Star Trek: Into Darkness

Luckily I was able to see this bucket list movie only one week after it's release, and I'm glad I didn't wait much longer because it was well worth my time. :)

I've pretty much told everyone I know that I have never been much of a trekkie. I know the general story behind the series and have seen several episodes in the original and Next Generation iterations; I think I've even seen the first movie with the original cast. That being said, I went into the first movie of this franchise with an open mind and was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked it. I thought the first movie had tons of great action, great effects, and stellar acting. I thought the main characters were extremely well-cast.

Considering how highly I regarded the first movie, you can imagine I had high hopes for its sequel. When I found out that Benedict Cumberbatch was coming on to play the villain in this movie, I was really excited. I'm a big fan of his work on Sherlock and knew he would bring his genius to this movie.

I have to say, I was not disappointed. I enjoyed the second movie as much as I did the first. All of the actors turn in stellar performances in this movie, especially Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, and Benedict Cumberbatch. There is a ton of action again in this installment and excellent effects as well. In addition, there are two very heart-wrenching moments that touch the audience and several puzzles the crew must figure out that adds another element to the plot. To not give the plot of the movie away, we find out that Cumberbatch's villain is in fact a pretty iconic Star Trek character - one who I do not know much about his origins - but it makes me want to find out about his back story (more so than what they tell us in this movie) because he is such a memorable character and there is a possibility of his return.

All in all, I loved this movie and would recommend it to any sci-fi fans, any trekkies, and anyone who watched the first movie. I give it 4.5 stars out of 5.

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