The Kobayashi Maru Test

[Checkmate]

Look, my original point (as in, the original post) had less to do with how Kirk handled it, but how Starfleet and everyone else in the movie, handled it. Kirk did nothing to sway that, either, which is the big problem I have with it.

So yes, those of you focusing on Kirk flaunting it or being subtle about it are focusing on the wrong details of this discussion.

The point is that he didn't do it for any purpose other than to rebel. The point is that Starfleet, Spock, and everyone else in the movie didn't see him doing something ingenious. The point is that he was just a low-life cheat who got off the hook because Vulcan was destroyed during his trial.

There was no resolution to the test. There was absolutely no focus on the fact that his motives were to prove that he was willing to think outside the box. There was definitely no indication that Starfleet was impressed by what he did. None. Zip. Zilch. Nada.

Most of you seem to be adding details to what happened to rationalize it all. But what actually happened on screen has next to no bearing with what you guys are trying to say happened. Normally I'm fine with rationalizing things so that they make more sense, but this particular point in the movie stretches my ability to do so too far.

Kirk wasn't a tactical genius. Kirk wasn't an inspiring leader. Kirk wasn't anything more than a rebelling asshat and cheater -- and Starfleet agreed up until he saved the world. At which point his cheating was overlooked; not even so much as re-evaluated to show how ingenious it was. And that's my problem with it.

 

[perigee]

those of you focusing on Kirk flaunting it or being subtle about it are focusing on the wrong details of this discussion.

The point is that he didn't do it for any purpose other than to rebel. The point is that Starfleet, Spock, and everyone else in the movie didn't see him doing something ingenious. The point is that he was just a low-life cheat who got off the hook because Vulcan was destroyed during his trial.

There was no resolution to the test. There was absolutely no focus on the fact that his motives were to prove that he was willing to think outside the box. There was definitely no indication that Starfleet was impressed by what he did. None. Zip. Zilch. Nada.

Most of you seem to be adding details to what happened to rationalize it all. But what actually happened on screen has next to no bearing with what you guys are trying to say happened. Normally I'm fine with rationalizing things so that they make more sense, but this particular point in the movie stretches my ability to do so too far.

Kirk wasn't a tactical genius. Kirk wasn't an inspiring leader. Kirk wasn't anything more than a rebelling asshat and cheater -- and Starfleet agreed up until he saved the world. At which point his cheating was overlooked; not even so much as re-evaluated to show how ingenious it was. And that's my problem with it.

Are we rebelling, or thinking outside the box when we disagree with you? I bet I know the answer to that...

So - in the Fatner Universe, we are to believe young Kirk sat in his dorm room, and thought, "Hmmm... how can I show that I am a brilliant tactician, and an inspiring leader? I know - I'll cheat on a test!" So he set about to hack the Academy computers and change the rules from what his instructors wanted to what he wanted, all for the very noblest of causes...

Remind me of what they are again?

So - when Fatner Kirk Cheated, he magically wasn't an asshat Inherently, and everybody at the school said, "YAAAY! You cheated!! Brilliant! Brilliant! Let us give you a medal!"

Fatner's Academy was a strange, strange place. If your college caught you "changing the conditions of a test" with the answers written up your arm, would you have been made valedictorian? If you hacked your college transcript and changed your grades, would they name a wing of the computer science lab after you?

It's a false argument - at best, Ad-mee-ral Kirk would have you believe that the Academy did something that makes absolutely no sense to anyone who has ever recieved a report card. But HIS version is right. Not incredibly stupid. And the rest of the universe has to stop, and bend all logic and sensibility to prove your Fatner was somehow right, nobile, innovative, tactically brilliant and lauded.

Prove me wrong - cheat on your taxes - cook the books. Monkey with your timecard and pad your expense account. Show the world your innovation and tactical genius. Let me know how that works out for you in the real world.

All of these "Canon Violation" illustrations around here are aimed precisely at ideas like this.

