STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS - Grading & Discussion [SPOILERS]

[Goji]

I loved it. Liked the last one, but thought this was a substantial improvement. I'm not sure how I'd rate it versus the original Khan movie. Honestly, at this point, comparing them feels too much like apples and oranges to me.

I liked that the whole movie wasn't Kirk against Khan. The simplistic and frankly boring nature of Nero was my biggest problem with the last movie. Peter Weller and Cumberbatch both did a fantastic job and the roles were written well. I thought the Kronos section of the movie was the best part and I hope we see more of the Klingons in the next movie.

If I have to complain about something, and it's the internet so I think that's a given, I will single out the uniforms of the Vengeance crew as being atypically ugly for a movie with such a beautiful production design. A minor gripe to be sure but I thought they were genuinely unattractive. The Klingon ships weren't exactly memorable looking and the only place where I clearly prefer the older designs, but I liked them okay.

I'll be going again this weekend, more than likely. For the record, I chose to see the movie in 2D.

 

[Chu'lak]

I loved it. Liked the last one, but thought this was a substantial improvement. I'm not sure how I'd rate it versus the original Khan movie. Honestly, at this point, comparing them feels too much like apples and oranges to me.

I liked that the whole movie wasn't Kirk against Khan. The simplistic and frankly boring nature of Nero was my biggest problem with the last movie. Peter Weller and Cumberbatch both did a fantastic job and the roles were written well. I thought the Kronos section of the movie was the best part and I hope we see more of the Klingons in the next movie.

If I have to complain about something, and it's the internet so I think that's a given, I will single out the uniforms of the Vengeance crew as being atypically ugly for a movie with such a beautiful production design. A minor gripe to be sure but I thought they were genuinely unattractive. The Klingon ships weren't exactly memorable looking and the only place where I clearly prefer the older designs, but I liked them okay.

I'll be going again this weekend, more than likely. For the record, I chose to see the movie in 2D.

With the Five YEar Mission fully underway, they need to find a strange energy based type aliens like we are used to.

I am dead serious, Star Trek 3 would make an awesome remake of Errand of Mercy....

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

OH god no. Energy based aliens, blech.

How about some Adorians now that they look so fab!

 

[Chu'lak]

OH god no. Energy based aliens, blech.

How about some Adorians now that they look so fab!

Face it, we've done rough and tumble War Trek, now we need either an energy being testing the crew, or a sentient computer that Kirk can talk into committing suicide.

 

[M'Sharak]

Keenser isn't THAT short MLB.

 

[Titus Andronicus]

OH god no. Energy based aliens, blech.

How about some Adorians now that they look so fab!

Face it, we've done rough and tumble War Trek, now we need either an energy being testing the crew, or a sentient computer that Kirk can talk into committing suicide.

I don't know if the next film will be just one of these themes, but I can certainly see them starting it with the crew in the middle of one of these situations, like the opening on Nibiru.

 

[Amaris]

Just to say this again, I loved the opening on Nibiru. To me, it felt like pure TOS all the way.

 

[CorporalCaptain]

Just got back. I really, really liked it. No major complaints whatsoever. It has its wonky moments, but no more than any other Star Trek film, and fewer than most of them.

The riffing from TWOK was nowhere near as bad as the detractors are making it out to be. Based on what I've read online, I expected literally a precise line by line rehash, which it was not. In fact, I really loved Kirk's death scene, and I loved nuSpock's KHAAAAN.

I absolutely loved what they did with brewgineering and the warp core. I loved the broadside torpedo tubes.

I loved McCoy's medical uniforms with the red cross insignia.

Carol Marcus makes a brilliant addition to the crew.

There were so many things I loved about the film.

Three of the biggest problems were (based on my first impression of the film):

1. Where was the Klingon defense force? Was it the destruction of Praxis that depopulated part of Kronos and hobbled their ability to adequately defend their borders? If the film answered that out loud, then I missed it the first time around. I would have preferred that it directly address those issues, especially given that the Klingons were being set up as an existential danger to the Federation. Saying whether the Klingons were a threat because they'd been pressured by the loss of Praxis, and saying whether that really was what's left of Praxis, might have been helpful, too.

