Star Trek Into Darkness: a review

I like Star Trek. I have many fond memories of Star Trek. I have seen that last several movies in the theater, even the bad ones, because I can't help myself. Netflix has granted me the ability to watch Star Trek with the original crew, which has satisfied my need for cheesy optimism on days that I am clearly lacking optimism. So when, my husband suggested that we see the new Star Trek into Darkness as a date night, I was thrilled. 

Anytime there is a movie done that has such a huge following and very long and complicated history, it is hard not to place certain expectations on said movie. Having talked with some friends who had already seen the movie and heard about some of the comparisons between Star Wars and Star Trek done by the same director, I considered myself prepared for the worst.

Star Trek Into Darkness was not the worst Star Trek movie I have ever seen. It is is not the best Star Trek movie I have ever seen either. I did not hate the movie. I actually had a lot of fun watching the movie, because of the amount of cheese that was in the movie. If you feel the slightest bit nostalgia for the good old days, they chopped up all the best bits from the previous series and mashed it into this movie.  For the most part the movie is pretty to watch, with all the lovely uniforms and shiny polish of the ship, but as one or two of my friends had noted and was probably in half a dozen reviews, the lens flairs in the movie did get a little out of control. If the lens flairs became a drinking game, then I would probably be in an alcohol induced coma. 

Benedict Cumberbatch played the role of Khan, which while I could watch Benedict Cumberbatch do anything an enjoy it, (he could read the dictionary out loud and I swear my vocabulary would improve tenfold and I would never be bored the entire time) there is something to be said about Ricardo Montalbán . Ricardo is probably always going to be the Khan of my heart.  Don't get me wrong Benedict Cumberbatch did beautiful job, and I could watch him rage for hours at end, and then I would be just like those fan girls that are in love with Loki from The Avengers, but I think that Ricardo Montalbán set the standard for what you want and expect out of a Khan. 

After much discussion with my husband about this movie over a night cap, we came to the conclusion that over all it might have been better if instead of hitting all the high notes of the Star Treks of days gone by, if they took this new reboot and went on an adventure.  It would have been much more satisfying to see the crew in the beginning of their five year mission boldly going out and discovering new life forms in uncharted space.  They still could have worked in some of the cheese from previous Star Trek encounters but it wouldn't have made the movie so very predictable at the end.

Over all I would recommend this movie as a good date movie, because while it isn't fabulous, it isn't drop dead boring. 

Rating: Three Enterprises out of Five