2) Star Trek Into Darkness
Central Cast: Chris Pine, Bendict Cumberbatch, Zoe Saldana
Budget: $185 Million
Release Date: May 17th
Directed by: J.J. Abrams
The Pitch: The crew of the space-trotting Starship Enterprise journey back home to discover a member of their own organisation has gone rogue, throwing the fate of the planet into a state of chaos. Captain Kirk must turn to his fellow crew members for assistance to prevent the galactic megalomaniac John Harrison from unleashing his vengeance upon the earthly Federation.
The Verdict: It’s atypical of a sequel to raise the stakes and claim a darker, bolder and, of course, bigger film than its predecessor, but Star Trek Into Darkness validates this hyperbole in more ways than one. Sidelining the buzz surrounding the soon-to-jump-Starship director for this conversation, the follow-up to 2009’s reboot of the beloved Trekkie universe holds a certain villainous ace card in the form of Bendict Cumberbatch. The versatile British actor – best known for his leading role on BBC’s Sherlock series – is an excellent addition to the casting list and his character has been described by Abrams as Kirk’s Achilles heel. High praise indeed considering that Cumberbatch actually recorded his test footage for the director in his friend’s kitchen. At night. On an iPhone. Crazy, huh? Well, more than anything he seemed to make a lasting impression and we can certainly expect him to bring degree of intensity in playing the film’s adversary.
While the first film was susceptible to its own narrative boundaries – considering it was very much an origin story – Abram’s sequel looks to smash that pesky ceiling with an extensive and much more dynamic depiction of Earth’s final frontier. Sequels get a lot of gripe, and nine times out of ten; they deserve it. But Star Trek into Darkness is lighting up the cinematic calendar like a blinding tractor beam and I for one can’t wait to see it on May 17th.
Hell, it will most likely live on as Abrams’ ultimate love letter to the Star Trek universe ahead of his departure to a galaxy far, far away.
Hype-O-meter: 9/10
Continue reading on the next page…