2. Scotty being able to sneak aboard the Vengeance seemed like a minor plot hole. Nothing to make a lot of hay about, though, because it's no wonkier than certain elements in every other Trek film.

3. The idea that Khan had to be captured alive, because he was Kirk's only hope, seemed far fetched, because I counted 72 other chances for Kirk to get a transfusion. Now, granted, maybe all 72 were incompatible, or maybe their blood didn't work the same way, but glossing over that seemed a bit overly dramatic.
​

More to come in the days, weeks, and years ahead, I'm sure. I'll be seeing it again. I wasn't really impressed with the 3D, overall, although the overall look of the film was fantastic. I'll try to catch it in 2D at least once.

I think it's better than STXI, which I guess therefore definitely puts it in my top three Trek films, and maybe higher. I'm going to hold off punching a grade, until I've seen it at least one more time. Without a doubt, though, it's at least an A-.

Spoiler: STID

Lens flare in 3D! Yeah, baby!

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

OH god no. Energy based aliens, blech.

How about some Adorians now that they look so fab!

Face it, we've done rough and tumble War Trek, now we need either an energy being testing the crew, or a sentient computer that Kirk can talk into committing suicide.

I don't know if the next film will be just one of these themes, but I can certainly see them starting it with the crew in the middle of one of these situations, like the opening on Nibiru.

Opening with one of these classic Trek themes but not having the whole movie be about one of these themes would be great.

I want politics man, I want Shakespeare quoting Klingons and hot hot Andorians and machinations!! They can blow something up too, for the kids.

 

[Devon]

A couple of more random thoughts... If there's one thing to be said about Abrams & Co, they really know how to tug on the heart strings. Pike's death scene was very real. My mother passed away when I was 17, right in front of my eyes, and it hit very very close to home seeing that last night. This time it was the only father Kirk seemed to really know.

And the opening credits = CLASSIC. Audience applauded when "Star Trek" appeared on the scree.

 

[Bad Atom]

I gave it a solid B.

Going in completely spoiled and with very low expectations, I found myself pleasantly surprised. I view Abrams' films as a completely separate version of Star Trek so any continuity/canon issues don't bother me. There were plenty of lapses in logic but no worse than any other Trek film and the relentless pace helps distract from them. Emotionally, it hit all the right notes, and the acting was mostly great. I left the theater pretty satisfied, and it's obviously going to be a huge mainstream hit. Some miscellaneous thoughts:

- The biggest issue to me (and a complaint I had with the first film) was the rampant unprofessionalism among the crew. My hope for a third film is to see these characters behave more like professional adults, because it undercuts the realism.
- Chris Pine was the biggest surprise to me in the first film acting-wise and he was even better here. The writers really overdo the character's brashness and immaturity but Pine makes it work. Zachary Quinto was better here than in the first film, but the writers make him far too emotional for my taste.
- The rest of the characters all had their moments to shine, although I wish Uhura was a little less "Spock's girlfriend" and Scotty was a little less comic relief. I enjoyed Acting Captain Sulu and redshirt Chekov.
- I already miss Pike.
- If they really wanted Cumberbatch in the film that badly, there was no reason they couldn't have had him play another "superman" from Khan's crew who seized the opportunity and took Khan's name. The "shocking" reveal of his name was meaningless to these characters. I will admit, his performance was quite good, only occasionally tipping into "overly enunciated thespian" mode. I was actually surprised how little he was used, to be honest.
- Nimoy's cameo was beyond pointless and poorly placed in the film.
- Kirk's sacrifice almost, almost worked. The lines taken directly from TWOK and Quinto's, um... less than stoic... reaction really took me out of it.
- A lot of the logic problems throughout the film could have easily been solved by a line or two of dialogue. Like, why was the Enterprise underwater in the beginning, and so close to the shore where the natives would see it?
- The reduced lens flares were appreciated.
- The "blockbuster action set-pieces" ranged from pretty good (the Klingon fights, Kirk and Scotty's run to the warp core) to somewhat overblown (the space jump, Spock vs. Khan). I tend to tune those kind of scenes out because they're often unrealistic, but they weren't too bad on the whole.
- The NX-01 model on Marcus' desk was a cute touch. But why did he have a model of his super-secret warship there too? Although given the way he blurted out the info about Section 31, I shouldn't be surprised...
- I'm glad they added Carol Marcus to the Enterprise family. I liked the character and the actress.
- I actually had no problem with Khan's "magic blood" saving Kirk. Too bad the whole bit with the tribble was the clunkiest piece of foreshadowing I've ever seen.
- Was it me, or was there a lot of swearing in the film?
- Peter Weller's performance went from zero to sneering supervillain in 60 seconds. Subtlety, much?
- The Kirk/Spock bromance was in full force here, and will undoubtedly inspire fan-fiction writers for years to come.

