STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS - Grading & Discussion [SPOILERS]

[RAMA]

There's a new cover for the special Amazon bluray release of STID:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...=B00CTT9646&linkCode=as2&tag=8ofsguitothet-20

 

[thumbtack]

And yes I grew up with modern Trek.

There's nothing modern about it. Not anymore.

It would make half the money, but if you halved the budget then Paramount would still be getting the same proportion of returns from its investment. You half the budget by trimming down the special effects, being far more careful and measured with the action scenes and cutting down on a bloated advertisement and promotion budget.

Nope. Doesn't work that way, sorry.

You've proposed a recipe for getting slaughtered at the box office. Go big or go home.

Definitely. Proportion is irrelevant. It's about total dollars generated. The studio is not interested in having to make four First Contacts to generate the same total dollars as one Into Darkness.

 

[Clancy_s]

As for Spock... If he is that uptight about the rules and so stringent about not violating them, then it is incredible why he didn't really question Admiral Marcus' mission that much. He didn't see the big picture and I don't recall him objecting to this mission, so Spock went along with something of questionable legality and morality.

Spock did question Marcus' mission - immediately after thanking Kirk for reinstating him as first officer Spock said [paraphrase]"I must object in the strongest terms to our mission"[/paraphrase], his grounds for doing so being that it was both illegal and immoral. This initially pissed Kirk off but to me it seemed to be the reason Kirk changed his mind and decided to capture Harrison instead. Which was also problematic but not as bad as sitting in the neutral zone firing missiles...

I agree with you about Scotty being a hero.

And the Klingons have absolutely no proof that Starfleet violated their territory. The Enterprise is still in Federation space and the ship nor personnel used in the Kronos mission can be tied back to them.

Spoiler: Star Trek Ongoing

per issue #21 of the comic Kirk was captured on camera and identified as a Captain in Star Fleet. Which might not stand up in court but I doubt the Klingons would bother going to court about it, even if there is a court whos rulings both parties would accept, which I doubt.

 

[throwback]

Although the geography of this movie is loose, the Enterprise was definitely not in Federation space. The starship was in the Neutral Zone or in Klingon space, depending on which source one puts greater credibility into.

I am inclined to believe that having his ship breakdown forced Kirk's hand. He couldn't complete the mission as planned.

 

[OneBuckFilms]

Although the geography of this movie is loose, the Enterprise was definitely not in Federation space. The starship was in the Neutral Zone or in Klingon space, depending on which source one puts greater credibility into.

I am inclined to believe that having his ship breakdown forced Kirk's hand. He couldn't complete the mission as planned.

Actually, he could have, per his conversation with Khan just before Marcus shows up on the Vengeance.

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

Trek needs a big name attached to it. Get a big-name internationally recognized action star as your must-see blockbuster villain of the summer and you'll pull in more numbers.

Maybe. Brad Pitt couldn't open World War Z at the level that Paramount had hoped, and Johnny Depp is having a disappointing weekend at the movies. The utility of big names to the fantasy-action genre right now is debatable - unless your big star has a name that ends in "Downey, Jr."

 

[Kruezerman]

Downey as Q?

 

[Opus]

Trek needs a big name attached to it. Get a big-name internationally recognized action star as your must-see blockbuster villain of the summer and you'll pull in more numbers.

Maybe. Brad Pitt couldn't open World War Z at the level that Paramount had hoped, and Johnny Depp is having a disappointing weekend at the movies. The utility of big names to the fantasy-action genre right now is debatable - unless your big star has a name that ends in "Downey, Jr."

Whoops! Looks like I spoke too soon there. I had expected Depp and Pitt to be bigger draws.

To me it seems Depp, or anyone possibly, couldn't get people interested in a Western - there seems to be zero interest in the genre to begin with, and I haven't heard great things about the film.

Pitt's a big name, and zombies are pop culture at the moment. Any guesses as to what happened?

Robert Downey, Jr. as Trelane?

 

[Franklin]

Johnny Depp as Q or Trelane.

As far as "World War Z" goes, I haven't seen it (not my cup of tea), but I've read that fans of the book don't really like the movie, while it had an appeal to mainstream movie goers. Maybe that affected the box office. (Hmm. Something about that fan rage sounds vaguely familiar, but I can't quite put my finger on it.)

