Star Trek Into Darkness 2013

Richard Corliss, TIME Magazine: [Provides] bustling fun equal to its modest ambitions ... Read more

Dana Stevens, Slate: For two movies in a row now -- and possibly even more in the second than the first -- [Abrams has] caught some of the spark of the first Star Trek without either mimicking or desecrating the original. Read more

Glenn Kenny, MSN Movies: What this movie does with a not-unfamiliar-to-some story is pretty clever, and the incarnation of a classic villain by British cheekbone virtuoso Benedict Cumberbatch is vivid and engaging. Read more

David Edelstein, New York Magazine/Vulture: Abrams has a gift for making us feel as if Star Trek Into Darkness vaulted from our own Trek-ish daydreams. Read more

John Anderson, Wall Street Journal: While the action is often electric, it's the relationships that matter. That, and a lippy regard for a cultural legacy. Read more

Soren Anderson, Seattle Times: "Star Trek Into Darkness" is ridiculously exciting. Which is to say it's so exciting it's ridiculous. But in a good way. Read more

Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly: Into Darkness is a sleek, thrilling epic that's also a triumphantly witty popcorn morality play. It's everything you could want in a Star Trek movie. Read more

Scott Foundas, Variety: "Into Darkness" may not boldly go where no "Trek" adventure has gone before, but getting there is such a well-crafted, immensely pleasurable ride that it would be positively Vulcan to nitpick. Read more

A.A. Dowd, AV Club: Rip-roaring set-pieces aside, the biggest pleasure here is still the yin-yang chemistry between Kirk and Spock, even as the writers sand down the barbed edges of the characters' interactions. Read more

Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: I thought it was really fun, an inventive, surprising rethinking of some of "Star Trek's" most hallowed inventions, but I'm not wedded to the source material as gospel. Trekkies will think it's a desecration. So, pick your side. Read more

David Germain, Associated Press: An excessively derivative what-if rehash of themes and interactions that came before, most of the characters lesser copies and even caricatures of the originals. Read more

Ty Burr, Boston Globe: The movie presses forward with a high-spirited wit and sense of purpose that makes other action extravaganzas look backward. Read more

J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader: The conceptual sci-fi of the original series is nowhere to be found, though you might enjoy watching the skinny young actors approximate their counterparts from the 60s; Chris Pine is especially good as Captain Kirk. Read more

Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: The new film works. It's rousing. The human element, and the Vulcan element, to say nothing of various other species, are present, accounted for and taken seriously enough to matter. Read more

Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor: J.J. Abrams's Star Trek Into Darkness, the sequel to his prequel, delivers the goods, even if some of the goods are less than fresh. Read more

Chris Vognar, Dallas Morning News: Abrams' sophomore effort picks its references well, builds on the relationships established in the original series (and tweaked in the last movie) and keeps the quips and battles coming. Warp speed, Captain. Read more

Lisa Kennedy, Denver Post: For all its reckoning with mass destruction, this franchise's vision of a future Earth remains optimistic. The film mixes the iconically familiar with the futuristic. Read more

Tom Long, Detroit News: The result is a wild piece of entertainment that manages to be about something. Beam yourself up for this one. Read more

Cary Darling, Fort Worth Star-Telegram/DFW.com: Star Trek Into Darkness is a step forward from Abrams' initial foray into this universe in the 2009 movie. Read more

James Clive-Matthews, MSN Movies: A glorious nostalgia trip, continuing the Star Trek reboot in style through a cunning meld of the best of 1980s action sci-fi with high-end 2013 glossiness. Read more

Todd McCarthy, Hollywood Reporter: The production gives the impression of a massive machine cranked up for two hours of full output; it efficiently delivers what it's built to do, but without style or personality. Read more

Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: It's a great deal of brash fun, and it should satisfy all those basic Trekkie cravings. Read more

Charlie McCollum, San Jose Mercury News: Abrams gets considerable help from a cast who go after their roles with great zest. Read more

Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald: The movie delivers the goods on both narrative and razzle-dazzle action levels. Read more

