RATING
4/5 ; Fun film with lots of good action sequences and very good performance from Cumberbatch as the villain.
INFO
J.J.Abrams follow up to 2009 Star Trek, this film was released in cinemas in the UK back in May and has recently been released on DVD and Blu-Ray, costing £10-15 depending on where you buy and which of the two formats you go for. There is also a box set of the first two films available for around £20.
Buy the DVD/Blu-Ray
I went for the single film (as I had the first one) on Blu-Ray and let me mention I won’t be reviewing the special features for this film. There are some on the disc but let’s be honest there is not many occasions when you buy a film in order to see the deleted scenes and gag reel. For me at least I delve into what else is in on the disc after I have watched, and hopefully enjoyed the film.
CAST & CREW
Director
J J Abrams
Writters
Robert Orci; Alex Kurtzman; Damon Lindelof; (Gene Roddenberry)
Cast
Chris Pine; Zachary Quinto; Zoë Saldana; Karl Urban; Simon Pegg; Benedict Cumberbatch; John Cho; Anton Yelchin; Noel Clarke
For more info goto IMDB
REVIEW
Whilst this wasn’t the best film I have even seen, but it was far from the worst. The action and fight sequences are good and detail in the locations from CGI makes for some beautiful shots.
Benedict Cumberbatch made an excellent villain and I could see him being cast in other films on the strength of his performance here. That being said I feel the writers could have made the struggle against him and his ability to be one step ahead of the heroes more prominent.
Pine and Quinto seem to be perfectly cast for their respective roles putting their own mark on characters that Leonard Nemoy and William Shatner have made prominent in my mind. I’m sure devoted Star Trek fans will find holes and be frustrated at times but if you take the film as a reworking on the theme and don’t draw too many comparisons I believe it works well.
The only other short fall I feel the film has is the relationship development. It seemed to me in the first film, to make Uhura Spooks love interest was a cheat instead of working hard to develop a complex dynamic with Kirk. She kind of bridges the gap. I suppose this reflects how Hollywood makes films to the same subscript when relationships heroes and herions are concerned. I also would have liked to see the struggle Kirk has between right and wrong emphasized more. It seems the writers made him a rogue/maverick hero in the first film and beginning of this one, then instead of making this film into a transition they flipped a switch and he suddenly knew what he had to do.
Simon Pegg was humorous as ever and brings a lighter side to the film which is made even more amusing by Karl Urban who’s one liners are delivered excellently.
Overall it was worth buying and a good film, with some tricks missed but building towards what will likely continue to be a big Hollywood franchise. With the senses set and relationship with the crew of the Enterprise established I feel that the next installment really has to step up its game in order for it to live up to the potential that Star Trek has.
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