Just last week was the debut of Star Trek into Darkness, the sequel to J.J. Abram’s Star Trek reboot in 2009.  While the first movie received plenty of positive reviews and was praised for being a refreshing look at the classic series, this sequel didn’t offer as much of a new experience.  Don’t get me wrong, this movie is quite a solid and enjoyable film, but appears to target a much broader audience, rather than the niche group.  As my good friend Daniel put it, Star Trek into Darkness was “entertaining for the casual crowd, but a bit underwhelming for the diehard Trekkie fans.”  In order to avoid spoilers, I’ll refrain from going into specifics, but many Star Trek fans will notice that this film isn’t completely new and original.  Although you may not get a new and fresh experience, you’ll definitely have an enjoyable one with the good dialogue, attractive presentation, and exciting action.

The dialogue in this film is well-written and will please both casual viewers and the diehard fans (who many notice some very familiar quotes packed into the beginning half).  Through a combination of solid dialogue and superb acting, the character chemistry is one of the staple aspects of the film’s quality.  Zachary Quinto did an amazing job as Spock in the movie and made a great duo with Chris James, who played James Kirk.  At the beginning of the film, the two characters appear to be complete opposites in terms of personalities, but eventually gain an understanding of one another as they brave the same hardships.  While I found the interactions between these two to be the most enjoyable to watch, the other characters were far from lacking and were pretty fun to watch too.  Bones and Scotty were definitely badass throughout the film and acted as great supports.

A few aspects which made this movie much more enjoyable for the general audience were the great cinematic presentation and the exciting action.  The scenery and graphics weren’t the absolute best, but were pretty damn good and eye-catching.  From the futuristic cities, to the foreign landscapes of distant planets, the scenes were very attractive and properly contributed to a positive experience.  The action scenes, another enjoyable part of the movie, varied from heated space combat to intense fist fights, as you could probably expect from the series. The many fights and chase scenes throughout the film were very dramatic and mostly kept me on the edge of my seat.  With intriguing backgrounds and thrilling action scenes, I would say that Star Trek into Darkness did an exceptional job in the visual department is notable for it.

Another element of the film that deserves notability is the soundtrack.  At the beginning of the film, you are presented with a wonderful orchestral rendition of the classic Star Trek theme, which is always a plus for fans.  Even if you aren’t familiar with the main theme, the orchestra is top-notch and is bound to please many.  The music certainly helps in building up suspense or enhancing the dramatic scenes throughout the movie, as it should.  I found the music to be very moving at times and worked well with the background to provide a proper sci-fi atmosphere.

With quality dialogue and overall presentation, Star Trek into Darkness is definitely a movie you should consider watching if you’re into the sci-fi genre.  Even if you aren’t an extremely dedicated Star Trek fan, you’ll probably enjoy this movie a lot thanks to the great atmosphere and interesting action.  If you are a fan of the series, you may be a bit disappointed with the plot, as it isn’t exactly new or revolutionary for the franchise.  Despite this, I feel that the movie does an excellent job as a sequel, and has a lot of value as a movie on its own.  Thanks to the interesting character chemistry and the entertaining interactions, this movie is worth of praise almost equal to the prequel.  The only thing that I felt was a little flat was the plot, as not only was it not as refreshing as expected, but it was also somewhat predictable at times.  The presented story is enjoyable enough and decent, but could have been much more in-depth and diverse. There were certainly many opportunities in which the movie passed up on in terms of the story, but they provided the necessary amount to catch the interest of the newer or casual audience.  Due to this reason, I feel like this movie is a great watch for the casual viewer, who may not be too familiar with the Star Trek universe.  For fans, your expectations for this movie may not be completely satisfied, but you should give it a shot as the presentation is still of great value.  Well, I hope you all give Star Trek into Darkness a chance and prepare yourselves to venture towards the final frontier!  Just remember not to wear a red shirt, of course.

This will hold true, even in this movie.