STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS - Grading & Discussion [SPOILERS]

It was quite puzzling given that ST09 did perfectly fine with an original villain... or at least a non-name recognition villain. And the international market surely wouldn't have cared whether it was Khan or not. (Spock doing the Khan scream was pretty funny, though.)

 

Look, it didn't have to be Khan. Although if I remember right, Khan's tube started to thaw on its own in "Space Seed" (since he was the leader). So that probably happened when Khan was discovered in the new universe, too. Of course, Marcus could have thawed out someone called Timothy Wilberforce Lucas, the augmented ruler of the British Commonwealth in 1996, for all it mattered. The story could've been the same. (And it would've allowed a great line of its own. In the brig, instead of Cumberbatch ending his story by saying, "My name is, Khan." He could've said, "There are some who call me, Tim.")

The fun was it was Khan. That's all. And to the extent it did add some publicity, that didn't hurt. (I'm sorry, the secret that it wasn't Khan wasn't that secret -- Abrams and his people are better than that.) It creates some nice symmetry, too. It means that in both universes, Khan was the catalyst that allowed Kirk to turn himself around at a critical point in his life. In both universes, Kirk needed Khan.

So, Timothy Wilberforce Lucas, or Khan? It was basically one nice, big, blatant Easter Egg, even if not all fans could appreciate it.

 

Love it.

 

I thought Star Trek Into Darkness was the worst Star Trek movie ever?

http://www.wired.com/2014/06/star-trek-v-25th-anniversary/

 

TFF has a sense of fun and the best Kirk-Spock-McCoy interactions of all the films. On the flip side it has terrible FX and doesn't make a lick of sense. It's kinda like the Season 3 of Trek films.

 

TFF is the only Star Trek film I found literally unwatchable. I've still never made it all the way through, every second is just that cringe-worthy; nothing since comes remotely close.

 

Star Trek: Insurrection is the only one of the twelve movies I find unwatchable. The rest are anywhere from passable to downright good.

 

^ Maybe it depends on how nauseating one finds INS on the cutesy-humor front.

 

There's just something about watching the original cast together that I really enjoy; even if it's in a bad movie like TFF. To me, the cast, and their chemistry, makes TFF watchable. I think it's better than any of the TNG movies and certainly better than STID.

While TFF wasn't good, I do think its short comings were exaggerated. It's the 6th or 7th best Star Trek movie ever made.

 

Speaking of cutesy humor in ST movies, "Row, row, row your boat" was the nadir. Absolute worst ever. Cringe-in-the-movie-theatre bad.

 

I thought it was charming. These three old coots love each other, in their own ways.

 

Yeah. You gotta cut them some slack. I think there was some alcohol involved, too. The moments around the campfire were touching. All three know they only have each other, and they're just fine with it. It could be a such a melancholy moment. They could come across as three lonely guys who gave their lives to service. But it's not that way. They are happy and satisfied with each other.

Frankly, I'd watch Kirk, Spock, and McCoy paint a room together.

 

This is more cringe worthy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DyyjCn1ML3k

 

Only part of Star Trek: Insurrection I did like.

 

I actually did like the "lighter" moments in INSURRECTION just because it's nice to see the TNG crew loosen up after two heavy films. I think going for something lighthearted like THE VOYAGE HOME was the right call by Piller, but the suits wanted it to be an action film as well so it ended up as a jumbled mess.

ST09 isn't the worst film, but it does have the worst moment with Kirk running around with Nutty Professor hands. That attempt at slapstick comedy is just aaaaaaawwwful, especially given the context of Kirk trying to warn everyone of impending doom. This is why I usually lump the film with the TRANSFORMERS flicks, because it feels like something you'd see Shia doing on those flicks, frantically running around on a comedic note.

 

It's an odd choice for 'worst' moment. I'd have thought that Data's 'boob' comment would take that particular prize.

 

So, Data's comment wins the "booby prize?"

Thank you. I'll show myself out.

 

This thread is over. Everyone please file calmly towards the exit.

 

Insurrection was the closest to the TNG cast to enter into TOS-style campyness. I loved it for that reason.