Star Trek: Into Darkness is a hoot. It’s fun and fast-paced, hurtling from one side of the galaxy to the other and then back again. It’s both accessible for newcomers to the “Star Trek” mythology and rewarding for fans who know all the in-jokes. It brings back the best villain of the old “Star Trek” series and movies (though I’m not supposed to tell you that).

Director J.J. Abrams is perhaps the best handler of big, complicated set pieces this side of Christopher Nolan. “Into Darkness” throws us immediately into one, as Kirk sprints through bright red alien terrain trying to escape chalky whit...