'Star Trek Into Darkness' Draws Mixed Reviews from Critics

To find a theater in Gwinnett that's showing "Star Trek Into Darkness" and other films, search the Moviephone box above.

The premise, courtesy of the film's official website:

When the crew of the Enterprise is called back home, they find an unstoppable force of terror from within their own organization has detonated the fleet and everything it stands for, leaving our world in a state of crisis. With a personal score to settle, Captain Kirk (Chris Pine) leads a manhunt to a war-zone world to capture a one man weapon of mass destruction. As our heroes are propelled into an epic chess game of life and death, love will be challenged, friendships will be torn apart, and sacrifices must be made for the only family Kirk has left: his crew.

Here's what critics are saying:

It is arguably no better written than the last time around, with the film again coasting on its technical aspects and sheer chemistry of its cast over a story that makes little sense and feels rushed. And the picture is hobbled, especially in its second half, by an inexplicable choice to chain itself to the original mythology to its disservice as a new story. —  Scott Mendelson, Forbes

'Star Trek Into Darkness' is like fan-boy fiction on a $185 million budget. It's reverential, it's faithful, it's steeped in 'Trek' mythology. It's also 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. — David Germain, Associated Press

The visual effects and stunt work in the movie is very impressive, as you’d expect in a J.J. Abrams film, and offers up the kind of spectacle that almost makes you forgive the flaws elsewhere. (Almost.) But the number of climactic action sequences contained within the plot corkscrews also starts to feel exhausting, eventually pushing the audience from feeling like 'things keep getting more intense!' to 'seriously, shouldn’t this be over yet?' — Graeme McMillan, Wired

The plotting is clunky, and the action more relentless and violent than I'd like; there are no pauses for ideas. There are too many self-deflating quips. The movie doesn't hold up to post-viewing scrutiny — which matters if you want to see it again. — David Edelstein, NPR

'Into Darkness' eclipses the first film in a rare occurrence of a sequel one upping its predecessor, though missing are those sensations of grandeur and stargazing as Kirk, Bones and Spock experience space and the Starfleet for the first time. Having all of that already established, Abrams instead fashions a hardboiled action-thriller, putting the film in full-throttle from the get go, grabbing the audience by the jugular and refusing to let go until the end credits roll. — Justin Craig, Fox News

At its best, the second entry in J.J. Abrams' 'Star Trek 2.0' series plunges moviegoers into a visually stunning 23rd century and spends ample time on bro bonding between the brash James T. Kirk and the reticent half-Vulcan known as Spock. — Sharon Eberson, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

"Star Trek Into Darkness" is rated PG-13 for PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi action and violence. The movie runs 2 hours and 12 minutes.

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