Why Is "Into Darkness" So [imagine a different, more accurate past participle here]?

[Smellmet]

As it stands on its own, it's just not that good. As a reimaging of Khan, it's a hell of a lot worse. It's a movie that never needed to be made.

I like the concept of the Kelvin Universe movies. There are moments that really capture the Kirk, Spock, McCoy chemistry. I would actually love to see them return as prime characters because the characters are well-acted. Sans the lens flare and rehashed stories, of course. But "Into Darkness" just wasn't that good.

As a blockbuster cinema experience it was excellent. But once you watch it at home an digest it more you realise the plot is as convoluted as nemesis, and it repeats the space jump from the 2009 movie which is lazy AF. And that's before the spock scream and various other gaffes.

I still enjoy it for what it is though. It's turn your brain off entertainment and is still somehow one of my favourite trek films.

 

[Smellmet]

Gosh, I'm mixed with the series, I love One, liked 2, hated 3, love 4 Ghost Protocol, hated 5, and liked 6 in the M:I series. I didn't like Phillip Hoffman's role and hated the Rabbit's Foot MacGuffin, to me it was worst M:I movie I'd ever seen.

Wow I thought Hoffman was amazing in 3 and easily the best villain in the series. He was genuinely intimidating. I rewatched 2 for the first time the other week and I thought it was complete dross. I guess life would be boring if we all had the same opinions

For me it goes

MI 7.5/10
MI2 4/10
MI3 9/10
MIGP 9.5/10
MIRN 9/10
MIF 10/10

 

[Gingerbread Demon]

Yeah the Rabbit's Foot thing was a bit silly, beyond Benji's description of it made it seem bigger and badder then what it was.

 

[Set Harth]

I rewatched 2 for the first time the other week and I thought it was complete dross.

Not to mention extremely far-fetched.

The bad guys release a deadly virus in hopes of getting rich by selling the whole world the antidote.

I mean, like that could ever happen in real life!

 

[fireproof78]

*squints behind sunglasses at Deus Ex.*

 

[DonIago]

(mutters in "V for Vendetta")

 

[Gingerbread Demon]

Not to mention extremely far-fetched.

The bad guys release a deadly virus in hopes of getting rich by selling the whole world the antidote.

I mean, like that could ever happen in real life!

*squints behind sunglasses at Deus Ex.*

JC Denton would like a word with both of you.......

 

[Turd Ferguson]

Wow I thought Hoffman was amazing in 3 and easily the best villain in the series. He was genuinely intimidating. I rewatched 2 for the first time the other week and I thought it was complete dross. I guess life would be boring if we all had the same opinions

M: i - 2 is hot garbage, but gets a few extra points for Limp Bizkit's Take a Look Around (don't judge me, Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water still gets repeated playthroughs from me, even 23 years later)

 

[somebuddyX]

I can't not like a lot of MI2 as a lot of it was filmed in my home city and a specific point around when the Olympics were on, so seeing things like the statues up on Centrepoint instead of at Olympic Park is kinda cool. The bad guys driving around in regular Falcons and 4WDs and other shit is hilarious. The story is bonkers but at least it leans into it and goes nuts. I love seeing Thandiwe Newton and Cruise has a beautiful head of hair. Also it taught me to pronounce Bellerophon and Chimaera properly.

 

[Gingerbread Demon]

The bad guys driving around in regular Falcons and 4WDs and other shit is hilarious. The story is bonkers but at least it leans into it and goes nuts. I love seeing Thandiwe Newton and Cruise has a beautiful head of hair. Also it taught me to pronounce Bellerophon and Chimaera properly.

Same here for those two words. Also I've seen her name spelt differently on various sites as Thandie and how you spelt it, which is the proper way btw.

 

[Set Harth]

Look closely...

 

[gweeps]

It's a shameless, tepid reuse of Khan.

 

[fireproof78]

And still excellent character work for Kirk and Spock.

