J.J. Abrams delivered on so many levels in this sequel. The Star Trek franchise, if he can keep pumping out entertaining (and more importantly, well done) sequels for as long as he wants to drag this out, will probably just end up being one of my favorite of all-time. I'm not a "trekkie" by any means, but the direction, effects, and storytelling in these movies so far have been spectacular. Abrams has been doing a great job of plucking actors in Hollywood that are close to blowing up.. for example...
Benedict Cumberbatch might just be on the cusp of stardom, man. We all know whether or not we've seen the show about his work in BBC's
Sherlock, how that's highly praised, all of that. He conveys a lot with a simple look, and that's a crazy skill to possess if you're an actor. His speech when he was being held captive in the Enterprise about his people and how he was superior to Kirk, was nuts. His voice inflections and the way he just glared at Kirk like he was so ignorant and not worth anyone's time was perfect. The perfect guy to play Kahn, and I'm hoping he's not a goner and returns in the third, fourths, wherever Abrams ends up taking this.
Chris Pine was solid, and you're getting a sense he knows this right here is the peak of his career, the most famous role he'll ever hold. He was a high riser in 2009 when the first Star Trek was released, but ever since that released four years the only somewhat significant main roles he's played was in This Means War
, and Unstoppable which many disagree on. With that in mind, he does a great job at playing Kirk, the brash, young gun that can't be held down. "I saved your life, you filed a report, I lost my ship." |I He and Quinto (guy who plays Spock) play so well off each other in these movies. And I really don't have to go into Quinto at all... he plays Spock to an absolute tee just like in the first, perfect casting. I was just
when he was talking to Zoe Saldana about how he chooses not to feel after the annihilation of his planet, and hoping that she doesn't mistake that for him NOT caring. Brilliant.
And Alice Eve... I mean
It would've been freaking nice if Abrams had more than one, 2 second scene with her in anything but a jumpsuit, but she is gorgeous nonetheless. I just want to thank him for not putting Hunger Games Jennifer Dunst in that role.
at Harold being captain of the Enterprise. Thought that was pretty cool, especially when you can't get get the image out of your head of him and Kumar on the couch watching White Castle commercials.
Simon Pegg was brilliant as always. As he was running back and forth on the "enemy" ship speaking to Spock and Kirk.
THAT SCENE WHERE KIRK AND KAHN ARE SHOOTING THROUGH SPACE TRYING TO LAND ON THE SHIP. DAMN
I want to see it in 3D JUST for that. And hell man, this is a must-see in 3D after seeing in 2D. You could tell there were so many things included that were specifically for 3D, and since we've heard from people in the business that this movie is breathtaking in 3D, I think it'd be worth the extra 3-4 bucks or whatever.
For a film that has a run time of 132 minutes,
did anyone freaking notice? This was one of the quickest over 2-hour movies I've seen in a LONG time. The pacing was incredible, and the only flaws I say it had was that Captain Kirk surviving was pretty predictable. I mean, I don't think Abrams would have the balls to cut him out of the franchise two movies in when there's still so much money left to be made, even though it would have been kind of a fresh take on an age-old movie cliche (main characters always survive and live out in the end no matter the peril).
Couple questions I have, and they may not even be able to answer by us, we might just have to wait for the next one.
1.) Since Kirk received a blood transfusion from Kahn, is he going to live until he's 300 now...? They mentioned that Kahn was 300 because his cells constantly regenerate, and now that Kirk has his blood...
2.) Any doubt that Kahn is going to be in the other sequels? There's gotta be a reason they let him survive.
Really great summer film, but just film in general. It gets a hard 9.5/10 for me. Abrams delivered, and I can't wait until the next installment.