Now, before you start the inevitable backpedaling, have you ever seen the Japanese cut of "Dune?" It was four interminable hours long, and the twelve UberDuberGeeks who worship that cut are approximately the same number of people who saw it. How long should "Star Trek" have been? Three hours? Three hours, forty-five minutes?

Should they have taken all but twenty seats out of every theatre showing it, so the only people who would have paid to see the bloated monstrosity would have more elbow room?

"But it would only have taken a few minutes..." I know. That's your few minutes. Now let's tack on everybody else's two minutes that are shot through this board. As fast as that film moved, even I felt they stretched the time long as it was. Look around a bit - I think it was somewhere in a Nero thread. "Oh, what a horror! What a waste! Terrible character!" Then they were sent off to see the cutting room snips. Suddenly, it was "Oh. Well... I guess his part was edited. STILL, ANOTHER FEW MINUTES..."

It's a shame that Abrams didn't make a half-hour mini-saga out of the Kobayashi Maru. My heart bleeds. Perhaps somebody can go back and make it into a television miniseries someday to give Kirk's cheating all the subtle justice it deserves. All this proves to me is that Abrams should have ignored the trekkies completely. He stopped the whole film to throw you an entirely unneccessary bone, and all that came of it is that you feel that it should have been made a major subplot of ethical reflection in the middle of an action film.

 

[seigezunt]

One of the biggest (and only) problems I really had with Star Trek was the entire Kobayashi Maru subplot.

I don't think Abrams quite grasped the nuances behind Kirk cheating on the test. In this movie, he apparently did it to rebel because he was tired of no one ever passing it. He was just an arrogant brat who cheated because he could. And when called on it, he didn't try to argue the valid point the original Kirk had. He did it, and I paraphrase, because he "didn't believe in no-win scenarios."

The whole point of original Kirk's cheating wasn't simply because he didn't believe in no-win scenarios. It was because he firmly believed that as a captain facing a no-win scenario, you had to think outside the box and do whatever was in your power to do to win. Which is exactly what he did. And it's exactly why he was (eventually) applauded for it.

What's worse, the new Kirk didn't even bother to be subtle about it. He didn't reprogram the scenario to simply give him a slight advantage in which he could use some kind of ingenious tactic to win. He just wiped out the shields, acting like a jerk, ate an apple, and pretended his hand was a revolver, all apparently under the assumption that no one would figure out he cheated so blantantly. Even worse, the new Spock acted bewildered at how he could have "won" the scenario after watching him do exactly that.

I'm just disappointed that it was such a wasted opportunity and, for me, it was easily one of the weakest character moments in the film that forever tarnishes the tactical brilliance of Kirk.

Still enjoyed the rest of the movie immensely, mind you. Just not this part.

Adult Kirk's take on the test, what he did and why he did it will invariably be different from those same elements at the time he did it.

At the time, he was young and cocky, more so in this timeline. As an older, more mature man, he'll look back on it differently.

also, Kirk Prime may have cheated in an entirely different way.

 

[theFirebottle]

Also, so what if he's an asshat? No incarnation of Kirk has ever been a virtuous paragon of maturity and subtlety, even into old age.

 

[Koinek]

Look, my original point (as in, the original post) had less to do with how Kirk handled it, but how Starfleet and everyone else in the movie, handled it. Kirk did nothing to sway that, either, which is the big problem I have with it.

So yes, those of you focusing on Kirk flaunting it or being subtle about it are focusing on the wrong details of this discussion.

Hmmm...I see. Then you accept our points on Kirk's motivations as valid then?

The point is that he didn't do it for any purpose other than to rebel.

You know this how?

This faulty conclusion is at the base of your argument. We're taking it on because without it, the rest of your point is moot:

The point is that Starfleet, Spock, and everyone else in the movie didn't see him doing something ingenious. The point is that he was just a low-life cheat who got off the hook because Vulcan was destroyed during his trial.

This relies on your base argument that Kirk was indeed being a dishonest cheat, which I patently reject.

There was no resolution to the test. There was absolutely no focus on the fact that his motives were to prove that he was willing to think outside the box. There was definitely no indication that Starfleet was impressed by what he did. None. Zip. Zilch. Nada.

