Twelve Reasons I Love Star Trek Into Darkness

[HIjol]

Lots of things make a person go blind..

Only if you forget to moisturize regularly.

"You know, I've tried all sorts of moisturizers. I even went fragrance free for a whole year. Now my sister, she uses some kind of uh... uh... uh... uh... aloe vera with a little sunscreen in it, and ideally, we should all wear gloves when going to bed, but I found out that that creates a kind of an interference with my... social agenda, you know what I mean?"

 

[Amaris]

^

As for you, TayLaLaLa, I do hope you feel better. Remember, there is always the chance for something better. Sometimes you have to wait for it; at other times it will come to you. Wisdom and patience will help you know the difference.

 

[F. King Daniel]

Oh, excellent. The imgur pictures all work perfectly on my system. Thanks for going to the effort.

Happy to help

I'm also mightily impressed by the production team to cram so much stuff, and so much continuity-relevant stuff, into the margins. The selection of stuff is interesting too, considering that, like, the Menk? Granting that they have a good, meaty story behind them, they're not exactly the aliens who come up if you ask someone to name the top … 75 … species in Trek.

Yup. They definitely put a Trekkie in charge of making that graphic. I hope they're glad that their work is being appreciated even though it was illegible on-screen!

 

[martok2112]

Lots of things make a person go blind..

And some will make you go cross-eyed.
Just ask His Holiness, Guru Tugginmypuddah.

 

[Mudd]

I agree with BillJ right down the line.

TOS was never a big, loud, brainless action series revolving around explosions and flashing lights and loud noises.

Remarkably enough, neither are the nuTrek movies.

 

[BigJake]

Why oh why will I be dead before the future happens

Even in the future they're saying the same thing.

"Why oh why will I be dead before the Federation gets cloaking devices?"

To be fair, we are seeing the future happen. Granted it's more like the future according to Paul Verhoeven, but still.

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

To be fair to who? Is someone in charge of this stuff?

 

[Mario de Monti]

I loved this movie, and I LOVE this Thread...read it all at work, instead of actually doing my work...

Same here - and it was half an hour well spent

Frankly I don´t get why people hate the Abrams movies for being ... well, entertaining. Maybe for some Trek has become such a big part of their lives, that they forget it is (and always was) foremost supposed to be just that: entertainment!

@ BillJ
Great list There´s just so much to love about the movie, I find something new everytime I watch it.

 

[Smellmet]

You are probably right, there will will never be a 'perfect' film or series for the fans because of the broad canvas that Star Trek is painted upon, there will always be too much action, too little, too much comedy etc.

There are things that genuinely grate on my nerves concerning STID (Khans casting, 2 minute trips to Kronos, when were they planning on dropping out of warp when the Vengeance attacked) and there are things that I initially hated but don't mind as much now (Khan scream, reactor scene). I am prepared to overlook these sins and approach the film more as a casual viewer in the name of being entertained.

The rest of the movie in my opinion, absolutely rocks.

 

[Yanks]

Twelve Reasons I Love Star Trek Into Darkness:

1 - Niburu - This is what hooked little BillyJ on Star Trek in the first place. Big, brash adventure on the Final Frontier.

2 - Enterprise in the ocean - Coolest special effect I've ever seen in a major motion picture.

Love the whole opening sequence. I had an issue with the science of "cold fusion" but, hey... it's SCI-FI.

3 - Sacrifice - What would you sacrifice to save someone you love? Being married and a father of three, it is a question that I don't know the answer to.

Can't say I wouldn't do the same thing for one of my kids.

4 - Khan - Cumberbatch was born to play the role. Cunning when the situation calls for it, brutal when the situation calls for it. I think his performance was very much in line with Montalban's "Space Seed" portrayal of the character. "Khan Noonien Singh is the most dangerous adversary the Enterprise ever faced. He is brilliant, ruthless and he will not hesitate to kill every single one of you."

Agree. I thought Cumby was fantastic. Didn't think Khan was needed in this storyline, but his perfromance was right up there with Montalbans.

5 - The Rundown - There is just an incredible feel in the theater when the Vengeance runs down the Enterprise while at warp.

Really enjoyed those effects. Does the "falling out of warp" thing contradict the historical Star Trek warp theory? Did we ever see a ship tumble out of a "tube" like that?

6 - Pike's death - Incredibly well done scene that isn't dependent on dialogue to get the point across.

Yup, I was sad to see Pike go. I thought Greenwoods Pike was fantastic.

7 - Losing the Enterprise - "You don't respect the chair". This was an expected fallout from the "Cadet to Captain" scenario of the first film. I wish they could've delved into the situation a bit more but understand why they didn't.

I enjoyed the conversation with Pike/Spock and Kirk and as it continued with Pike and Kirk. I just wish they could have shown more consequences... I know we just had a movie here, but he got that command back really, really quickly.

8 - Klingons! - The most menacing they've been since Michael Ansara played Kang in 1968's "The Day of the Dove".

Not sure about that. Khan took out what, about 20 of them without even getting shot?

9 - The Argument - I think the Spock/Uhura argument on the way to Kronos is probably one of the most realistic "relationship" moments I've seen in the history of the franchise. Being married for twenty-plus years, I know that issues between couples can bubble to the surface at the most inopportune times.

A horribly missplaced "relationship moment". I can see Uhura losing control and focus, but Spock? (face palm)

10 - Khan!!! - Loved it! I loved that they reversed the scene. I loved that Spock began to figure out why him and Kirk worked well together. I love that he wanted to beat the shit out of Khan for killing his friend.

The worst moment of the film for me. Just a cheesy rip-off and totally out of character for Spock new and old.