Rafer Guzman, Newsday: "Into Darkness" is fast and fun, zipping along on all thrusters while everyone on the bridge settles comfortably into an agreeably lighthearted vibe (and into ever-slimmer outfits). Read more

Anthony Lane, New Yorker: Most of the logic has leached away from this movie, and with it half of the fun. Read more

Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: You could spend the rest of the summer waiting for a better popcorn movie. But that would be highly illogical. Read more

Bob Mondello, NPR: Happily, there's a good deal of fun if you like things crashing violently into each other and out of warp-drive at regular intervals. Read more

Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News: A stunningly nervy sequel that vaporizes any worries that Abrams' terrific 2009 reboot was a fluke. Read more

Lou Lumenick, New York Post: The only darkness here - besides the dingy-looking images dimmed by 3-D glasses - is the murky plot, which is as silly as it is arbitrary. Read more

A.O. Scott, New York Times: Maybe it is too late to lament the militarization of Star Trek, but in his pursuit of blockbuster currency, Mr. Abrams has sacrificed a lot of its idiosyncrasy and, worse, the large-spirited humanism that sustained it. Read more

Michael Sragow, Orange County Register: J.J. Abrams' second Star Trek movie is chock-full of goodies, but by the last quarter the action is so inflated and relentless that it's like an anvil chorus played on your head. Read more

Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: The action is exhilarating, the visual effects spectacular - and spectacularly realized. Read more

James Berardinelli, ReelViews: This is sufficiently rousing and entertaining that it should please a majority of movie-goers whether they're confessed Trek fans or not. Read more

Richard Roeper, Richard Roeper.com: A solid but unspectacular effort that sets the stage for the next chapters. Read more

Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: Abrams boldly goes into Star Trek Into Darkness, and crushes it again. It's more fun and more intense, without giving less to the characters. Read more

Andrew O'Hehir, Salon.com: There's absolutely nothing wrong with "Star Trek Into Darkness" -- once you understand it as a generic comic-book-style summer flick faintly inspired by some half-forgotten boomer culture thing. Read more

Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune: A note-perfect blend of escapist fun and thought-provoking commentary, ensemble drama, comic relief, daredevil action and senses-shattering spectacle. Read more

Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Like its entertaining predecessor, "Star Trek Into Darkness" offers much of what the fans expect and not much of what they don't. This character-driven vehicle is a supercharged example of cinematic craftsmanship. Read more

Christopher Orr, The Atlantic: For all its chasing and falling and fighting-and the movie supplies a great deal of each-Star Trek Into Darkness is at its best when the Enterprise crew are merely bickering and bantering among themselves: less space opera than soap opera. Read more

Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail: Star Trek Into Darkness offers [a] qualified satisfaction, which, especially after the second half, is akin to the relief of surviving a long beating. Read more

Peter Howell, Toronto Star: You barely get a chance to catch a breath as this saga takes off like a starship and just keeps going, from its Indiana Jones-style opening to its cosmos-rattling finale. And all in 3D, no less. Read more

Alonso Duralde, TheWrap: One of the general strengths of Star Trek Into Darkness, in fact, is the feeling of high stakes and genuine threat, which is exceedingly hard to pull off in any long-running franchise. Read more

Dave Calhoun, Time Out: A stop-gap tale that's modest, fun and briefly amusing rather than one that breaks new ground or offers hugely memorable set pieces. Read more

Keith Uhlich, Time Out: There's something especially disconcerting about Into Darkness's hollowness, given the visibly provocative content that, in true Trek fashion, is meant to put us in mind of our precarious present. Read more

Mick LaSalle, Hearst Newspapers: The film is, for whatever else it might be, one of the funniest of the Star Trek entries. Read more

Claudia Puig, USA Today: Star Trek Into Darkness may not go boldly back to the archives, but it serves up an exhilarating spectacle, with noteworthy moments of intimacy. Read more

Amy Nicholson, Village Voice: Darkness is a cheery combo of classic catchphrases and young Hollywood heat ... Read more

Ann Hornaday, Washington Post: Star Trek Into Darkness banishes, at least for the moment, the lugubrious mood and sepulchral look that too many comic-book movies mistake for sophistication. All hail an action film that isn't ashamed to have fun and to be seen doing it. Read more