10 Best Action Set-Pieces In Star Trek
5. Khan Vs Spock; Into Darkness
Just when you think things are settling down, the USS Vengeance plunges past the recovering, if battered USS Enterprise at speed.
Impressive? Yes, but that's not the end with the Starfleet dreadnought diving into San Francisco bay, demolishing Alcatraz (JJ's failed TV series getting a nod) and tearing through the high rise skyline. Destruction, fire and total obliteration as the gigantic starship slices through civilisation.
Yet that's not even the start of it as Khan improbably escapes from the wreckage and heads off on foot across the city. Hot on his heels and seeking a blood sample to restore Kirk, Spock is fast on his heels. The pair engage in a blistering chase and fistfight through and above San Francisco backed by another stellar soundtrack from Michael Giachinno.
The desperation, the anger, the panic that Khan might get away from him overwhelm Spock in the scene as the pair play three-dimensional cat and mouse.
JJ Abrams definitely did it differently with this rare, extensive on foot chase that provides edge of the seat jumps and stunts on almost every beat.
When Spock's punching Khan repeatedly, the audience feels just as exhausted, having been right in the moment since the Vengeance ripped through the clouds.