Star Trek: Into Darkness Review

Posted 10 years ago by myetvmedia

The Star Trek franchise has impressive credentials. 12 movies, four TV series, one animated series, hundreds of books, comics and video games has created a massive fan base that stretches around the world, crossing social, national, and cultural barriers. Its impact is undeniable. Despite this, it was never a part of my life or growth as a nerd, with the exception of Wrath of Kahn. Wrath of Kahn is a great piece of cinema and I will fight anyone who says otherwise. Star Wars, classic Doctor Who, Jack Kirby, Philip K. Dick and many more besides were my personal gateway to sci-fi and general nerdery.

This made watching Star Trek Into Darkness a weird experience for me. A sequel to a movie I didn’t watch in a franchise I have no real investment in. I know enough background to get most of the jokes in Into Darkness, like the meaning of the redshirt, “I’m a doctor, not a-,” and a key reveal that is spoileriffic in the extreme. The fact I got those jokes is a testament to how important Star Trek is to modern pop culture. The crowd I watched it with cheered, laughed, and applauded throughout the movie, they enjoyed the hell out of it. I left the theatre a staunch unbeliever.Nowadays it seems that the world of modern movies is one of compromise. Trading plot for special effects, settling for an actor’s name rather than an actor’s skill. It seems that as filmmakers more intensively explore the technological advances of CGI and 3D, the more they fall away from the basic principles that make a film good. Sick of this eye candy, I was not impressed by Star Trek 2. It is one thing to have a good looking film, but it feels as though the aesthetics have taken precedence over other critical elements of the experience such as plot, acting, and character development. Spoilers below, read with caution.

I am going to avoid falling into a sin tally here, but I will provide some select examples to substantiate my claims. Why is it that they must get Khan back alive to save Kirk? Could they not just revive one of his crewmembers and use their blood? If his blood is still effective after it is removed from his body, why can they not kill Kahn and immediately take a sample? Normally such inconsistencies could be overlooked, but in the film it feels like awkward junkets of dialogue were inserted to try and cover them up, merely for the purpose of extending the action.


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Star Trek: Into Darkness Review

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