Mirror, Mirror: Star Trek Into Darkness

Like an overdue shipment of dilithium crystals, Star Trek Into Darkness is here at last - it's been a while, but it felt like damn near everybody was in a major hurry to get to this one opening weekend, as the shelf-life on the secrets of this movie is bound to be brief - and it looks like fans old and new turned out in droves.

It's not just that this is the long-anticipated sequel to 2009's Star Trek. With the recent news that director J.J. Abrams had also been tapped to re-energize the Star Wars franchise and that he'll be directing that next, the collateral excitement for this new film has been palpable - after all, those signing the checks at Disney must have seen Star Trek Into Darkness before signing J.J. and it must have made a sizable impression for them to bring him into the fold. In a way it feels like a preview of what that film might feel like.

I had all kinds of angst about this film, but it's deliriously entertaining and as a long-time die hard original series fan, I just loved it. If you're married to "canon" and demand Torah-like fealty to what's come before, you may want a shot of cordrazine before strapping yourself in for Star Trek Into Darkness. First, know that the new film is probably going to end up being considered superior to the first one. Star Trek had the infectious glee of an origin story, but this new film is a rip-roaring action-fest with some truly amazing sequences. It's crowd-pleasing in the extreme, and I enjoyed it much more than Iron Man 3. At the end of the day it just feels like an episode of the old series - a $180 million episode, granted, but the dynamic of the characters and their values together are the glue that makes this story take off.

In an outlandish opening sequence, Kirk makes a very human choice to disregard the prime directive to save Spock's life - a decision that will have great consequences and which sets the theme of friendship, morality and doing what matters in motion, that is frankly refreshing to watch unfold. This James Kirk is brash and nobody can tell him anything - he's willful to a fault and quickly finds himself in hot water with the brass at Star Fleet Academy, including his mentor, Christopher Pike. But there's little time for reprimands as a shadowy figure emerges to begin wreaking vengeance on Earth. This foe may seem familiar, but he's reinvented in a more political landscape, and with a strong post-9/11 subtext - Star Fleet finds itself at the juncture of becoming a more military, vindictive entity, in order to fend-off the approaching darkness they fear is at their door.

Much of the story behind Star Trek Into Darkness draws from recognizable waters, but it does a pretty smashing job of reinventing elements from the series and the films and reflecting them through the lens of the new reality of this particular Trek universe. For the most part it's cleverly done and there are plenty of affectionate winks to the fans, most of whom I think will be extremely pleased with the results. The action and special effects in the film are just stupendous - I saw it in 2D and I'm glad I did - nothing made me lament the lack of 3D, which just seems to dim the image way too much, as in the recent Iron Man 3. The CG is beyond top notch and things seem utterly tangible - the Enterprise feels enormous and real and the futuristic cityscapes and alien worlds all have a rich atmosphere but feel convincing.

There are some plot mechanics that you'll likely see coming about 20 minutes ahead of the characters, but the thing is - you're just not going to care. I found myself wildly entertained, thanks to the tremendous energy and heart of this cast - they utterly embody these characters. Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto are marvelous and witnessing the early days of the Kirk/Spock friendship evolve is great fun, as we see both these characters develop, each still grappling with their own convictions. Zoe Saldana is terrific and once again, Karl Urban steals every scene he's in. They have got to make McCoy a larger part of the action in the next film - he's sensational, as is antagonist Benedict Cumberbatch, putting his own stamp in the Trek universe.

There's bound to be some great chat-room arguments about some of the events in Star Trek Into Darkness, but for this vintage old school Trek fan, I couldn't imagine a better place for this film to leave off, pointing towards the beginning of a voyage we can't wait to start. "We're supposed to be explorers," someone laments during the film. It's my hope that when J.J. and company next return to the Enterprise crew, we're at long last seeking out new life, strange new worlds and all. This crew is more than ready for what's out there.

On His Majesty's Next Feature...

