‘Star Trek’s’ latest installment takes viewers on a roller-coaster ride

QUINTO (LEFT) AND PINE. Forges unlikely friendship. AP

7 years since Gene Roddenberry’s “Star Trek” began going where no sci-fi franchise has boldly gone before. With the release of “Into Darkness,” director JJ Abrams returns to the series he helped revive in 2009.

The franchise owes much of its hip appeal to Abrams, who will next embark on another interstellar journey, to a galaxy far, far away—into the exciting world of Yoda and the dysfunctional Skywalker clan, via “Star Wars, Episode VII.”

Set in the year 2259, the latest space-hopping escapades of James Kirk (Chris Pine), Spock (Zachary Quinto) and the interplanetary crew of the Enterprise benefit from the series’ rich mythology as it cleverly references 1982’s “The Wrath of Khan”—the franchise’s best pre-Abrams adventure. But, you don’t need to be a Trekkie to appreciate the film’s ample charms.

Easier said than done

Kirk gets a demotion after he breaches one of Starfleet’s rules to save Spock from imminent harm. A wounded ego is the least of his worries, however: When a bomb goes off and takes the life of his mentor, the manhunt for its perpetrator, John Harrison (the superb Benedict Cumberbatch), becomes a personal vendetta for James.

With photon torpedoes in tow, the Enterprise then flies to Kronos, home planet of the Klingons, to find the man behind the deadly attacks—and blow him to smithereens! But, that’s easier said than done: Harrison is more than just another elusive fugitive, he’s a genetically engineered “superhuman” who’s been awakened by Kirk’s treacherous colleague after 300 years of cryogenic slumber—to wage war against Kronos’ defiant warrior race!

Harrison intends to awaken his sleeping comrades, who are hidden inside the torpedoes. But, he and his 72-man army were initially “created” to rid the universe of inferior races.

Is he hero or heel? And has Starfleet’s mysterious newcomer, Carol Marcus (Alice Eve), anything to do with her father’s nefarious plans? The disturbing answers come when Harrison reveals his true identity—and his group’s real mission!

The action-packed film tackles relevant issues (terrorism, disparate ideologies, invasion, etc.) as it develops its lead characters’ relationships, making the flow of the exposition dynamic and its protagonists empathetic. Their intimate moments further enrich the breathtaking spectacles conjured up for its viewers’ full delectation.

Notice the instinct-versus-logic tension generated by the growing bromance between Kirk and Spock—or the amusing lovers’ quarrel between Spock and Uhura (Zoe Saldana) after the emotionless half-Vulcan sacrifices himself to save the clay-faced natives of planet Nibiru, in the movie’s stunning, color-drenched opening sequence.

Sacrifices

“Into Darkness” takes viewers on a thrilling roller-coaster ride—but, sadly, not everyone survives the countless explosions (no spoilers here). Suffice it to say that, along with some characters’ shocking sacrifices, come poignant moments of insight and nostalgia—and a welcome cameo from a well-loved Vulcan from the future!

Pine, Quinto, Saldana and Cumberbatch work in thespic synergy as they vivify the yin and yang of the evolving “Star Trek” canon. As he shakes up the franchise even more, Abrams sidesteps the ire of purists by alternately zeroing in on the “relatable” dilemmas of its characters, even as they fight their gravity-defying, life-or-death battles.

Take Kirk and Spock: They may come from different worlds, but the friendship they forge is an instructive study in contrasts that should inspire warring nations to respect the beauty of racial diversity. Before Abrams “reinvented” the franchise, we couldn’t care less about them and the various characters Scotty beams up into the Enterprise. —Now, we’re hooked!