Star Trek Into Darkness

no-whining-2x.gif
 
Anybody seen it yet?

Yeah, I fucking loved it. And so did everyone else I saw it with. Out of laziness, I'm just gonna copy/paste the review I wrote for my FB friends:

Into Darkness takes a steep departure from the roots of Trek, namely in the degree to which it is a Big, Loud, Action-Packed-Summer-Blockbuster. I welcome this change because the movie is enthralling, and I'll be damned if there isn't a brain inside it. Blink and you might miss it, but this movie makes some very sharp criticisms of both the Obama and Bush II administrations. For the first time in what feels like forever, a Trek movie has turned a mirror to the audience, forcing them to ask questions about themselves. In what appears to be his curtain call, Abrams has injected thrill into the franchise, while taking us right back to where we started, making way for a series that is designed to promote peace, understanding, and fairness for all. I can't wait to see it again. A+!!!

So, for my IT folk, I will say that the one thing that annoyed me about the film is that it sometimes gets WAY too heavy-handed, in making references to prior Trek cannon. It goes so far as to not just wink and nod, but to flat-out copy an entire scene, blatantly. It's supposed to be a loving tribute, but it comes off as cheesy and hokey.

But I've never seen a movie that is actually completely perfect. You can make criticisms about any and all movies, and I can definitely say that this one little criticism of mine (one which my friends said the same about) is not nearly enough to ruin the movie. It's fucking sweet!

EDIT: IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE MOVIE, I RECOMMEND SKIPPING THE REST OF THIS THREAD. SOME OF THE DISCUSSION GETS A LITTLE TOO SPOILER-ISH, IN MY OPINION.
 
Last edited:
My review is one sentence long: It was a great Star Wars film (albeit with more lens flares).

I want to say more, but don't feel I can do so without spoilers.
 
I loved it too. Better than the first one.

I saw it in IMAX 3D. I agree that 2D conversion to 3D is inherently lame-o. 3D films should be filmed in 3D. Still, I thought it worked pretty well in this case. At least, it didn't get in the way for me.

I didn't mind that flat-out near copy of a scene from yesteryear. It wasn't cheesy or hokey for me. In fact, it was an effective
tear jerker for me. My eyes were not dry...just like they were not dry when I saw that legacy scene back then.
=)

I liked it. Especially when I, and I'm sure everyone else, saw the solution a mile away. I wanted that solution, and they gave it to me, and I do appreciate that muchly.

I know Trek purists, and hey, maybe they're/you're better Trekkers than I, don't much appreciate the injection of action, adventure, and sexy into Star Trek. But I'm a Trekker too, at least as far as I'm concerned, and I love it. These are things that I've felt for years Star Trek needed, having become, to my mind, stultifying. Enterprise tried to remedy that. I was a fan. But apparently not enough other people were. Probably, Enterprise didn't go far enough, as far as I'm concerned. But hey, this latest film still has the moralizing character of classic Trek. After all, since when does anyone in Star Wars give a hoot about things like Prime Directives, or the rule of law, or ethics?

But come on, that's not exactly fair to Star Wars, either. Actually, it's perhaps those miserable prequels in which morality, right and wrong, and justice, or the lack of justice, do actually get some consideration or do show up, I would argue, as commentary on contemporary political and moral failings. But I know not to offer those interpretations here. =)

One thing I came away with...actually, I was sitting there thinking this when the credits were rolling, is, damn, this gives me a whole new hope that Abram's Stars Wars is going to be awesome.

Provided it/they do not include Jar Jar Binks, Ewoks, or Anakin Skywalker.

Thumbs up. Recommended. See it. Unless you're a raging Star Trekphobe.
 
I liked it almost as much as the first one, which I adore. As much of a sucky plot that the first one had, I was won over by its use of character conflict - that is what I meant about it being back to "old" STAR TREK, the Bones, Kirk, Spock bickering, teasing and friendship was back.

INTO DARKNESS did a really nice job with furthering the relationship between Kirk and Spock. They come to realize more of what they mean to each other; how far they would go to save or honor the other guy. McCoy/Bones was relegated to mostly funny one-liners. There was more of a bond between him and Kirk, in the first movie. I still enjoy Urban's over the top portrayal of the doctor, though.

