Star Trek Into Darkness (May 2013)

[Rutabaga]

I thought she was okay, I didn't have a major problem with her. Except for trying to figure out where her English accent came from if her father was American. Unless he was out in space so much that she spent more time with her mother, I dunno. It's a nitpick, ultimately.

But yeah, Carol isn't there just as window dressing. And I can't blame her for doing that screaming while on the Vengeance. Even though she'd slapped her father and told him she was ashamed to be his daughter, it doesn't mean she would have enjoyed seeing his skull crushed like an egg by Khan. Plus Khan shattered her leg with a single kick, and that obviously wasn't a fun thing to experience either.

I saw the movie for a second time today and actually enjoyed it more than I did the first time. I know I'm going to be accused of being biased (Jace in particular really has experience with my obsession with Benedict Cumberbatch since he follows me on Tumblr ), but Khan was the best part of the movie for me. I loved, and still love, Ricardo Montalban's original portrayal of Khan, but that was a Khan who had become warped and twisted by his years on Ceti Alpha V, especially after losing his wife. He was ultimately defeated a little too easily, when all was said and done. But this Khan is something much, much different. Much more threatening, much more unpredictable, much more adept at manipulation and extreme ruthlessness.

I was glad I'd been able to avoid major spoilers prior to seeing the movie for the first time on Friday, because I found Khan's arc to be really interesting. I went from yeah, he's a bad guy to wait, he's done terrible things but maybe he isn't completely bad to oh shit, he really is a bad guy and needs to be stopped throughout the movie. When all was said and done, this iteration of Khan was not a common one dimensional bad buy with the subtance of a piece of tissue paper. He was a step above what we see too often, and he was brought to very memorable and effective life by BC.

I also really have to hand it to Chris Pine...I agree that he finally earned the captain's chair in this one. He proved it in the moment when he tried to save the crew before the Vengeance was going to destroy the Enterprise, and of course also in the beautiful role reversal scene in the engine room. Chris Pine has totally made this role his own. And Zachary Quinto was excellent as usual.

It wasn't perfect--I do agree that the movie ends somewhat abruptly--but it really, really worked for me. I doubt I'm going to stop at 2 viewings, because I'm such a pathetic fangirl.

I'm also wondering if there will be any chance for an Oscar nom for the visual effects. They were all spectacular, especially the fall of the Enterprise and the crash of the Vengeance.

[Mr E Nygma]

She's certainly a love interest / damsel in distress kind of character... but personally I thought she was a better-than-usual example of that. That said, I'm pretty terrible when it comes to conceiving female characters... did you guys think she was bad / good / okay?

I think the idea had potential that it didn't live up to. To be frank, her character was basically a plot device to hang the secret of the torpedo-cryotubes on. Once that moment was past, her accomplishments and contributions were pretty minimal.

What I would've liked to see is her coming up with the idea to pull the cryotube-sicles out of the torpedoes and making it happen independently, thus giving Spock a surprise weapon at his disposal and hostages in the event that his initial strategy failed. And when it failed, I would've liked to see Sulu and Uhura step in and bargain for an exchange, which fails because they are not Spock. That can chain into the reactor room scene (and the disaster porn montage if you really have to have one.)

[Rutabaga]

So they kept the moment of Alice Eve in her Starfleet undies for the fanboys yet left this fangirl-hysteria-inducing moment on the cutting room floor...



Well, hopefully it will be on the DVD extras. Plus I have to admit that, if it had been left in the movie, some of us might have injured ourselves attempting to run head first into the screen.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

I don't have much that is coherent to add to the discussion - I thought that this was a really good movie and a really good Star Trek movie. Rather than try to stay spoiler friendly I'm just going to tag all of this just in case.

The identity of Benedict's character was a surprise but not a surprise, more of an 'of course!' moment. I had avoided all talk of who he was going to be, and of course Khan was a front runner in rumor from the beginning. I thought they did justice by the Khan character, probably more so than in the original movie, like you said Jace.

It has been a long time since I've seen The Wrath of Khan, all I really remember is him sticking horribly crawly things into people's ears to control them, so we'll probably rewatch that soon. BUT anyway. I really enjoyed the movie and as mentioned the visual effects were really, really great.

The fight between Spock and Khan on the barge or whatever that was, for example, was just incredible for how real it looked. I couldn't help but be reminded of the similar scene in Attack of the Clones in Coruscant and how MUCH BETTER this was. Can't wait for JJ Star Wars, for serious. I'm sure part of it is just technology advancing, but still. STILL.

I loved the bit on Kronos, even if it became a semi-dropped storyline. I figure that the danger was the Enterprise being discovered by the Klingons, and it wasn't. The Klingons therefore have no proof that the team was from the Federation (not that wars haven't been started for less of course). I would have liked to have seen more of them without their helmets on, but they probably had to reel in the budget somewhere. I liked that it was visually consistent with the deleted scenes from the 2009 movie, and the Klingons were badass. Khan was just badasser, of course.

The role reversal of Spock and Kirk from TWoK was perfect. I was a little confused as to why Alternate Future Spock was helping Spock with spoilers, but I think he justified it by knowing that he had to die to stop Khan originally and the odds of Khan trying the whole Genesis planet thing and being resurrected was infinitesimally small. And his alternate's life was important due to all the future things he needed to be present for. Spock tapping into his human half was set up really well from the beginning of the movie, and Kirk maturing into realizing how to be a captain and lead and make the tough choices was done really well too.