11 - The Speech - I don't care about Orci's feelings about 9/11 but the speech Kirk gives should hit home for every American.

Orci's truther roots aside, I too enjoyed the speech although I thought the cut from Kirk infront of the crowd to the the Enterprise passing through the screen was .... not sure what the word is here.... choppy? ... not smooth?

12 - Uhura - I loved that she wanted to be the one to speak to the Klingons. No, "Captain, I'm frightened", even though she clearly was uneasy with the situation.

I'm so onboard with this. She's just not a token black given a postion. She has talent, and fortitiude. GREAT scene with her communicating with the Klingons.

I found Star Trek Into Darkness fun in a way that Star Trek simply hadn't been in a very long time. Are there things I might have done differently? Yes. Am I sure that those things would've made it a better movie? No.

When I watch the Abramsverse films, it is almost like I've been transported back in time to a point when Star Trek didn't take itself so seriously.

I felt that too... especially with ST09.

It's funny because those are all the exact things I hate about it. Particularly "the argument." Nothing says classic Star Trek like interrupting a life-and-death mission to bitch at your boyfriend about where your relationship is going.

A life or death mission where absolutely zero was happening at that point.

Different strokes for different folks.

This just isn't true BillJ. They were on a mission, illegally behind Klingon lines... to say nothing was going on is to say that Spock and Uhura were just along so they could argue. This argument is just more evidience that the Spock/Uhura relationship needs to be cut off.

Hats off to everyone (pro or con) for keeping this thread civil so far!

All in good fun.

ST09 is the greatest movie ever made.

Well, to me. Personally. I love it with all my heart. I love it as much as Firefly. I wish there were 13 episodes of ST09 that I could watch over and over again and have favorites of and name blogs after and have as comfort food.

I hold ST09 much higher than STID. If the NERO story had been better thought out and executed I probably would have had ST09 in my top 2 ST films.

 

[BillJ]

This just isn't true BillJ. They were on a mission, illegally behind Klingon lines... to say nothing was going on is to say that Spock and Uhura were just along so they could argue. This argument is just more evidience that the Spock/Uhura relationship needs to be cut off.

Were they just suppose to sit there with their collective sphincters locked for the duration of the mission?

Like I said in my original post and others have chimed in on: awkward relationship moments usually crop up at the most inopportune time.

 

[Smellmet]

Exactly. Just subjective nitpicks. Hardly makes the film good or bad does it?

 

[BigJake]

To be fair to who? Is someone in charge of this stuff?

Tommy Westphall. Who admittedly is the definition of a capricious overlord.

(The precise relationship of Paul Verhoeven to Tommy Westphall is disputed. Emanation? Subcreation? Avatar? Manifestation? They're all possibilities.)

awkward relationship moments usually crop up at the most inopportune time.

Shame there wasn't a commanding officer there to quash that nonsense and remind them of their priorities.

 

[BillJ]

Shame there wasn't a commanding officer there to quash that nonsense and remind them of their priorities.

Why? He was probably as bored and tired of clenching his sphincter as the rest of them.

 

[Gojira]

When I watch the Abramsverse films, it is almost like I've been transported back in time to a point when Star Trek didn't take itself so seriously.

I agree with all your 12 points! I just want to add that I agree with what you have said here too. Abramsverse has made me feel the joy and excitement I did back in 1973 when I was 10 and started watching the original series in reruns.

 

[BigJake]

Shame there wasn't a commanding officer there to quash that nonsense and remind them of their priorities.

Why? He was probably as bored and tired of keeping his sphincter tense as the rest of them.

So, it's an awesome moment because it broke up the monotony of their supposedly thrilling mission behind enemy lines? That's... kinda faint praise...

 

[Yanks]

This just isn't true BillJ. They were on a mission, illegally behind Klingon lines... to say nothing was going on is to say that Spock and Uhura were just along so they could argue. This argument is just more evidience that the Spock/Uhura relationship needs to be cut off.

Were they just suppose to sit there with their collective sphincters locked for the duration of the mission?

Like I said in my original post and others have chimed in on: awkward relationship moments usually crop up at the most inopportune time.

Exactly why the relationship needs to end. They wouldn't even listen to their commanding officer when he called them on being stupid.

 

[BillJ]

So, it's an awesome moment because it broke up the monotony of their supposedly thrilling mission behind enemy lines? That's... kinda faint praise...

People want Star Trek to be realistic except when it is actually realistic. Unfortunately, it takes time to get to the thrilling part of the mission, so they took a few seconds to drop in some personal growth. Not sure I see the actual problem here?

 

[BillJ]

Exactly why the relationship needs to end. They wouldn't even listen to their commanding officer when he called them on being stupid.

Kirk has always ran a loose command and allowed those around him to say what they needed to say. The reason he allowed it to go on was because it was obviously important to one of his officers to say what needed to be said before they potentially died.

 

[BigJake]

People want Star Trek to be realistic except when it is actually realistic.

I guess that depends on whether you think it's "realistic" for a supposedly respected Captain to sit there doing nothing -- actually to be totally ignored and talked-over by his own officers -- when bickering breaks out in a life-or-death situation like that.

I mean, it's not unrealistic per se, it's a perfectly plausible human moment, for my money it just kind of makes them look like a pack of holiday excursionists.

This, though:

it takes time to get to the thrilling part of the mission

"It takes time" can't really be used as an excuse for anything in an AbramsTrek movie, I don't think. Massive time cheats are part and parcel of the whole breathless-pacing thing that helped sell them.

Kirk has always ran a loose command and allowed those around him to say what they needed to say.

Kirk of old was never shy about reprimanding anyone or cracking down on unproductive bullshit, that was one of the key things that sold him as a leader.