STAR TREK- Into the Darkness - ‘Dark’ seems to be the theme word of choice to get one’s attention these days. The metaphor usually stands for the dark side of one’s own self and hints at the fact that your biggest enemy resides in you, in this case your own race.
Now for the uninitiated, there are two series of films that deal with inter galactic explorations. One is the Star Wars, and other Star Trek. The latter, is set in a time when the earth is habitable and thriving in its modern Avatar while the former ie, the Star Wars, is about floating old men, bald captains and glowing tube lights used as swords.
Star Trek is a story of the crew of USS Enterprise, who go into space odysseys to discover new facets the final frontier. This is the 11th edition of the Star Trek, and the space ship in its latest commission is in hands of a feisty young turk, Kirk. A protege of the aging former captain, he follows his gut rather than the laid down rules, in most situations. These hunches of his often put him in loggerheads with those around- especially the half human, half machine Spock (with his long side burns).
As 1st officer, Spock is 2nd in command and the adviser to the captain. The colloquies that result between two as a result, make for the most interesting piece of straight faced humor one could hear. Delivered in textbook English, the tautology in the script and wry humor keeps you wearing smile all thorough the movie.
There are two sub plots that involve personal cum professional relationship between the 1st officer and wife Uhura and the friendship between the Captain and 1st Officer. How, the talented and brave Captain saves the earth from doom is what the story is about. Rest assured, there are dollops of other planets and their moons and inter galactic space thrown in. With the Solar system as its home turf and the rest of the galaxy the workplace, the backdrop of space and space age Earth involved to keep your senses entertained, this makes for a big screen watch. 4 Stars