorings that keep the movies going. As such I look forward to Star Trek 3 and hope that this is counted as one of the greatest Star Trek films ever made.