Why does JJ need to go back and revise what TWOK said about Kirk's shot at the Kobayashi Maru? And how do we know that it won't be referenced in a future movie?

Unlike most Trek writers and directors so far, JJ, Orci and Kurtzman have chosen the subtle route with this film's dialogue. There aren't too many scenes where characters lay out their motivations and "explain" the plot (save for the Nimoy Cave scene which I'm not a big fan of). Frankly I prefer this approach since it lets me think about the movie a little instead of sitting idle while being spoonfed the plot.

 

[Jeri]

The point is that he didn't do it for any purpose other than to rebel...

Most of you seem to be adding details to what happened to rationalize it all. But what actually happened on screen has next to no bearing with what you guys are trying to say happened. Normally I'm fine with rationalizing things so that they make more sense, but this particular point in the movie stretches my ability to do so too far.

Kirk wasn't a tactical genius. Kirk wasn't an inspiring leader. Kirk wasn't anything more than a rebelling asshat and cheater -- and Starfleet agreed up until he saved the world. At which point his cheating was overlooked; not even so much as re-evaluated to show how ingenious it was. And that's my problem with it.

Personally, I referred only to details that happened on screen -- and you're forgetting the commendation he received at the end.

As the continuation of the previous assembly regarding the test -- and pursuant to McCoy saying they'd likely rule in his favor, they gave him the commendation -- for his solution to the test. The commendation is the medal Admiral Barnette placed on Kirk's uniform.

It has been said previously on screen that he received the commendation for original thinking; and I would note that the commendation at the end is referred to that way in the novelization, as well -- a commendation for original thinking for his solution to the Kobayashi Maru test.

 

[ZIPBAGS]

The Kobiyashi Maru scenario...

I was bummed when they showed the Kobiyashi Maru scene. I wanted to see Kirk act like he really was beating the test...Not, act like he was totally cheating.

And where the hell was Daniels and the anal time police????

 

[The Wormhole]

Re: The Kobiyashi Maru scenario...

And where the hell was Daniels and the anal time police????

That is actually an excellent question, given the nature of Daniels and his people's influence over the timeline. But, Enterprise's TCW stroyline is best left ignored, and forgetting about it is the only thing Abrams and his cohorts did right in this movie.

 

[Ovation]

Just for fun, I re-watched TWOK last night (I was particularly interested in the Kobyashi Maru section). Kirk and Spock's exchange after the test can certainly be interpreted in a way that is consistent with Spock having authored the scenario "back in the day" (obviously the writers in the early 80s were not necessarily thinking along those lines, but it is no stretch at all to view it that way after seeing the new movie--in fact, it makes it an even more amusing scene).

 

[FordSVT]

I think this is another example of fans making stuff up in their heads over the years and being disappointed than J.J. didn't read their minds and put down what they BELIEVED should have happened on screen.

To me, the scene played perfectly. Kirk knew the test was impossible to pass, he was trying to prove a point by deliberately showing command that he didn't believe in a no-win scenario. There was no point being sneaky about it, he was arrogant and proud of himself and wanted everyone to know exactly what he did.

 

[Koinek]

Re: The Kobiyashi Maru scenario...

I was bummed when they showed the Kobiyashi Maru scene. I wanted to see Kirk act like he really was beating the test...Not, act like he was totally cheating.

Did you read the rest of this thread? We've talked at length about why his behavior was far more appropriate than what you're suggesting.

 

[Cryogenic]

He stopped the whole film to throw you an entirely unneccessary bone, and all that came of it is that you feel that it should have been made a major subplot of ethical reflection in the middle of an action film.

Hmmm, that's the problem, right there, I think.

Abrams simplified and dumbed-down everything to the point of inanity.

The Kobayashi Maru test scene was primarily played for laughs, not insight. And even then, Abrams still telegraphs what Kirk is doing by having a character exclaim, "Is he not taking the simulation seriously?" Plllleeease.

