Looking at 'Star Trek' —through a mirror, darkly

For a lot of fans coming to see "Star Trek Into Darkness" next week, it will certainly be a case of "tomorrow is yesterday" —and much more besides.

 

The movie wastes no time getting off the ground, with Captain Kirk (Chris Pine) doing what he does best: getting himself into trouble.

 

As always, Kirk is the rebel with a cause, that guy who's always ready to stand his ground in a fight if he knows he's in the right —and so what if he violates the Prime Directive along the way?

 

And right there beside him, in the thick of the fray, is ever-reliable Bones McCoy (Karl Urban) as Kirk's wild-eyed moral conscience. Ditto with Spock, cool as a cucumber, willing to sacrifice himself in a green-blooded heartbeat for the needs of the many.

 

That's certainly something this film does well in its opening minutes: character development. Longtime fans will appreciate how the Enterprise crew has settled into their respective roles at the bridge, echoing the camaraderie of the crew from the original timeline.

 

But just when you think you're getting the hang of things in this reality, director JJ Abrams manages to throw a spanner into your brain gears with Into Darkness' most controversial character —John Harrison, played by Benedict Cumberbatch.

 

Cumberbatch brings to the film the steely, calculating gaze that made him famous as the titular character in the BBC's hugely successful Sherlock TV series. But other than that —and the fact that his character was once one of Starfleet's finest—there's little else that's familiar about Cumberbatch's Harrison.

 

Yes, he certainly has a chip on his shoulder against the whole Starfleet. But why? 

 

There was a lot of speculation earlier that Cumberbatch would play either Kirk's former friend-turned-delirious-demigod Gary Mitchell or longtime arch-nemesis Khan Noonien Singh. His ominous mien certainly shares more than a passing resemblance to both of Kirk's enemies.

 

Like a shady mirror, "Star Trek Into Darkness" presents us with a tantalizing view of people and places that are at once assuringly familiar yet disturbingly strange.

 

Just how far will it all go in either direction? That's what everyone will be watching for come May 16. — BM, GMA News