When Sam Mendes announced he would not be available to helm another Bond picture after the incredible success of Skyfall, the "how do we top that?" dilemma echoed throughout the halls of MI6. Well, it's no secret that director Christopher Nolan is a massive James Bond fan - Inception's elaborate ski attack sequence is a pretty clear nod to On Her Majesty's Secret Service. Now, in a pretty nifty case of synchronicity, word comes that Bond producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson have been talking to Nolan about fulfilling his dream of playing Bond's sandbox. "It would have to be the right situation and the right time in their cycle of things," Nolan mentioned to Empire last year, when they asked him their prescient what-if question. Nolan is busy with his space opus Interstellar, set for a November 2014 release. Bond producers have been eyeing a 2015 release for any Skyfall follow-up, so timing, a knockout script and Nolan's energy level after coming off of Interstellar would all need to be carefully baked. One thing's for sure, it's one helluva rumor...

"I believe there's some hope for you after all, Mister Spock."

For a while there, I was worried. In the months leading up to the release of Star Trek Into Darkness, I was concerned that this was not going to be voyage I had been hoping for. "Is-he-or-isn't-he" rumors aside, I worried as I saw more footage that this might not be the Trek that served the higher purpose I'd come to expect from the crew of the Enterprise. At its utmost, Star Trek had always been about exploration - of the beyond, and of the self. "To seek out new life and new civilizations - to explore strange new worlds." This Star Trek was looking visually amazing, but it also looked like it could be any well-funded action opus - Die Hard in space? Save me, Scotty, save me. Would this simply be another revenge picture? Were we merely going where everyone with Final Draft had gone before?

I haven't seen the latest Star Trek yet, but my excitement has rekindled and my angst and fret has turned to enthusiasm. The early reviews have begun to come in and things are looking really promising. Thedigitalbits.com gives a very positive reaction, Harry Knowles loves it, Empire Magazine gives it 4 out of 5 stars, it's currently tracking at 87% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes and 72 out of 100 on Metacritic (Iron Man 3 is 62) - and a straight A (not an A-minus) from Entertainment Weekly. Those are some pretty compelling reactions. It's just become nigh impossible to temper any anticipation at this point, as it just feels like this Star Trek is coming at the right time, and that it's going to delight and convey some kind of message about man's ability to triumph over adversity when hope overcomes fear.

Maybe it's because when J.J. Abrams' first Star Trek movie came out, my baby boy was finally nearing the end of his long stay in the hospital, and fear was finally retreating - hope felt really amazing back then, and there was a feeling that anything was possible. Now, four years later, he's learning to swing a mean T-ball bat and I can barely keep up with him - so I guess in a lot of ways, this new Star Trek is a reminder that belief and hope are the most powerful forces in the universe - more powerful than any darkness, at least. So I freely admit - my enthusiasm is unbridled and I'm ready to go seek out...I'm ready to believe.

Searching for Sugar Man - the greatest story you haven't heard

Once in a while, you discover a movie - a story - that you never expected. What if I told you there was a singer in the early Seventies who was every bit as amazing as Hendrix - as Johnny Cash - who was a legend in other countries - but who was nothing but a whisper here in America? As fast as you're able, track down the winner of this year's Academy Award for Best Documentary, Searching for Sugar Man, the true story of legendary guitar player Sixto Rodriguez and how one man turned music into myth, passing into shadow...and beyond. To say more would spoil the incredible pleasure of discovering this film and the amazing presence behind this story...and his music!!! When the movie ended, I couldn't order the albums fast enough. I know that I'll be listening to Rodriguez all summer long...and beyond. Amidst all the looming blockbuster behemoths of summer, please do yourself a favor and make seeing this movie an absolute must - it's too wild to be true, and too wonderful not to know about.

Iron Man's Blacksmith tightens the lug nuts

Miss the 1990s? Well, they’re back – and under the care and feeding of Lethal Weapon scribe Shane Black, Marvel’s Iron Man 3 busts the rivets in a giddy and frenetic slug-fest that’s awfully crowd-pleasing – and at times, crowd-pleasingly awful.

