Star Trek Into Darkness
| Star Trek Into Darkness | |
|---|---|
 North American release poster with the original US release date. |
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| Directed by | J. J. Abrams |
| Produced by | J. J. Abrams Bryan Burk Damon Lindelof Alex Kurtzman Roberto Orci |
| Written by | Roberto Orci Alex Kurtzman Damon Lindelof |
| Based on | Star Trek by Gene Roddenberry |
| Starring | Chris Pine Zachary Quinto Zoe Saldana Benedict Cumberbatch Karl Urban John Cho Alice Eve Bruce Greenwood Simon Pegg Peter Weller Anton Yelchin |
| Music by | Michael Giacchino[1] |
| Cinematography | Daniel Mindel |
| Editing by | Maryann Brandon Mary Jo Markey |
| Studio | Bad Robot Productions K/O Paper Products Skydance Productions |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
| Release date(s) |
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| Running time | 133 minutes[3] |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $190 million[4] |
| Box office | $45.2 million[5] |
Star Trek Into Darkness is a 2013 American science fiction action film. It is the twelfth installment in the Star Trek franchise and the sequel to 2009’s Star Trek. J. J. Abrams directed a screenplay written by Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman, and Damon Lindelof, based on the series of the same name created by Gene Roddenberry. Lindelof, Orci, Kurtzman and Abrams also serve as producers, along with Bryan Burk. Chris Pine reprises his role as Captain James T. Kirk, with Zachary Quinto, Karl Urban, Zoe Saldana, Anton Yelchin, Simon Pegg, John Cho, and Bruce Greenwood reprising their roles from the previous film. Benedict Cumberbatch, Peter Weller and Alice Eve round out the film’s principal cast.
After the release of Star Trek, Abrams, Burk, Lindelof, Kurtzman and Orci signed up to produce the film. In 2011, the supporting cast was rounded out with Cumberbatch, Weller and Eve brought in to portray key roles. Filming began in January 2012. The film was shot entirely in California. The film’s visual effects were handled by Industrial Light & Magic.
The film was converted to 3D in post-production. Star Trek Into Darkness premiered at Event Cinemas in Sydney on April 23, 2013[6] and was released on May 9, 2013 in Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom and parts of Europe and Peru[7] with other countries following. The film was released on May 16, 2013 in the United States and Canada, with IMAX opening one day earlier.
Plot:
The USS Enterprise is sent to the planet Nibiru to observe a primitive civilization. Captain James T. Kirk violates the Prime Directive when Spock’s life is jeopardized, exposing the Enterprise to the planet’s civilization during the rescue. Called back to Earth, Kirk is demoted to first officer and Admiral Christopher Pike re-assumes command of the Enterprise. The two attend an emergency meeting at Starfleet Command to discuss the bombing of a secret Section 31 installation in London, perpetrated by former Starfleet agent John Harrison. The meeting is attacked by a small gunship piloted by Harrison, who kills Pike. Kirk neutralizes the gunship, but Harrison flees. With Pike dead, Kirk is reinstated as the Enterprise’s captain. Discovering that Harrison has fled to the Klingon homeworld of Kronos, Kirk receives special permission from Admiral Alexander Marcus to hunt down Harrison. The Enterprise is supplied with 72 long-range prototype photon torpedoes, and is ordered to fire them at Harrison’s location once he is found, however Scotty, Spock, Bones & Uhura convince Kirk to capture & not kill Harrison
Our Thoughts:
Often switching roles from previous movies Kirk and Spock, played by this new cast, have grown on me. I didn’t pay that much attention to the 2009 installment because frankly I figured it was another Deep Space Nine failure or some-such mess. I am glad I saw Into Darkness, as it is one of the better sci-fi flicks I have seen in a while. I am looking forward to reliving and rediscovering the many Star Trek stories I enjoyed growing up. I honestly wish they’d come up with a new story though. New crew, new ship, and new title. Until J.J. Abrams quits milking Roddenberry and the franchise he is just a very accomplished copy cat. That said, I loved this non-stop, sci-fi, action and adventure movie. I have reluctantly accepted the new actors in these old roles. 4.5 stars Well done! – MR
