I'm tired of it!
Tired of all the post 9/11 doom and gloom that we see in movies. They're everywhere! Come at us from all sides in all seasons on both screens! Big! And! Small! The movies tell us that like is a bitch and we're all gonna die and everything in between birth and death is just suffering and pain and...
ARGH!
The biggest movie of last year was
Dark Knight. It was for all it's plot absurdities an
extremely well put together movie with a fantastic performance by Heath Ledger.
It's also as depressing as fuck!
I watched it
once in theaters. That's
not unusual for me. I only see movies once in theater and then wait for DVD and watch them a million more times.
I bought the
Dark Knight DVD the day it came out. To date I've watched it maybe
four times.
That's
highly unusual for me.
Compare this to
Iron Man which was a
rare feel good movie. I've watched it over a
dozen times since it came out.
Why?
Because it was a Frank Capra movie. It said something I
love to hear: One man
can make a difference!
A good message. Certainly more useful than the post-9/11: Life's a bitch and then you die.
These days you want to feel good at the movies you either have to see a comedy or rent a porno.
Iron Man was an
adventure movie that went the extra mile to make me feel
better going in than going out.
Dark Knight on the other hand left me wanting to commit sepuku. If only I'd had a katana none of you would be reading my ramblings.
What's this got to do with
Star Trek?
It
could have easily gone the depressing route. It could have taken the death of George Kirk, the destruction of Vulcan and the murder of Amanda and played them it for pure nihlism.
But it went the other way and God bless 'em for that!
If
Iron Man was the feel good movie of last year then
Star Trek is the feel good movie of the decade!
Fuck that! It's the
movie of the decade!
They took all that death and destruction in the movie and turned it to
positive purposes. George Kirk died but his son Jim becomes a hero in his memory. Vulcan is destroyed and Amanda killed and this
heals the rift between Spock and Sarek as well as causing Spock to come to terms with his emotional turmoil. He becomes the Spock of the Trek movie era. The TWOK Spock. The TUC Spock. A Spock at peace with himself. A Spock that followed his fathers path
not by denying his emotions but by embracing his love for a human woman.
Love and not
pain was such a driving force for this movie. Finding peace with oneself rather than writhing around in personal agony was what this movie was about! Realizing your potential rather than drifting through life was what this movie was about! Making lemons out of lemonade was what this movie was about!
The post-Watergate American needed
Star Wars to remind it that life was exciting and beautiful and full of possibilities!
The post-911 America needed
Star Trek for the exact same reason!
I needed this movie!
Thanks JJ, thanks Robert, thanks Alex, thanks Chris and Zachary and Karl and Zoe and John and Anton and Simon and...
Thank you Leonard...
I'm going to pay you all the only true compliment I know how to.
I'm seeing it a second time in theaters.
A movie like this is too good to wait for the DVD.
