Star Trek Into Darkness - A Two-Minute Movie Review

The crew is back in the second installment of J.J. Abrams' Star Trek reboot. Star Trek Into Darkness is an action-packed tour de force that bests its predecessor while upping the ante on our expectations for Abrams' Star Wars VII. Without the hassles of origin story necessities weighing it down, Into Darkness is free to start with a sprint, which it does,literally. It stops only to catch its breath occasionally when the plot demands something other than lasers, photon torpedoes and phasers set to stun. It's a thrill-a-minute popcorn movie that all other popcorn movies should strive to be. It's what most of the Transformers movies should have been, and weren't. But it's more than that; Into Darkness is often funny and occasionally teary, the former more than the latter. It's also pure Star Trek. Okay, there are probably Trekkies who may find faults, particularly in the way it revisits decades-old story lines, but Trek-lovers should be more than satisfied with Abrams' work. 

Acting: 

Even after the second movie, I'm still amazed at how well-casted these films are. Simon Pegg's Scotty is dead-on, as is scene-stealing Karl Urban as Bones. But Zachary Quinto, as the stoic Spock, is the real shiner here. His Spock is as logical as he is ripe with pent-up emotion (being 1/2 human 1/2 Vulcan). His scenes with Chris Pine's Kirk are crisp and true to the original duo. As *** (Abrams chose not to name the enemy prior to releasing the film, so I won't name him either) Benedict Cumberbatch is cold, concrete-strong, and a worthy adversary. In all, the acting throughout is top-notch. 

Screenplay: 

Not nearly as confusing as the first Star Trek, but complex enough to feel satisfied that we aren't just being fed special effects, Into Darkness is clever and well-crafted. The movie has just the right mix of humor (per Star Trek regulations, it seems) and action, never taking itself too seriously. After all, we don't expect the main characters to die. This isn't LOST. 

Effects:

Awesome. Nothing looks obviously green-screened or fake. The space sequences are seamless. And the new depiction of warp speed is a welcome change. 

Wrap-up: 

Star Trek Into Darkness is this year's best movie. Iron Man III is good; Into Darkness is better. But see them both. If these two movies are any indication of the quality yet to come this summer, we'll all be happy campers come August. Star Trek Into Darkness is rated PG-13. 

Two-Minute Movie Reviews

Introducing the Two Minute Movie Review

Some movie reviews are the size of small books. Have you ever read a review so complete that you almost feel like you've seen the movie by the time you reach the end? Do you find yourself skimming the pages searching for the only answer you care about: does the reviewer like the movie or not? I do. While I don't mind spending the time on an Ebert review after I've seen a movie, I'm too paranoid of ruining my experience at the movies to do anything more than a stick my toes in. With people like me in mind, I'm introducing my two-minute movie reviews.

These won't be long and they won't give up key plot points. I'll what I can in the short time I'm given to let you know if I like the movie and why. I'll use a 10-point scale like the one you see below. Why? Because thumbs up or down seems too limiting. And a five point scale leaves no room for average; the movie can only be below average or above average. In truth, there are too many movies out there where I come away neither better nor worse (if entertainment can, indeed, add something tangible to your existence).

 

I'll usually rate movies on a few different levels: acting, script, special effects, things like that. Don't look for me to see too many romance films or cryfests. If something crashes, flies through space, gets shot by lasers, runs amok in streets, or blows up national monuments, I'm probably there opening night. Expect a review shortly after.

Coming soon: Iron Man 3 and Star Trek into Darkness soon.

Second proof

The first proof looked good...but not good enough. Once printed, I found that the fonts in the front dominated the elevator graphic. I also revamped the back to make it flow better. Inside I found that I dated the author's note 2012...a year too early. And in furthering the date errors, I discovered a misdated chapter. I'm not sure how, but I missed the date by 6 months. This far into production and I didn't catch it until now. Sheesh.
The new proof will be in tomorrow. If all is well, it'll be available on Amazon within days.

Advertising cards have arrived

The cards arrived. We're about a week out. Sorry for the pic quality!

Files sent!

I just sent the book to the publisher. With any luck I'll get the proof back in a week or two. If we're all good at that point, I'll hut the GO button. That's the print book, which I wanted to set out in the wild first. Plan on something in the range if $14. The eBook will be much cheaper, but you'll lose some of the print-only formatting. In either case, you'll get the same Trebor  story. That's all for now.