'Star Trek Into Darkness' Super Bowl Preview: 30-Second Spot is Action Packed

It was an incredible spectacle that left fans breathless. No, I’m not talking about Super Bowl XLVII, or even Beyonce’s amazing halftime performance. I’m talking about the insanely cool TV spot for Star Trek Into Darkness that aired during the first quarter of the game. For us nerds who were never much into sports, it is moments like these that we live for.

Most Sci-Fi and comic movie buffs were ready and waiting for the sneak peek of Iron Man 3, but seeing an awesome trailer for Star Trek Into Darkness during Super Bowl XLVII was certainly a welcome surprise!

Despite being only 30 seconds in length, the trailer in some ways provides more information than the full 2-minute trailer has. Some Star Trek fans have been worried that this movie would show a more grounded fight, due to the lack of phasers, torpedoes, or even the famed Constitution Class starship for that matter. That changed, however, with this new trailer. 

Like others, this trailer starts off with Benedict Cumberbatch (who director J.J. Abrams has said will be playing a diabolical character by the name of John Harrison) speaking in an incredibly eerie voice, asking if we believe our world to be safe. In between shots of the Klingon home world Qo’noS, and explosions in San Francisco, we see Kirk asking Harrison “who the hell are you?” Harrison responds simply by saying, “I am better.”

Boom.

After a shot of Dr. Carol Marcus screaming in terror, we see a badly battered USS Enterprise. The vessel's saucer section and starboard nacelle appear to be damaged beyond repair. To make matters worse, the ship appears to be caught in the gravity of an M-Class world, and going down(M-Class, for you newbies, is a world like Earth that can easily support life).

Let's go with "ouch."

To cap it off, we see a ship that looks like the Enterprise crashing into what we assume to be the San Francisco Bay, taking out a few buildings in the process. Could that ship be the USS Enterprise? Was the damaged inflicted by Cumberbatch’s John Harrison, or by the Klingon’s, which are supposed to be making an appearance?

In a recent interview with TrekMovie, Chris Pine said this is the movie in which Captain Kirk earns his chair. Previous trailers have shown Admiral Pike (played by Bruce Greenwood) giving Kirk a very sobering message:

"There's greatness in you. But there's not an ounce of humility. You think you can't make mistakes. But there's going to come a moment when you realize you're wrong about that. And you're going to get yourself and everyone under your command killed.

This ties in beautifully with the official Star Trek Into Darkness synopsis:

“In Summer 2013, director J.J. Abrams will deliver an explosive action thriller that takes Star Trek Into Darkness.

In the wake of a shocking act of terror from within their own organization, the crew of The Enterprise is called back home to Earth. In defiance of regulations and with a personal score to settle, Captain Kirk leads his crew on a manhunt to capture an unstoppable force of destruction and bring those responsible to justice.

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.”

So Harrison is a terrorist, and Kirk is out for revenge. Did Harrison murder Kirk’s family, leaving him with only his crew to care for? Did Kirk’s arrogance and ego get the better of him, setting Harrison and others into action? Hopefully, we will get at least one more full-length trailer before the movie debuts this summer! 

For those of us who wanted a great villain, it looks like we’re going to get our wish and then some. It’s evident that Benedict Cumberbatch can act, but now we can see that he can come off as truly sinister. The shots of bruised and angry Kirk coming in to see a cold, calculating and smiling Harrison are enough to send chills down the spine of any Trekker. 

Stay tuned, folks! It looks like this movie, which is slated for a May release,, is going to be the box office event of the summer! Not only will we get the action packed movie we have all been dying for with a villain that appears to be the equal of Kirk and his crew, but we will also get to see a deep, emotional tale.

Until next time, live long and prosper!

Watch the Super Bowl spot: