A fine chunk of domestic and international press were the first group of people to feast their eyes on the first nine minutes of “Star Trek: Into Darkness.” Needless to say there were a number of people buzzing about how the intro will hold up compared to J.J. Abrams’ first “Star Trek” movie along with constant debates/arguments about whether or not Benedict Cumberbatch’s character is Khan.

First, let’s get this question out of the way. Is Benedict Cumberbatch Khan? Does the footage reveal that he is? The answer is we have no idea. Thanks to the opening fans and press folk alike will be even more confused as to who he is. Now back to our little recap.

Director J.J. Abrams stepped out, giving us a short and sweet introduction to what we’re about to see. Mind you, the nine minutes worth of footage isn’t just a mesh of different scenes scattered throughout the movie. This is a large chunk of the movie’s opening.

Even before we dive into the first scene we’re already being smacked with suspense thanks to Michael Giacchino’s score. The picture begins following a young couple (Nazneen Contractor, Noel Clarke) in futuristic London. Some of you may know Clarke Mickey from “Doctor Who” fame. These two aren’t the happiest couple since their daughter’s currently in the hospital suffering from some sort of illness. The scene sets the tone of possible despair a large number of our main characters will be dealing with throughout the film, and we’re fine with that.

One of the many great things about the next scene is how it properly displays how great IMAX 3D can look in a visual effects heavy movie such as this. It’s also a little bit overwhelming at times (in a good way) to have Chris Pine’s face be popping out at you like that. In this scene we’re reintroduced to Captain Kirk, Spock (Zachary Quinto) and the rest of the crew as they try their best to save Class M Planet – Nibiru that’s minutes away from being obliterated. And yes, we get a glimpse of the Enterprise but it is submerged underwater. We didn’t know that they could do that. We’ll spare you from having the ending spoiled but the scene involves some great banter between Kirk and Bones (Karl Urban) as they try to run away from a tribe. Yes, it’s the same scene you’ve seen snippets of in the teaser trailer, which is fantastic to see on an IMAX screen. The presentation ended with the last thirty seconds of the trailer then the movie’s title.

While the first nine minutes of “Star Trek: Into Darkness” doesn’t really explain much of Cumberbatch’s character, of whom we see for a second, we still want more. Between Giacchino’s score and what’s going on with the Enterprise crew, it gets your adrenaline pumping but still holds enough mystery to keep you intrigued on how the movie’s main events will unfold. Before the footage was shown Abrams said that there’s “…a lot of intensity, a little bit of gloom buta lot of fun.” You definitely get that right off the bat and we can’t wait to check out more.

“Star Trek: Into Darkness” will be released in theaters on May 17, 2013.