This sort of thing - i.e. making sure even the slowest person in the audience gets it - turned Star Trek into puree. Take the scene where Spock goes up against the Vulcan Science Council. Not only does the elder come right out and clarify with, "Your human mother," when any number of more insidious responses would have been more realistic, but Spock responds with a very emotional, "Live long and prosper", as "rebellious" rock music kicks in and the film segues to Kirk. Again, nothing is left to chance. Or imagination.

Ergo, it's not enough that Kirk cheats on an important test; Abrams has to stress that fact to breaking point, depriving the characters and situations of guile and nuance and rendering the film a crude pastiche, if not outright parody, of real "Star Trek". I don't want to see Kirk telling Uhura to call him "captain". It's not subtle and it's not credible. Nor do I want to see him contemptuously chewing an apple while airgunning a Klingon ship to smithereens. And I certainly don't need the enormous convenience of Spock being there to observe one out of hundreds of simulations -- conveniently, the one that someone cheats on. Simple, quick, easy stortelling. Too simple, too quick, too easy, in my opinion.

And WHAT WAS MCCOY, A FULLY TRAINED PHYSICIAN, DOING AT A BRIDGE CONSOLE??? Convenient that both he and Uhura were there with Kirk, wasn't it? Three TOS members, all together, not only at the Academy in the same year, but sat together in the same simulation, one of whom is meant to treat patients and watch over Kirk, not participate in blowing the enemy to pieces.

 

[Admiral James Kirk]

And WHAT WAS MCCOY, A FULLY TRAINED PHYSICIAN, DOING AT A BRIDGE CONSOLE??? Convenient that both he and Uhura were there with Kirk, wasn't it? Three TOS members, all together, not only at the Academy in the same year, but sat together in the same simulation, one of whom is meant to treat patients and watch over Kirk, not participate in blowing the enemy to pieces.

I thought that was clear. He wasn't going to medical school, he was going to Starfleet Academy. Even if you''re a doctor I'm sure you have to have a technical qualification of some sort. If that wasn't the case then why not just commission a rank for trained medical personel and put them right to work on a starship?

 

[theFirebottle]

I thought that was clear. He wasn't going to medical school, he was going to Starfleet Academy. Even if you''re a doctor I'm sure you have to have a technical qualification of some sort.

Not only that but we've seen unrelated people participating in Kobayashi Maru simulations before. Presumably cadets are allowed to handpick their supporting staff for the exam and the cadets who do it get points towards some useful, career-advancing certification or other.

 

[TheArsenal]

And WHAT WAS MCCOY, A FULLY TRAINED PHYSICIAN, DOING AT A BRIDGE CONSOLE???

Starfleet works like no military organization I've seen, so its hard to say. But assuming it does, it is probably for the same reasons doctors in the Army (almost all nations' armies) are trained to fire weapons, despite having no plans to deploy physicians on the front lines. It is an essential job skill that may just come in handy in a pinch.

 

[aelius]

Nothing Kirk said in WoK contradicted anything in the movie scene. He said "I reprogrammed the simulation so it was possible to rescue the passengers" and "I changed the conditions of the test" and finally, "I don't like to lose". Oh and he was eating an apple while he told this to Saavik. Kirk munching in the simulation seemed like an obvious nod to the fans to me.
I personally like the way Kirk did it in the novel Kobayashi Maru. He programmed the Klingon commander to be terrified of him ("The Captain Kirk"). It was very funny, and very in character. Of course it could not be done that way in the movie for copywrite purposes.
Trying to be subtle would be being a "cheating asshat". He was not trying to put one over on anybody, he was making a statement. The way he did it in the movie was a very effective way of making that statement. I would presume in the original timeline he had the chance to lay out his reasoning in full, rather than being interrupted by a crisis on Vulcan. That would give Starfleet the reason to appreciate his purpose and initiative and award him the commendation.
I will probably continue to assume that the Kirk in the Prime timeline used the novel version, just because I find it hilarious, but the new Kirk's method is not out of character and works just as well.
As for everybody knowing about the KM scenario, I always figured it was something the upperclassmen kept a secret so they could watch the underclassmen sweat when it was their turn. Like an initiation.