That's all I have for now. I definitely wouldn't mind seeing it again...

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

So did Spock mind meld with the dying Pike to comfort him? That's how I saw it, he saw Pike was afraid and reached out.

 

[Agent Richard07]

So did Spock mind meld with the dying Pike to comfort him? That's how I saw it, he saw Pike was afraid and reached out.

At first, I thought he was going to take his katra or something.

 

[Lord Garth FOI]

Sure this has already been mentioned somewhere but it just dawned on me that the future president of the federation is Clarence Boddiger
And the highest ranking admiral of starfleet is Robocop

And Dick Jones commands the Enterprise D

I'd buy that for a dollar
Here let me give you hand

 

[Flying Spaghetti Monster]

The mind meld when Pike died was explained on the ship to the Qo'nos. Spock wanted to experience what Pike was feeling. A mind-meld being performed on someone eperience death hadn't been done in Trek before that I can remember. Pretty cool idea.

I have a question.

I remember Carol's infamous scream in the trailer but I can't remember specifically what she was reacting to. I'm drawing a blank.

When Khan broke her leg, I believe she let out a different, more anguished cry.. and yes, I'll give props to Eve and Cumberbacth on that one, him breaking her leg was positively convincing and painful-looking. But what was the trailer scream a reaction to?

 

[Amaris]

The mind meld when Pike died was explained on the ship to the Qo'nos. Spock wanted to experience what Pike was feeling. A mind-meld being performed on someone eperience death hadn't been done in Trek before that I can remember. Pretty cool idea.

I have a question.

I remember Carol's infamous scream in the trailer but I can't remember specifically what she was reacting to. I'm drawing a blank.

When Khan broke her leg, I believe she let out a different, more anguished cry.. and yes, I'll give props to Eve and Cumberbacth on that one, him breaking her leg was positively convincing and painful-looking. But what was the trailer scream a reaction to?

Watching her father's head get squished like a ripe melon, which is what Khan did to him with his superhuman strength.

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

And when I saw it I thought, "yep, that was worthy of that scream!"

 

[Flying Spaghetti Monster]

Oh ok.. thank you!

So much happened in the movie that sometimes specifics get lost.

 

[T'Bonz]

So did Spock mind meld with the dying Pike to comfort him? That's how I saw it, he saw Pike was afraid and reached out.

That was my take on it. Unlike what someone else posted, I don't feel that he did it just to experience what someone felt when dying. Having done that though, of course it would impact him, but he wouldn't have done it other than to comfort Pike.

Pike was more at ease when Spock melded with him. It helped him to die, if that is possible.

 

[Amaris]

Oh ok.. thank you!

So much happened in the movie that sometimes specifics get lost.

No problem. I absorbed the vast majority of the film's details on the first run through. The problem so far has been keeping it all in order in my head, since there's so much to take in. Also, the slow fading.