Judged by the former, this sequel is an absolute mess, one that not only fails to reward any deeper consideration of narrative mechanics both large and small, but actively disincentives any thoughtful discussion of how the story is put together. Pull at one string, and the whole thing starts to fall apart in extremely frustrating ways. ( Watch Star Trek into Darkness Online ) Yet on the character side of things, the case is the exact opposite. Abrams and writers Robert Orci,
Alex Kurtzman, and Damon Lindelof (whose mission in life appears to be crafting outstanding, emotional characters and character arcs in the midst of structurally questionable plotting) not only understand Captain Kirk and much of the crew of the USS Enterprise as well or better than most Star Trek creators, but are consistently capable of taking these figures in new, exciting, and creatively invigorating directions that stem organically from the audience’s collective knowledge of series history and iconography.
As a character piece, Star Trek Into Darkness is not flawless, but it is largely fantastic, and remarkably satisfying for longtime fans of the franchise.
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