Loved it. Also I know there are many who are vocal detractors of the 3D format but I un-apologetically love it when done well, and in Star Trek Into Darkness it was done really well. It lends a terrific depth to the city scenes and didn't ever stand out as something shoehorned in. It was just very beautifully executed.

And lastly, I love Scotty. Star of the movie for me.

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

Finally saw it.

The Khan twist caught me by complete surprise. Well done! I'm a bit uneasy at white-facing the role, but I guess I'll give it the benefit of the doubt due to space nazis or whatever.

I love the duality of changing positions of inside / outside the glass with Kirk and Spock in relation to Wrath of Khan. I'd figured out they'd use Khan's blood as an out long before, so I knew Kirk was gonna live. Still, I absolutely love seeing Kirk actually having to come to grips with the no-winner, and having to actually confront death. The fear he expressed is exactly how I imagine someone so arrogant and cocksure to assume it would never be them. That was poignant. Spock screaming KHAAAAN was silly, but I'll allow it I guess.

Also why the hell is Scotty drinking a bomber of budweiser. Have some standards, you bastard!

Also Mickey from Doctor Who was in this! Too bad he died and all, but still glad to see him!

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

Also did the enterprise crew inadvertently cause a tribble outbreak on earth?

That could be the premise for the next movie!!!

[Captain Untouchable]

I absolutely love seeing Kirk actually having to come to grips with the no-winner, and having to actually confront death. The fear he expressed is exactly how I imagine someone so arrogant and cocksure to assume it would never be them. That was poignant.

Hold still, Mr Nail. Charley here is going to whack you squarely on the head.

That said, the way he handled this no-win scenario says a lot about New Kirk, versus Old Kirk. In The Wrath of Khan, the lesson was that "sometimes you don't win, and someone you care about dies". That message gets reinforced in The Search For Spock, because though Kirk tries to cheat - again - and get his lost friend back, he ends up losing his son in the process. New Kirk however resolved the no-win in the same way that Thor his father did: choosing to sacrifice himself, rather than letting anyone else die on his behalf. A lot of episodes of The Original Series focus on the deaths of people under Kirk's command: his own death is something that only Generations tackled. Also, it ran through my head that Generations Kirk was wrong: he told Picard that "I've always known I'd die alone;" but in Into Darkness, his best friend in all the multiverse was there with him.

I hope that we get to see Kirk and Carol's relationship explored further, and I really hope Kirk becomes a dad. I think that has the potential to be a very different Kirk: the fact that he himself grew up without a father - and the fact that Carol has lost her father - might change the whole promising to stay away thing. This New Kirk is always so willing to risk his own life: but given that George Kirk made the ultimate sacrifice and left him fatherless, he might not be so willing to risk forcing his son to live the same life.

[Figrin D'an]

Finally saw this today.

While it was very entertaining as a summer popcorn flick, and had a few very good moments, there are some foundational issues that I have with the story. Without getting into immense detail, I feel that much of the potential for this second chapter of a fresh look at Kirk-era Trek was wasted.


However, as I wasn't pinning my hopes on this being a defining 'Star Trek' experience, I wasn't completely disappointed. Star Trek movies have never exactly been pinnacles of either cinema or 'Trek' itself, so I've learned to simply accept them for what they are, be modestly entertained, and move on.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

I enjoyed it a lot, and loved the flip-flop they did with Kirk and Spock at the glass door.

I'm very high on sentimentality in stuff, and little actions and words that call to mind the past, so this was a really wonderful fusion of the new mixed with the old for me.

I did feel kind of cheated however, since I got bushwacked with Khan's identity earlier this week, but overall I would say that it in no way destroyed my viewing experience. I still highly enjoyed the film, and ok yah, I teared up at that moment. Most of you know which one.

[Captain Untouchable]

I did feel kind of cheated however, since I got bushwacked with Khan's identity earlier this week, but overall I would say that it in no way destroyed my viewing experience. I still highly enjoyed the film, and ok yah, I teared up at that moment. Most of you know which one.

I don't tear up. There was warp core coolant in my eye.


Edit:

I've just realised that Benedict Cumberbatch's character looks, sounds, and acts like a cross between Batman and Severus Snape.

Part of me is now hoping that the next movie will be a prequel, where his dad is played by Alan Rickman.

[CMJ]

I finally got around to seeing this. Personally, I thought it was pretty great. I'm terrible with getting tags to work correctly, so I'll just say I enjoyed the nods to the original ST universe, despite never being much of a Trekkie. I do think Abrams is two for 2 with these reboots. Really, I think he's made the two best Trek films.

The script was incredibly smart the way it worked so much in IMHO. Bravo to the writers.

Basically, I was captivated throughout. For me it was better than the 2009 reboot - and I expect to include it in my end of year top ten list.

[Captain Untouchable]

It's just occurred to me that I haven't seen any interviews / premiere footage / publicity stuff for Into Darkness that features Anton Yelchin. There was an interview with him from the set, but nothing really since.

Is he just busy filming other stuff (I know that's why Benedict Cumberbatch wasn't able to go to a lot of premieres), or is/was there something else going on?