Wow, just wow! This is a sequel done right, as it is exceedingly better than its predecessor! Star Trek Into Darkness joins the ranks of The Dark Knight, Spider-Man 2, and The Godfather: Part II in terms of great sequels. This movie was exciting, daring, tragic, and a had a little comedy thrown in as well. I dare say it’s an Oscar-worthy film. Star Trek Into Darkness picks up sometime after the first film with the crew of The USS Enterprise on a mission to observe a primitive planet. This mission ends with Spock stuck in a volcano and Kirk deciding to save him thus revealing alien life to the natives. Of course, Spock is saved, but Kirk’s recklessness and lies about the mission get him booted from the captaincy of The USS Enterprise. The ship is returned to Admiral Pike and just because he still believes in him, makes Kirk his First Officer. Spock, the former First Officer, was transferred to another ship. Soon after there is a bombing of a Starfleet library in London, orchestrated by John Harrison. He is revealed to be a rogue Starfleet agent who is staging a one-man war against the Federation. A quick turn of events forces Kirk back into the captaincy of  The USS Enterprise and allows him to go after Harrison. My favorite characters in this film were Kirk, Spock, and Harrison. It was the interaction between these three people that drove the plot forward. I must say Harrison is one of the best villains I have ever seen in a film. Cold, quick, and clever, he single-handedly caused more damage to Starfleet than I thought possible. He is not a totally heartless villain though, as it is his heart that drives him on his mission against Starfleet. Spock in this film is more Vulcan than human. We learn later that this is because of the emotional weight he felt after losing his planet and mother. After seeing that he’d rather not feel that much hurt again. In this film, we see a more mature Kirk who would do anything for his crew. Yet he hasn’t changed much as he still sleeps with alien women and doesn’t follow anyone’s rules but his own. This film slightly mirrors Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan for obvious reasons that I won’t spoil in this review. J. J. Abrams has done a terrific job this time around. I felt as if he made the film just for me. There was a scene where I was getting tired of hearing Bones’ metaphors and Kirk pops in and says  “stop with the metaphors”. I was dead tired from working both of my jobs when I saw this and I thought I was going to fall asleep. This film didn’t let that happen at all, I’m not even sure if I blinked. Clearly, I’m exaggerating, but you get the point. I give Star Trek Into Darkness an Excellent 10/10 because even If it wasn’t Kirk somebody yelled …Khaaaaaaaaaan!!!