 

[perigee]

He stopped the whole film to throw you an entirely unneccessary bone, and all that came of it is that you feel that it should have been made a major subplot of ethical reflection in the middle of an action film.

Hmmm, that's the problem, right there, I think.

Look... I can understand a lot of the feeling around here - but there's also something to be said for a sense of perpective.

The entire teaser section of STXI is precisely 10:31 seconds. From spotting the anomaly through the first firing on the Kelvin, the interrogation and death of Robeau, George Kirk's evacuation of the ship, the birth of his child, his sacrifice to save the evacuating shuttles.

The same time, applied to TNG's first effort, ENCOUNTER AT FARPOINT, can be found here, to scene 29. Exactly.

The content, for those who don't care to read, is almost exactly one minute of Captains log, talking about exactly where everybody is, what they're going to do, how amazed he is at his great big ship... "Telegraphing."

Next, another minute of Data and Picard comedy routine to show how robot-y he is. "To seek covertly, to go stealthily, to slink, slither, to glide,creep, skulk,pussyfoot, gumshoe..." Primarily played for laughs, not insight.

And, even then, they still telegraph his roboty-ness with Picard saying, ""Data, how can you be programmed as a virtual encyclopedia of human information without knowing a simple word like snoop?"

Then we go into Troi sensing stuff, and the CGI fence comes up. We Look at the fence for a full minute and a half. Just look at it, being there.

Yep. That's a fence all right. One... big, ol'... fence. Yep.

At this point Q comes in and gives himself a rant - "Go Back!" - More fence - then he does his little costume show. Now we're in Roddenberry Territory. Savage child race! No we're not! You were! Here - look at me in the army! And here I am on Druuuggggs.. But we're not now! Yes you are! Quit judging me - I'm rubber, you're glue!! I wanna!"

This sort of thing - i.e. making sure even the slowest person in the audience gets it - turned Star Trek into puree.

It's not enough that Q and Picard posit two different viewpoints; FARPOINT has to stress that fact to breaking point, depriving the characters and situation of nuance and rendering the scene a crude pastiche, if not outright parody, of real "Star Trek".

And then the Enterprise runs away. As fast as they possibly can. Running away is seeing "what this new galaxy-class starship can do." 10:31 - and yes - not including credits.

Now, keep in mind I could have picked ANY scene, instead of apples to apples. Like Data in a tree whistling, boring into my head for the Nteenth time about how he's a robot trying to be human, or the wish-granting jellyfish that hold tentacles while Troi weeps about sensing great joy. Great joy... ~sniffle~

If you defend that segment over the other, you're a TNG apologist. And if you, like I, saw that on TV first run and almost crapped myself over "what they did to My Star Trek," then you also know that after a year - or more - they caught their stride and got it right - for them.

If you'd like, Q yourself out, get on a little throne on a forklift and accuse. Knock yourself out. Then TNG was FARPOINT, and a borish, preachy joke with wish-granting jellyfish and a penchant for elementary school morality, and every series after that even more leaden.

Or cool your jets and see what happens. Not that anyone has any choice. But maybe you could write the production team, and beg for wish-granting jellyfish, so we can have some "Real" Trek again.

 

[Koinek]

And WHAT WAS MCCOY, A FULLY TRAINED PHYSICIAN, DOING AT A BRIDGE CONSOLE??? Convenient that both he and Uhura were there with Kirk, wasn't it? Three TOS members, all together, not only at the Academy in the same year, but sat together in the same simulation, one of whom is meant to treat patients and watch over Kirk, not participate in blowing the enemy to pieces.

Oh brother...if you're going to bring up "convenient presence", how about an entire cadre of captains manning the simulation for a cadet in TWOK?

This sort of thing - i.e. making sure even the slowest person in the audience gets it - turned Star Trek into puree.

Given a choice between this puree and the massive slice of cheesecake it was before, I'll take the puree thanks.

Every single thing you accuse this movie of doing "wrong" (cheesy dialogue, plots that are beaten into you) has been done to death in every show and movie that Star Trek has done.

