The Wrath Of Spock | Star Trek Into Darkness - Review

The biggest mystery about Star Trek Into Darkness, JJ Abrams’ follow-up to his 2009 franchise reboot, Star Trek, was whom the new villain would turn out to be. Played by Benedict Cumberbatch, promotional material promised an intense, sinister and creepy performance redolent of many a Brit villain in a Hollywood film. Even just within the Trek franchise, we've had Malcolm McDowell in Star Trek Generations and Cumberbatch’s Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy castmate Tom Hardy in Star Trek Nemesis. Hardly genre defining baddies but examples of English ones, nonetheless.

STID’s nemesis was ostensibly called ‘Captain John Harrison’ and shots of Cumberbatch in a Starfleet top evidenced the official line that he was some sort of embittered former Federation officer out for revenge against his previous employers. Internet rumours abounded, however, that our Benedict was in fact playing a new version of one Star Trek’s best known villains, none other than Khan Noonien Singh, immortalized by the late Ricardo Montalban in the Space Seed episode of the 1960’s Star Trek TV series, as well as possibly the best film featuring the original cast, 1982’s Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan.

Various clues seemed to point to the possibility of Cumberbatch being a new reincarnation of everyone’s favourite revenge-fuelled, genetically enhanced ‘superman’, despite the filmmakers’ denials. His developed physique, the vengeful trailer dialogue and his costume on the poster reminiscent of Montalban’s in TWOK, Also, this was the second film of the new series; so, mirroring the old Star Trek II with the new one (albeit with only a subtle ‘to’ in the title ‘InTO Darkness) seemed like the perfect opportunity to reimagine Khan.

Rather than maintain the mystique for cinemagoers unable to see the film over its opening weekend, the Internet Movie Database confirmed Benedict Cumberbatch’s casting as Khan on their STID page as soon as the film came out, allowing anyone silly enough to go on there expecting the site to keep up their no-spoilers policy to find out this crucial detail. Including me. Damn.

Still, the clues were there all along and we don’t discover ‘Harrison’s’ true identity in the film right away. By which time we have been drawn in with stunning visuals, a blistering opening scene, the return of Michael Giacchino’s distinctive main theme and a plot that beams you up and warps you along before you can say, ‘why, apart from sheer spectacle, did the Enterprise need to hide in an ocean to escape notice by primitive natives?’ Or, ‘Wasn’t Khan more, um, ethnic-looking before?’

The natives in question look a bit like the Engineers in Prometheus, with their white skin and black eyes, although they are far less developed intellectually, still using spears and worshipping a scroll rather than experimenting with genetics and being objects of deification themselves. That film’s co-writer, Damon Lindelof, also co-wrote STID, which may have something to do with it. Thankfully, he shares his credit with Star Trek scribes Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, whose names appear above Lindelof’s and who, presumably, made sure that their last film’s good storytelling, character development and sense of fun –mostly missing from Prometheus – continue in this one. There were further shades of Prometheus in the beginning, where the primitives draw a picture of an advanced races’ visit to their planet as the Enterprise ascends to the sky. This follows their salvation from the impending doom of an angry volcano by Science Officer Spock (Zachary Quinto), who undertakes some Vulcanology before setting off his lava-freezing gizmo. Are the writers making a case of Science versus Religion? Maybe, but it’s over so soon it hardly matters.

In such scenes, the action is amazing – a starship battle at warp speed being a particular later highlight (and possibly a Trek first) - but it’s a lot of the close quarter combat that’s hard to follow, due to choppy editing and dim lighting. The violence stretches the 12 certificate to its limits, with Kirk and Spock both engaging in fistfights with the all-round superior Khan, whose advanced strength and agility make him almost impossible to defeat to an almost ridiculous degree. The level of pummeling Khan can endure stretches credibility, even for a sci-fi film. Needless to say, our heroes usually come off worse. 

Shatner’s Kirk went toe-to-toe with the Montalban version in Space Seed but stayed at a safer distance in TWOK, where, had the two met face to face, The Shat would surely have had his toupee knocked off and worse. Even in his Chris Pine-shaped prime here, Kirk is no physical match for Khan and, in one of the film’s best scenes (an homage to the end of TWOK ) even gives his life to save his crew from Khan’s onslaught. Unlike in TWOK, however, Khan works alone but is still more than a match for the Enterprise. Yet, we know Kirk cannot stay dead, not least because we’ve already seen Khan’s blood heal a dying girl, plus, when Spock died in TWOK, he still resurrected in the next film. This doesn’t stop Kirk’s death being a genuine, sad surprise, though, capped off by the glorious thrill of Spock bellowing out the villain’s name, Shatner-style.

Thankfully, STID isn’t a remake of TWOK and, whilst the story is hardly original, it still presents an engrossing plot. Relationships deepen, particularly Spock and Uhura, as well as, more importantly, Spock and Kirk, their mutual appreciation and trust is tested and strengthened here. There are further surprises, such as with Chekov (Anton Yelchin), who is temporarily promoted to Acting Engineer, meaning he has to wear a red shirt, which traditionally spelt doom for certain such crewmembers in the Original Series and who finds himself slipping towards oblivion at one point.  As well as referencing TWOK, moments from the last film are redone, perhaps cynically. Toward the end, the Enterprise once again rises heroically through a cloud to the strains of Giacchino’s grand main theme - a little overused this time, with not much variation in the music elsewhere.

STID continues the shiny, lens-flared look of the 2009 film to great effect and does not need 3D to add to its beauty, although it was distracting to see a white and red scanner of the sort one finds in a shop on top of a starship desk in one scene. Pretty sure it wasn’t the Enterprise’s duty-free store.

No complaints about the revamp of the old 1960’s TV theme, though, now with Kirk narrating as the Enterprise gears up for her new five-year mission, finally ‘to boldly go...’