Review of STAR TREK -- INTO DARKNESS

STAR TREK - INTO DARKNESS

This, the second prequel to the Star Trek series, begins with a young Kirk and Spock trying to save a pre-industrial planet from a massive volcanic eruption. Spock gets trapped, so Kirk takes the Enterprise out of the lake where it was hiding, rescues the Vulcan in the volcano and also saves the planet. But--oh no--the natives have seen the space ship, which means Kirk has violated the prime directive not to interfere. Never mind that Kirk's actions have saved an entire planet in addition to rescuing Spock, his actions and his general impulsiveness and disobedience (and maybe his threesomes in bed?) deserve punishment, so he is demoted to first officer under CAPTAIN PIKE.

A series of terrorist attacks follows. The terrorist flees to the planet KRONOS, near enough to the Klingons that the Federation won't follow, so ADMIRAL MARCUS unofficially sends Kirk with 72 torpedoes to kill the terrorist. Klingons attack Kirk, but the terrorist, who later identifies himself as KAHN, is able to kill them all. Surprisingly, after learning of the 72 torpedoes, Kahn the Klingon Killer surrenders without a fight.

It turns out that Kahn is a genetically altered super-soldier who was awakened from hibernation by Marcus to provoke a war against the Klingons. The 72 torpedoes contain people--Kahn's family and comrades. Marcus is furious that Kirk didn't kill Kahn as ordered.

So now Kirk has the Federation, the Klingons, and Kahn all trying to kill him.

Oy vay.

This prequel foreshadows the later episodes reasonable well.  It has as many plot holes as the Tea Party has nut-cases, but who cares. All the Star Trek movies and TV series have plot holes.  The real problem is that William Shatner is the only credible Kirk, Leonard Nimoy the only Spock and the same for the others. Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto, their corresponding actors in the prequels, just do not cut it. For me, the best part was when young Spock contacts older Spock (remember how split universes formed when Vulcan was destroyed in the first prequel) and we see what a truly logical Vulcan (all right--half-Vulcan) is like.

I sort of enjoyed this, and as a workout movie, it will get your pulse up to a jog.  I give it +++. My main reaction was to watch the second Star Trek movie, WRATH OF KAHN with the real characters.  I'll review that next week.