He stopped the whole film to throw you an entirely unneccessary bone, and all that came of it is that you feel that it should have been made a major subplot of ethical reflection in the middle of an action film.

Hmmm, that's the problem, right there, I think.

Look... I can understand a lot of the feeling around here - but there's also something to be said for a sense of perpective.
[snip]
Or cool your jets and see what happens. Not that anyone has any choice. But maybe you could write the production team, and beg for wish-granting jellyfish, so we can have some "Real" Trek again.

Well put. Thank you.

 

[Cryogenic]

He stopped the whole film to throw you an entirely unneccessary bone, and all that came of it is that you feel that it should have been made a major subplot of ethical reflection in the middle of an action film.

Hmmm, that's the problem, right there, I think.

Look... I can understand a lot of the feeling around here - but there's also something to be said for a sense of perpective.

The entire teaser section of STXI is precisely 10:31 seconds. From spotting the anomaly through the first firing on the Kelvin, the interrogation and death of Robeau, George Kirk's evacuation of the ship, the birth of his child, his sacrifice to save the evacuating shuttles.

The same time, applied to TNG's first effort, ENCOUNTER AT FARPOINT, can be found here, to scene 29. Exactly.

The content, for those who don't care to read, is almost exactly one minute of Captains log, talking about exactly where everybody is, what they're going to do, how amazed he is at his great big ship... "Telegraphing."

Next, another minute of Data and Picard comedy routine to show how robot-y he is. "To seek covertly, to go stealthily, to slink, slither, to glide,creep, skulk,pussyfoot, gumshoe..." Primarily played for laughs, not insight.

And, even then, they still telegraph his roboty-ness with Picard saying, ""Data, how can you be programmed as a virtual encyclopedia of human information without knowing a simple word like snoop?"

Then we go into Troi sensing stuff, and the CGI fence comes up. We Look at the fence for a full minute and a half. Just look at it, being there.

Yep. That's a fence all right. One... big, ol'... fence. Yep.

At this point Q comes in and gives himself a rant - "Go Back!" - More fence - then he does his little costume show. Now we're in Roddenberry Territory. Savage child race! No we're not! You were! Here - look at me in the army! And here I am on Druuuggggs.. But we're not now! Yes you are! Quit judging me - I'm rubber, you're glue!! I wanna!"

This sort of thing - i.e. making sure even the slowest person in the audience gets it - turned Star Trek into puree.

It's not enough that Q and Picard posit two different viewpoints; FARPOINT has to stress that fact to breaking point, depriving the characters and situation of nuance and rendering the scene a crude pastiche, if not outright parody, of real "Star Trek".

And then the Enterprise runs away. As fast as they possibly can. Running away is seeing "what this new galaxy-class starship can do." 10:31 - and yes - not including credits.

Now, keep in mind I could have picked ANY scene, instead of apples to apples. Like Data in a tree whistling, boring into my head for the Nteenth time about how he's a robot trying to be human, or the wish-granting jellyfish that hold tentacles while Troi weeps about sensing great joy. Great joy... ~sniffle~

If you defend that segment over the other, you're a TNG apologist. And if you, like I, saw that on TV first run and almost crapped myself over "what they did to My Star Trek," then you also know that after a year - or more - they caught their stride and got it right - for them.

If you'd like, Q yourself out, get on a little throne on a forklift and accuse. Knock yourself out. Then TNG was FARPOINT, and a borish, preachy joke with wish-granting jellyfish and a penchant for elementary school morality, and every series after that even more leaden.

Or cool your jets and see what happens. Not that anyone has any choice. But maybe you could write the production team, and beg for wish-granting jellyfish, so we can have some "Real" Trek again.

This preposterous load of bullwank is exactly why anyone that dares to criticise Trek XI in any way, shape or form feels backed into a corner. It's been little more than two weeks and already we have Star Trek fans admonishing other Star Trek fans for slating a single movie (cast in a style they dislike). Yet you have just had the gall to denigrate four series and over two decades worth of material. Someone's "perpective [sic]" is a little out-of-whack and it ain't mine.

