Movie: Star Trek Into Darkness 3D

Firstly, I just want to say something. I am absolutely addicted to 3D. I think the technology is fantastic, and Hollywood is starting to get a good handle on how to use it. Given the choice between seeing a movie in it's standard 2D format, and the same movie in 3D, I will always go for the 3D movie first. I saw Jurassic Park 3D a few weeks ago and I was simply amazed at how well they managed to retrofit 3D onto an old, flat 2D movie. It was fantastic, and I can't wait for other movies to be made into 3D. I can't wait for Titanic 3D to arrive here, and I would love to see movies like Star Wars, Bladerunner, Twister, the Matrix movies, X-Men, Harry Potter, the Men in Black movies, all given the 3D treatment. The list (and fun) is endless.

That leads me to Star Trek Into Darkness in 3D.

I saw this movie today on a big screen in a big cinema, which is the ideal way that you should see it. This is a great movie, and it's quite obvious to me that J. J. Abrams and his band of merry men have great respect for the whole Star Trek movement. They haven't pulled the whole thing to bits, which I imagine is what a lot of directors would be tempted to do. There's nothing in this story that seems out of place in the Star Trek movie universe. I found this movie to be more enjoyable than the first, which admittedly had a lot more back story to set up first. This movie got straight into the action. I can't remember there being any "quiet" spots at all.

The story itself links in nicely with a couple of the early original Star Trek movies. Benedict Cumberbatch makes for an ideal villain. I'm not sure I can say much more than that about him without giving away important plot points. I can say that's it's a fun surprise though. Someone else who is great in this movie is Peter Weller, Robocop himself. I didn't recognise him at all until the credits came on the screen at the end. Bruce Greenwood is back as well as Admiral Pike. Has that guy ever made a bad movie?...

I also want to say that this film looks great. By far the best looking film I've seen this year. There seems to be a temptation of some film makers to make their films look like video. It seems to me to be more natural to make a film look like it was shot on film, even if it was shot with HD video. The first 3D movie I saw was The Hobbit, and that to me looked like it was shot on 70's quality video. It looked awful, and the 3D was just plain annoying. No problems like that with this movie. The 3D was just right for the considerable action that was unfolding on the screen.

The Abrams crew have also put some heart into this movie. I don't think I've ever seen so many Star Trek characters crying as often as they do in this movie. I'm not complaining though. I can get a bit emotional watching certain movies, and there were times in this movie where I was moved a little.

In a few days I'm going to see Iron Man 3D before it's too late. I'll let you know what happens. If it's as much fun as Star Trek, then it will be money well spent.