Great direction and a show-stealing performance from Benedict Cumberbatch make this a must-see for summer.
The whole gang's back from the first movie, including Zoe Saldana packing a punch (oh, and looking great in red, of course) as Uhura, Karl Urban having a field day as Bones, John Cho doing good stuff as Sulu (at one point, he hones the captain's chair and simply owns it), and Anton Yelchin getting a few humorous moments as Chekov. But it's Simon Pegg's Scotty that really shines, finding himself in a couple of situations that shows him at his best in the role. Some new characters are also on board, including Peter Weller as Admiral Marcus and Alice Eve as a new science officer, Carol. She isn't really given much to do, but, on a side note, she does know how to fill space lingerie. (C'mon, you've seen it in the commercials.)
As for Pine and Quinto, they've really grown into their roles. Pine does a great job pushing Kirk forward, especially during the second half of the film. And Quinto again nails what makes Spock great, with some great Vulcan attitude mixed with some real emotion. When he gets into a fisticuff battle with Morrison, it really is fun to watch -- even though you'll have to accept that gravity is on his side. Even if it's illogical.
There are times the plot wanders a slight bit (we won't spoil it here), but it does stay mostly on target thanks to the addition of Cumberbatch. He is the essential Star Trek villain thus far, outdoing Bana when it comes to displaying full-on menace for his character. Some might argue that the role he plays – again, no spoilers – isn't as good as the previous actor, but he's definitely playing for keeps here, and he gives the film an unmatchable heft. Those of you who thought he was limited to what he could do in the Sherlock series have no idea just how good he gets here at being bad.
The script, put together by the original scribers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, with some help from Damon Lindelof, does a nice job giving a few collective nods to classic Star Trek fans – you'll recognize them when they appear – while keeping things moving with some fantastic action scenes. When the Enterprise begins its free-fall descent towards the Earth, you actually feel pressure behind what's going to happen to the crew, rather than, "Ahhhh, they'll pull up safely". And the final battle involving Harrison is riveting and a good time, compared to the "escape from the black hole" madness of the original. Big kudos goes out to the special effects team for giving us a rollicking ride all the way throughout – and finally adding some trails to ships when they go into warp speed. Engines are supposed to emit smoke, after all.
