Star Trek Into Darkness (spoilers - if you haven't seen it stay out)

I've heard reviews lauding how this new film "pays tribute" to the original Wrath of Khan and was also finding myself perplexed by such a perspective. I don't think the new film is entirely terrible, but I certainly found myself rolling my eyes at the blatant and contrived parallels. The scene with Spock and Kirk holding up their hands to one another through the glass was especially groan-worthy.

In retrospect, the film's faults mirror those of Superman Returns. Both films tried too hard to parallel their predecessor.

Also: from a scientific point of view, I hated how the Enterprise simply plummeted into the Earth rather than stay in orbit. Hurray for Hollywood physics.
 
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I didn't think the movie really got going into the ship started plummeting.

I also think this was the most common direction from Abrams, "OK, now in this scene, stare just off camera and start to cry."

I did like the reversal scene and the Kirk's motivations make a lot more sense. I love the resolution, and the reference to the "Mudd Incident" makes the tribble resolution make sense for fans of the ST:TAS.

Spock's motivations though, do not - Nimoy seemed to forget to remind Abrams that his personal passivist viewpoints count for all Vulcans. Its why the ending in City on the Edge of Nowhere had to change to Kirk stopping Bones from saving Joan Crawford and not Spock stopping Kirk (something Ellison never understood in his book on the subject). Concerning Spock's motivations, Abrams also forgot the plot of The Cage, - especially over Pike's death (in The Cage Spock mutineed to save Pike). Speaking of Pike, a great plot device was lost - didn't he have a bug in his ear?

I did note that Uhura is probably the only actress in Hollywood who can speak both Klingon and Naboo (just to reference another lame movie).
 
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I'm not exactly a Star Trek fan, but I watched most of the series including the animated one which I personally like best out of them all - haven't seen Enterprise, however.
I enjoyed Enterprise. It's much closer to the original series than to TNG. Mankind is inexperienced in everything space travel. Their equipment is primitive, their experience with other species almost zilch. Space is the wild west. Cpt. Archer solves most conflicts cowboy style but with a conscience, just like Kirk. Add some overarching story elements, high production values and interesting races and you get quite an entertaining mix. While one could argue it lacked the grandeur of TNG and DS9, the beating Enterprise received was unjustified IMHO. Ignore the German loca though. It's terrible.


ST:Into Darkness was good entertainment, I think. And better than the first film. The biggest weakness was the split into 2 bad guys. It would have been better to make Khan deeper.
The original ST2:TWoK was much more intense, although its story was basically a Moby Dick rip-off.
 
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Me, and several other Star Trek nerds I know, discussed it at length and we all found it great. Most of the Wrath of Khan references were pretty much spot on, except a certain radiation scene which was a bit too obvious.

Also, Benedict Cumberbatch did an excellent job as Khan. I really liked him as a villain, and I hope he returns in future movies, though I suspect the next movie will be about the war with the Klingons (quite a few hints indicate that a war is coming).

The only real downside for me is how Kirk is portrayed. He was always a bit reckless, but now he's downright irresponsible in far too many cases.

Edit: Also, 3D adds *nothing* to the movie format in its current form.
 
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The way Kirk is portrayed makes much more sense than TOS. The nonsensical "all bridge officers come on this 300 man vessel you're away with me to beam down and investigate. Someone get a red shirt for protection" was never explained because in TV Land they bothered.

Benedict Cumberbatch vs Mr Roarke with long hair, ripped abs, dirty leather, and a Count of Monte Cristo personality? Gimme a break.
 
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Well despite my claim that I wasn't going to see this in theatres, I saw it last night. A friend of mine had some free passes, so I thought why not..

Um…yeah. It's pretty terrible.

The worst thing for me was that I actually thought it was solid for the first 2/3 of the film. It all falls apart in the final act though, and the final 20 minutes was completely anticlimactic. I could see the blood transfusion coming from a mile away even before they showed the Tribble.

The pseudo death scene had zero impact for me when compared to what it tried to emulate, and the acting of Pine, Quinto, and Pegg made William Shatner look like a master of the thespian arts.

I disagree with anyone who thinks it's better than the first film.



the reference to the "Mudd Incident" makes the tribble resolution make sense for fans of the ST:TAS.

I still don't get the connection even after looking it up on the Star Trek Wiki. I vaguely remember the character of Harry Mudd from TOS, and I read the synopsis for the TAS episode that featured him, but I don't see how it relates.
 
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The movie is pretty good as summer pop corn block busters. However I felt that the movie lacked a "soul"/"charisma" compared to the original. I just did't connect with any of the characters and didn't care if any of them died etc. The original movie (or Star trek) can be considered bit cheesy bit it made me care which the new one doesn't do...
 
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Benedict Cumberbatch vs Mr Roarke with long hair, ripped abs, dirty leather, and a Count of Monte Cristo personality? Gimme a break.

If I recall correctly, Khan looked somewhat similar to the latest movie in the original series. James Bond style. The whole tribal look in Wrath came from the setting, not Khan's taste in fashion.
 
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