So much has been made of Benedict Cumberbatch's character. As well played as he is, I was slightly, slightly disappointed that he didn't play his politics up a bit more. He was covered well enough in the past that it was almost like the filmmakers didn't feel the need to explain him in detail, this time.

Abrahms should fit right into the new STAR WARS universe, as the action in this was almost as over the top as the STAR WARS prequels - you know, stuff like Anakin jumping from one flying car onto another? Well, that's in this movie. Kirk flying through space in a pressure suit like a speeding bullet and dodging debris was a little hard to follow. Kirk and McCoy jumping from that high cliff on purpose??? Maybe, the planet had lower gravity. Maybe they had something to help them breathe underwater.

This goes for most movies, nowadays - I wish filmmakers would make stuff a little more believable and ask themselves "what could we attempt with a real stunt man?" Then, use a real stuntman or simply apply those physics to CGI action. This is why ALIEN is still my favorite sci-fi movie - the characters don't do anything that defies the laws of physics, yet the movie is total sci-fi.

Now for the positive side to the physical antics. It was fun. From the series, we know that Spock has the strength of 3 men and that
Khan
has the strength of 5 men. (Do I really need to put a spoiler around that? Is there anyone who doesn't know? Nevermind.) That made the last fight pretty interesting and I really liked that
Spock was out to avenge Kirk at all costs!

The music was good, the pacing was good and Scotty (Simon Pegg) was especially funny, this time. It's a very good movie.


BTW, I totally agree with Richy about the "homage scene." I loved it and my eyes were wet!
 
Last edited:
just got back from watching it. INCREDIBLE!!! one of the best trek films, which is surprising cuz i thought the last one was just okay
 
Was I the only that thought it went by really quickly? it seemed I enjoyed it so much it only seemed I was there an hour! As much as i didnt like the choice writing in some scenes I do they are going in the right direction in the franchise. action sells, I can't see them making a sequel about Vger or the doomsday machine anytime soon.
 
It had more than just action in this one. Some great emotional scenes, and some Trek-esque strategy/tactical warfare. It was amazing to see them do this, when in the previous film they just kinda "star-wars'd it up" and took a lot of the thought out.


It made me sad that the movie was almost over.

I also loved the nice philosophical touch in Kirk's speech at the end.
 
One other thing, the actors are 4 years older in this movie. They look more suited to their parts, particularly Chris Pine as Kirk. And, yes, the movie went by really fast. Need to see this one, again!

EDIT: And, I just got back from a midnight show. All this talk got me amped up to go back. Been awhile since I saw a movie twice in the same day.
 
Last edited:
This goes for most movies, nowadays - I wish filmmakers would make stuff a little more believable and ask themselves "what could we attempt with a real stunt man?" Then, use a real stuntman or simply apply those physics to CGI action. This is why ALIEN is still my favorite sci-fi movie - the characters don't do anything that defies the laws of physics, yet the movie is total sci-fi.

Wow, great review. So agree about that too.

BTW, I totally agree with Richy about the "homage scene." I loved it and my eyes were wet!

Knucks, my friend.

just got back from watching it. INCREDIBLE!!! one of the best trek films, which is surprising cuz i thought the last one was just okay

Even Mussonman likes it?! Nice. :)
 
I agree with some of the posters in this thread - it's good entertainment, but, unlike the old series with Shatner, it did not deal with the issues of the day, except in a superficial, corny manner.

I've said this before, and I'll say it again - there's room for a new franchise which does deal with modern issues in a typical manner.
 
Good point, because it had an attack on a civilian institution just as Iron Man did. But neither movie had any discussion. IOW, what was the cause of people blowing up buildings? Who is in the right and who is in the wrong? Are their methods justified? None of these questions were dealt with in Iron Man 3 or Star Trek number whatever.
 
Yeah, I thought the issues of Drone strikes, executive order and bringing criminals to trial were touched upon pretty well.
 
Good point about bringing criminals to trial. But was there any discussion of the pros and cons? I don't remember that. A good contrast is the TOS episode, "A Private Little War", where Kirk and company deal with the moral dilemma of arming natives.

Anyway, here's an article saying ST has lost its mission of dealing with moral issues.
 
They discussed it. I can't remember the exact words but
Khan
spoke about himself being the hero and that it was a matter of perspective
 
There was also a few debates between Kirk and Spock about whether its more important to follow your orders or your morals.
 
Back
Top