Make no mistake, the third act of director Shane Black’s post-Avengers take on Tony Stark delivers like Union Pacific. But it’s not always pretty getting there. There are times when Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark threatens to become Tony Snark, waffling back and forth between anxiety and gross narcissism. Which may be the point, as the universe seems to be saying that the head of Stark Industries could stand to be knocked down a peg or two.

Antagonism comes in the form of an international terrorist called The Mandarin, effectively reimagined by Ben Kingsley. Let’s just say that Shane Black’s Mandarin is a bit less “Lo Pan” than his previous incarnation in the comics – and it works. Kingsley is one of the most enjoyable parts of the movie. Equally fun is Guy Pearce as a nerdy scientist from Stark’s path who gives himself one hell of a makeover – and has more than a passing interest in longtime Stark gal-pal Pepper Paltrow. Gwyneth’s chemistry with Downey seems a little off this time around, further skewed by her taking on a lot more involvement in the action. Aldrich Killian (Pearce) has developed something called Extremis (from the Warren Ellis comic), tapping into DNA to reprogram it to regenerate limbs and enhance strength.

Stark runs afoul of The Mandarin and some Extremis-amped followers, his palatial mansion crashing down on top of him. He’ll have to hide out in rural Tennessee to lick his wounds and with the aid of a scrappy young kid (without a Tennessee accent), rebuild his suit and make a plan to take down the bad guys.

There’s a lot to like in Iron Man 3, but it takes a while to hit its stride. Early scenes with a cartoonishly inept Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau) are wincingly painful to watch. Favreau seems to be playing to a really young audience and acts as if he just wondered in from the set of Home Alone. Tony’s new fly-and-attach armor gets old and cumbersome pretty quickly.

It’s in the big payoff where Iron Man 3 starts to please. Stark teams up with Don Cheadle (now Iron Patriot) to get some payback and the two channel Lethal Weapon’s Riggs and Murtaugh in a major way. The violence is more damaging and we find out Tony has a chest of heavy metal toys that managed to avoid destruction. It’s a hoot to see perennial bad guy William Sadler as the President and Robocop weasel Miguel Ferrer as the VP – is John Carpenter their Secretary of State? The big action set pieces are a lot of fun, but so cartoonishly kinetic as to defy believability a bit too often. Unfortunately, a stuntman wearing a parachute under his clothes still looks like he’s wearing a parachute under his clothes.
If you forget to stay for the obligatory bonus scene that follows the end credits, which all Marvel Studios films contain…don’t kick yourself. Disappointingly it contributes nothing to the emerging Phase II storyline and is even less enjoyable than Shawarma. This latest Iron Man is nowhere near as deft or smart as The Avengers – still, it has a lot of fun shooting the works, and summer action audiences should have little to complain about.

Thawing-out Ice Station Zebra?!

You never know what they’ll decide to remake next! Christopher McQuarrie has announced he’s going to write and direct some kind of remake of the cold-war thriller Ice Station Zebra (1968). Directed by John Sturges (whose The Great Escape just hit blu-ray yesterday), Zebra starred Rock Hudson, Ernest Borgnine, Jim Brown and the great Patrick McGoohan on a nuclear submarine heading for the Arctic – not all is as it seems and somebody will stop at nothing to prevent the mission from succeeding. Ice Station Zebra was from a novel by Alistair MacLean (The Guns of Navarone, Where Eagles Dare) and is believed to have been Howard Hughes’ favorite film, supposedly watching it over and over. It’s a talky one at times, but was presented in the 70mm Cinerama format and looks spectacular, building to an exciting climax – the one-sheet makes it look like the mother of all James Bond movies!

McQuarrie is famous for the screenplay of The Usual Suspects and recently directed Tom Cruise in Jack Reacher. His screenplay for Valkyrie shows he can definitely squeeze excitement out of a military setting. Little is known about how he’ll approach the remake, but odds are it will move to a contemporary timeframe. Could be a lot of fun – but Ice Station Zebra is definitely a product of its era – how it will translate into today’s environment is anybody’s guess, but it will definitely be interesting to follow how this develops.