Better than the first Star Trek film but if you’ve seen some of the wildly positive reviews for this film (Entertainment Weekly gave it an A) then lower your expectations. It doesn’t reinvent the wheel or even do much more than serve as a solid B+ summer tentpole picture. That being said, after watching The Hangover 3 and Fast and Furious 6, it’s nice to watch a sequel that actually puts effort forward.
What Works: The opening action sequence is wildly inventive. Benedict Cumberpatch (if that’s not the most British name you’ve ever heard, I don’t know what is) makes for a nicely cerebral villain compared to the first film’s generic Eric Bana bad guy. But the real surprise, for me, was Chris Pine’s Captain Kirk. I’ve never thought much of Pine as an actor, and I have no reverence for the iconic character, but here he seems like a real action star. He’s thoughtful, tough, funny, and just magnetic enough to sell you on the film’s goofier moments. Plus, who doesn’t love seeing Zoe Saldana in just about anything, and having Zachary Quinto’s Spock face off against Cumberpatch’s comparable villain?
What Doesn’t Work: I didn’t like that Saldana is barely in this movie, and her role (along with Spock’s) feels downsized. There’s also not nearly enough tension because you never really believe that Kirk/Spock are in any real danger. The problem with having tentpole pictures this big, is that you never believe they’ll sacrifice the lead character, and that diffuses the suspense of having them in jeopardy in every scene. And I know I might be alone in this feeling———-at least among critics———-but Simon Pegg’s not funny.
What I Would Have Done Differently: Kill Simon Pegg…or Karl Urban…or John Cho…or Anton Yelchin, that way you get rid of a weak link and you show that anything can happen.