The character of Q alone is a hundred times more compelling than anything in Abrams' movie, in my opinion. Star Trek is not without its "borish [sic]", "preachy" or "leaden" aspects, but to be so callow about such a huge body of work is ridiculous. This is the same body of work that gave us Picard, Data, Worf, Sisko, Kira, Odo, Garek, Seven Of Nine, The Doctor, Archer, Phlox. The same body of work that gave us The Borg and The Cardassians, fleshed out The Klingons and The Romulans, introduced various "alien of the week"'s, some clever, some not. The same body of work that spawned episodes like "The Best Of Both Worlds", "Family", "The Inner Light", "All Good Things...", "Duet", "The Visitor", "In The Pale Moonlight", "Scorpion", "Living Witness" et al. The same body of work that introduced concepts like the holodeck, the Maquis, the Dominion War, unification between The Romulans and The Vulcans etc. A body of work that used many seasoned and talented actors and artisans to tell intriguing stories and craft a vivid world.

The problem that I -- and, it seems, a minority of other fans -- have with Abrams' take is that, in our opinions, it is all flash and no substance. Riddled with cliches, festooned with gimmicks, saturated in action. Big on box office bang, small on much else. Even other indulgent, ingratiating entries of the franchise, say, Star Trek IV, were still crafted with a certain amount of authenticity and dignity, with solid photography, good music, stars with real charisma and ability, a screenplay that, in Trek IV's case, satirised 80's materialism, or, in something like VI's, had a string of simple but biting insights into stagnation and change, or II's similar insights into death and regeneration, or TMP's clipped dialogue which brilliantly married with its film's astounding visual and thematic scope, etc. Conversely, Abrams and his script writers just conjured up drab exposition (e.g. "What is your name?" / "My name is James Tiberius Kirk!"), cheesy cliches (e.g. "Your refusal would be unwise") silly jokes (e.g. "What kind of training do you have?" / "Fencing!") and recycled lines used in vastly inferior contexts (e,g. "Are you out of your Vulcan mind?"). Digging a little deeper, Abrams' movie not only sacrifices layered themes for inelegant action sequences and a 1-2-3 mentality, but also garbles key aesthetic choices like shuttles lacking wings and San Francisco not being a super-built-up metropolis in the 23rd century. Those things may be of trivial interest to the average viewer, but they were not trivial to Gene Roddenberry or the direction he tried to steer Star Trek in (or, more accurately, away from). With STXI, Paramount finally got the Star Trek picture it wanted -- and what was so roundly strived against, once upon a time.

 

[bismarck_1892]

One of the biggest (and only) problems I really had with Star Trek was the entire Kobayashi Maru subplot.

I don't think Abrams quite grasped the nuances behind Kirk cheating on the test. In this movie, he apparently did it to rebel because he was tired of no one ever passing it. He was just an arrogant brat who cheated because he could. And when called on it, he didn't try to argue the valid point the original Kirk had. He did it, and I paraphrase, because he "didn't believe in no-win scenarios."

The whole point of original Kirk's cheating wasn't simply because he didn't believe in no-win scenarios. It was because he firmly believed that as a captain facing a no-win scenario, you had to think outside the box and do whatever was in your power to do to win. Which is exactly what he did. And it's exactly why he was (eventually) applauded for it.

What's worse, the new Kirk didn't even bother to be subtle about it. He didn't reprogram the scenario to simply give him a slight advantage in which he could use some kind of ingenious tactic to win. He just wiped out the shields, acting like a jerk, ate an apple, and pretended his hand was a revolver, all apparently under the assumption that no one would figure out he cheated so blantantly. Even worse, the new Spock acted bewildered at how he could have "won" the scenario after watching him do exactly that.

I'm just disappointed that it was such a wasted opportunity and, for me, it was easily one of the weakest character moments in the film that forever tarnishes the tactical brilliance of Kirk.

Still enjoyed the rest of the movie immensely, mind you. Just not this part.

Yeap. Unfortunately, in my humble opinion, the new Kirk, is perhaps, the worst reincarnation of all the once on screen in this movie.