You have been warned!
Here we go.
STAR TREK: INTO DARKNESS:
Before I get into the issues I had with the film, it is important to note that I really did enjoy this film. I found it a fast paced action, sci-fi romp with lots of effects that will keep you at the edge of your seat to the very end. All of the actors involved give great performances with what they've been given. The action pieces are well choreographed and thrilling and I hope it's not another four years until the next one.
Having said all of that, there were some things that did bug me about the story. I can only imagine that they probably cheesed off a lot of die hard Star Trek fans as well.
The story follows the crew of the USS Enterprise as they try and hunt down an ex Star Fleet officer who is causing terrorist attacks against the organization and the world.
I've always been more of a Star Wars guy myself, but I always enjoyed and respected the Star Trek canon. When the first J. J. Abrams' Star Trek movie came out and not only rebooted the movie series, it also realigned the whole Star Trek universe, I applauded the efforts and enjoyed the hell out of this first film. You can read my review HERE.
That movie truly made me want more as soon as possible. Abrams had created a whole new, fresh Star Trek galaxy to play with in future films by creating a storyline that involved a parallel universe slightly different than the one in the shows and films that had come before. I always thought that this was a great way to create an open canvas to push forward more original Star Trek stories.
I guess I was a bit wrong in that assumption. What they've done with Darkness is pulled from and retread an old, classic Star Trek story that could very well be considered one of the Holy Grails of all Star Trek stories. After my initial viewing I think it could have been handled a little better.
There is one particular scene that was ripped right from the original source material that I'm sure the writers thought would be an excellent nod and homage to its predecessor. Instead of giving it a whole new, fresh view, they take it almost word for word, with roles being reversed. The scene is too quick and comes off as though they were intentionally trying to be cutsey and cleaver. Instead, I felt it undermined the original scene while not carrying the same weight. It could be argued that the writers were trying to simply placate Trekkie's. I think they may have pissed them off more so. I'm not even a Trekkie, and the scene made even me a little uneasy and queasy.
What's even worse is the scene is concluded with one line that is uttered that hearkens back to that embarrassing scene from Revenge of the Sith where Vader rises from the surgery table for the first time dressed fully in the black garb and shrieks....."NOOOOOOOOO!" Yep. It could be argued as being that bad. It really didn't need to be in there.
The movie is also filled with a plethora of plot holes. If I bring them up it may spoil the story for some, but I will give a brief example. Both Klingon's and a Tribble are in this movie. Even though the Klingon's are part of a big, cool as hell, action sequence, their reason for being in the the story is never really satisfyingly revealed. The Tribble's existence in this film seems more as a quick cameo until it plays an "important" part in saving a crew member. Although it doesn't come off as being "important" as it does a last minute story idea to paint the writers out of a corner they may have painted themselves into towards the end of the movie.
The characters we all fell in love with in the first movie are all present and equally represented as they were in the first. Others have more to do in this one, but they all have their moments, keeping in mind that the characterization that we saw in the first flick is given way to fast action and grand set pieces.
Admittedly, I'm not usually this critical about genre films. Hell, I'm the kind of geek who you could plop down in front of some film of non-stop explosions and I'd be as happy as a dullard clam. But, something slightly irked me with this film. I really wanted this one to be every bit as good, in more ways than being just a good action movie, than the first.
I honestly wasn't bothered by the way the original history was tampered with in the last film, but this time there were things that left a sour taste in my mouth.
Perhaps I was under the impression that Trek deserved a little more effort in the story of Into Darkness than it delivers. I wanted to love the heck out of this movie and really looked forward to it. And in the end I was really entertained, but the story needed more effort. Something went slightly wrong with this one.
I'm not here to be caustic or a troll. I'm not saying that this is any way a horrible movie.
I'm more than sure J. J. and the gang will be giving us more Trek in the future and I'm hoping that they move away from the miss steps in this one.
Not being an insanely huge Trekkie, I'd be really interested in what other people think of the film. I don't usually ask for comments, but if you've seen the film, let me know if I'm being overly critical here.
Zangz out!
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