 

[SalvorHardin]

I've read that fans of the book don't really like the movie, while it had an appeal to mainstream movie goers. Maybe that affected the box office.

I don't know much about it but does WWZ actually have enough fans to make a real difference in the box office? Positive or negative.

 

[BillJ]

Johnny Depp as Q or Trelane.

As far as "World War Z" goes, I haven't seen it (not my cup of tea), but I've read that fans of the book don't really like the movie, while it had an appeal to mainstream movie goers. Maybe that affected the box office. (Hmm. Something about that fan rage sounds vaguely familiar, but I can't quite put my finger on it.)

My wife loved the book and she loved the movie. I found the movie entertaining and Zombie flicks definitely aren't my thing.

 

[Franklin]

I've read that fans of the book don't really like the movie, while it had an appeal to mainstream movie goers. Maybe that affected the box office.

I don't know much about it but does WWZ actually have enough fans to make a real difference in the box office? Positive or negative.

I don't know much either, but according to Publishers Weekly, the WWZ book sold over one million copies, as of 2011. His previous book about zombies sold 1.4 million. I guess that's still a lot these days. Good enough to rate a movie, obviously.

The other thing is, I think the movie is actually doing better than expected. The Hollywood Reporter says they'll likely be a sequel. Link to story, below.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/paramount-brad-pitt-set-sights-573814

 

[The Doctor]

I've read that fans of the book don't really like the movie, while it had an appeal to mainstream movie goers. Maybe that affected the box office.

I don't know much about it but does WWZ actually have enough fans to make a real difference in the box office? Positive or negative.

I don't know much either, but according to Publishers Weekly, the WWZ book sold over one million copies, as of 2011. His previous book about zombies sold 1.4 million. I guess that's still a lot these days. Good enough to rate a movie, obviously.

The other thing is, I think the movie is actually doing better than expected. The Hollywood Reporter says they'll likely be a sequel. Link to story, below.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/paramount-brad-pitt-set-sights-573814

Well, to be fair, the book is an anthology of short stories which are loosely connected by the thread of the zombie apocalypse. Such a structure would never work for a tentpole summer blockbuster. That being said, WWZ the movie did bear little resemblance to the world or fictional events portrayed in the book. It was a decent movie in its own right, though. I really liked the 'solution' to the zombie threat. It felt fresh and new, which is an achievement for the zombie genre.

 

[Dantrek]

I give it a D-. I thought visually it was nice. The story was unoriginal. There were so many plot holes I don't know where to begin. It was a good action sci fi film but it wasn't Star Trek even with its little homages to prime universe Trek. I just think JJ Abrams is more suited for Star Wars type films. I cannot get used to that beer factory engine room or the bridge with a window/view screen with light glares bouncing off it. Sorry, as much as I love Trek I cannot get into this version.

 

[CorporalClegg]

but it wasn't Star Trek

Then what was it?

 

[Belz...]

Then what was it?

And if wasn't Trek, what was Nemesis ?

The story was unoriginal.

Few stories are, nowadays. Not every movie can be Inception.

It was a good action sci fi film but it wasn't Star Trek even with its little homages to prime universe Trek.

Felt like Star Trek to me.

I cannot get used to that beer factory engine room

I got it immediately. Seems more realistic that way.

 

[Set Harth]

The story was unoriginal.

Few stories are, nowadays. Not every movie can be Inception.

Are you talking about the "Inception" that was ripped off of a Scrooge McDuck comic?

 

[Tosk]

I cannot get used to that beer factory engine room

I got it immediately. Seems more realistic that way.

Exactly! That's what I keep telling people. The engine room of a warp-capable starship should look like a brewery made decades ago.

 

[Opus]

I cannot get used to that beer factory engine room

I got it immediately. Seems more realistic that way.

I prefer it to the Dairy Queen neon light TNG engineering TV and movie sets.

ETA - And the new STiD engineering set they borrowed from that laser laboratory - Fucking Awesome looking!

IMO of course...

 

[Belz...]

Are you talking about the "Inception" that was ripped off of a Scrooge McDuck comic?

I hope you're joking. No story is truly original.

The engine room of a warp-capable starship should look like a brewery made decades ago.

You'd be amazed how little industrial machinery has changed, aesthetically speaking, in the last five decades. When talking about a piece of hardware that is all function and no style, you expect it to look the way it's always looked.