 

[Richard S. Ta]

Honestly, STAR TREK and ST: INTO DARKNESS are the only movies I ever liked from JJ Abrams.

Okay, except...

Gosh, I'm mixed with the series, I love One, liked 2, hated 3, love 4 Ghost Protocol, hated 5, and liked 6 in the M:I series. I didn't like Phillip Hoffman's role and hated the Rabbit's Foot MacGuffin, to me it was worst M:I movie I'd ever seen.

4 and 6 are also JJ Abrams movies.

 

[Set Harth]

not as a director.

 

[Vger23]

Gosh, I'm mixed with the series, I love One, liked 2, hated 3, love 4 Ghost Protocol, hated 5, and liked 6 in the M:I series. I didn't like Phillip Hoffman's role and hated the Rabbit's Foot MacGuffin, to me it was worst M:I movie I'd ever seen.

My personal ranking (some of these I've seen 10 times, others only once...so admittedly flawed)
MI:1
MI:4
MI:3
MI:6
MI:5
MI:2

 

[Gingerbread Demon]

Ghost Protocol is the only one in the series I have watched more then once.... I love that movie

 

[tomalak301]

I got an email from Startrek Shop saying that we are 10 years removed from Into Darkness. Time flies.

maybe a couple years ago I did a rewatch of all three Kelvin films and my opinion of ID was the same as when I originally saw it. It was a missed opportunity in favor of wanting to be a WOK clone. If they had followed through on keeping Weller the bad guy the whole movie and made Khan an adversary that you “have to work with” I think the movie would have been a lot better. Interestingly where the movie lost me was when they communicated with Nimoy Spock.

 

[Vger23]

I got an email from Startrek Shop saying that we are 10 years removed from Into Darkness. Time flies.

maybe a couple years ago I did a rewatch of all three Kelvin films and my opinion of ID was the same as when I originally saw it. It was a missed opportunity in favor of wanting to be a WOK clone. If they had followed through on keeping Weller the bad guy the whole movie and made Khan an adversary that you “have to work with” I think the movie would have been a lot better. Interestingly where the movie lost me was when they communicated with Nimoy Spock.

Yes, it is the 10th anniversary. How did time go by that quickly? I still look at ID as a "new" Star Trek movie.

 

[fireproof78]

I got an email from Startrek Shop saying that we are 10 years removed from Into Darkness. Time flies.

maybe a couple years ago I did a rewatch of all three Kelvin films and my opinion of ID was the same as when I originally saw it. It was a missed opportunity in favor of wanting to be a WOK clone. If they had followed through on keeping Weller the bad guy the whole movie and made Khan an adversary that you “have to work with” I think the movie would have been a lot better. Interestingly where the movie lost me was when they communicated with Nimoy Spock.

I have gone back and forth, and certainly shared a lot more of my thoughts on this film in this thread and elsewhere. For me, there are two things about this movie that really take away from it being great: one, is the Nimoy conversation, and two is the space jump. Yes, the whole Khan thing bothered me and I would prefer Khan be John Harrison as a tool that turns on Marcus but that is minor to me. To me, the whole series of events from 09 to ID are such strong representations of the extremes that the two main characters can go to. Marcus and Khan represent the worst aspects of humanity (paranoia and pride) while Nero represents the perils of Vulcan emotions run amok (pun slightly intended). We should that both Kirk and Spock are not immune to these extremes, and need the balancing affect of strong leader figures.

Khan is an interesting mirror in particular because he and Kirk share a similar idealized form-they are both genius level intellects who put strong value in their family and name. When Khan says "My name is Khan," he mirrors Kirk in ST 09 "My name is James Tiberius Kirk." The name is not necessarily significant to the person they are speaking too but their claiming their identity, or reclaiming it in Khan's case.

I know many of these themes don't stand out to everyone, and I know that these movies are not something enjoyed by everyone but for me there is a lot of great thematic and character work done that makes them still fun films, even with missteps.