5 Favorite Scenes from Into Darkness

Star Trek Into Darkness blasted into theaters on May 16, 2013... or five years ago today. The second reboot feature directed by J.J. Abrams reunited the main cast and welcomed into the fold Benedict Cumberbatch as John Harrison/Khan Noonien Singh, Alice Eve as Dr. Carol Marcus and Peter Weller as Admiral Marcus. To celebrate the occasion, StarTrek.com is pleased to share Fave Favorite Scenes from Star Trek Into Darkness on its Fifth Anniversary...

The Opening Sequence

Man, we love the earliest moments of STID, with Kirk and Bones doing their Indiana Jones bit, Spock ready to die in a volcano, the Nibirans and their super-cool-looking planet and more. And, though the visuals were awesome, we admit we're still not entirely sold on the submerged Enterprise.

Kirk & Khan Space Jump

It's four minutes of pulse-pounding, pure adrenalin as Kirk and Khan space jump from the Enterprise to the Vengeance, dodging a barrage of galactic junk along the way. The sequence involves pretty much the whole cast, plenty of fast cutting, superior visual effects, perfect complementary music and a good chuckle as Kirk and Khan tumble toward Scotty aboard the Vengeance, with Kirk introducing Khan and Scotty by saying, "Khan, Scotty. Scotty, Khan."

Spock Talks to Spock

Leonard Nimoy's brief viewscreen appearance as Spock Prime elicited cheers from fans at every showing of STID. The scene is played straight, given its placement within the story, but there's no not smiling when Nimoy and Zachary Quinto have their "Mister Spock... Mister Spock" exchange. And it's vital information delivered when Spock Prime warns Spock that "Khan Noonien Singh is the most dangerous adversary the Enterprise has ever faced. He is brilliant, ruthless, and he will not hesitate to kill every single one of you."

Sulu in the Captain's Chair

Kirk orders Sulu to assume the captain's chair while he heads to Kronos, prompting Dr. McCoy to express his doubts about doing so. Sulu sternly warns John Harrison to surrender or else, promising, "If you test me, you will fail." That prompts Dr. McCoy, standing to Sulu's right, to say to Sulu, "Remind me to never to piss you off." It's a juicy Sulu moment, plus, intercut in there is the amusing Easter egg-ish line in which Kirk says: "Lieutenants, lose the red shirts."

The Final Four Minutes

STID opens strong and closes strong, too. The final four minutes give us a sweet Kirk-McCoy-Spock scene, a shot of Khan in stasis, an affecting Kirk speech power (including the classic "to boldly go" lines), gorgeous images of the Enterprise, and Sulu relinquishing the captain's chair to Kirk, with Kirk commenting that "It's hard to get out of it once you've had a taste, isn't that right, Mr. Sulu?" And then there's McCoy lamenting, "Five years in space. God help me," final interactions between Kirk and Carol Marcus and Kirk and Spock, followed by a neat warp trail visual as the Enterprise once again heads toward the final frontier.So, what are your favorite scenes from Star Trek Into Darkness?