"STAR TREK Into Darkness" - 2013

[Dangelus]

Another thing to note

[spoiler] The Spock from this universe has been through a hell of a lot. I am sure he has become more emotionally receptive at this early stage in comparison with "our" Spock.[/spoiler]

[Ktrek]

Just got back from seeing the film and I know I'm in the minority here once again but this film was meh. I waited four years to see what? a flip flop remake of another Trek movie I dearly love. No real significant character development whatsoever from the first film. A two hour video game with lots of cool lens flares? Cumberbatch wasn't very convincing to me. I like him better as Sherlock. I thought Nero was lame in the first film and Harrison is only barely a step above that. Very few "Star Trek" moments in this film. It could have been named anything else but Star Trek and I probably would have enjoyed it more. The video game kid generation will like the film because there are a lot of things blowing up and death and destruction everywhere but honestly there is very little to no story here and what story there is leaves huge questions that are never satisfactorily answered and nor are they likely ever to be. I think I have kept my comments general enough without any spoilers. I won't be going to see this again. Just not worth the visual overload headache. One sentence covers this film pretty well.... It's not fresh like JJ's first film because it's just been there, done that. I give it only 5 out of 10 stars and that I feel is being generous.

Kevin

[ChrisMC]

Well, I loved it! [spoiler] I got a great big kick out of the KHAAAAAAN! yell. To me it just went along with the FUN that this movie is all about. And McCoys comment about birthing Gorn babies proves to me that the crappy game isn't canon! That was their first and only contact with the Gorn, then they blew them up. I liked all the timey wimey stuff, finding the Botany Bay earlier as a direct result of Nero's intervention. The blood thing was a bit of Chekovs Gun, but I didn't mind the reversal of Kirk dying. It fit the character arc. [/spoiler]

Liked it better than the last one, I'm talking my son to see it tomorrow. 9/10.

[Bryancd]

Just got back from seeing the film and I know I'm in the minority here once again but this film was meh. I waited four years to see what? a flip flop remake of another Trek movie I dearly love. No real significant character development whatsoever from the first film. A two hour video game with lots of cool lens flares? Cumberbatch wasn't very convincing to me. I like him better as Sherlock. I thought Nero was lame in the first film and Harrison is only barely a step above that. Very few "Star Trek" moments in this film. It could have been named anything else but Star Trek and I probably would have enjoyed it more. The video game kid generation will like the film because there are a lot of things blowing up and death and destruction everywhere but honestly there is very little to no story here and what story there is leaves huge questions that are never satisfactorily answered and nor are they likely ever to be. I think I have kept my comments general enough without any spoilers. I won't be going to see this again. Just not worth the visual overload headache. One sentence covers this film pretty well.... It's not fresh like JJ's first film because it's just been there, done that. I give it only 5 out of 10 stars and that I feel is being generous.

Kevin

I think that's fair, Kevin, and speaks to an issue this new franchise will always face. Is it TREK to you. For me, it's a reboot of TREK no beholding to anything which has come before and as such I can roll with it. If you expect it to be like TOS or TNG it's going to disappoint. It is also very different from the previous TREK films, no doubt. I would argue the character moments in this film were very strong, but I was invested in it and thought the banter, dialogue, and performances sold it for me.

[ChrisMC]

I agree, Bryan. I just divorce myself from the Trek I've known for 40 years and just ACCEPT that this movie is a popcorn-type summer movie of the BEST kind. Great actors, great writing, exciting sequences....eminently watchable.

Also, I now know why JJ kept the BIG REVEAL secret...when it happened I heard audible gasps in the theater! Like a ton! I think it was a cool moment for those people to experience.

[Bryancd]

I agree, Bryan. I just divorce myself from the Trek I've known for 40 years and just ACCEPT that this movie is a popcorn-type summer movie of the BEST kind. Great actors, great writing, exciting sequences....eminently watchable.

Also, I now know why JJ kept the BIG REVEAL secret...when it happened I heard audible gasps in the theater! Like a ton! I think it was a cool moment for those people to experience.

[spoiler]I don't mind he wanted to keep it secret, it was the cat and mouse game that was irritating. "It's one of these four guys from TOS but we won't tell you!" Just say NOTHING, don't engage the fans at all.[spoiler]

[ChrisMC]

Yeah, I see your point...they were certainly baiting the older fans with that stuff. But after hearing his interview on Stern I get the guy a little more.

[Ktrek]

I know each showing audiences can vary and even vary by the part of the country you live in. The dialogue banter and humor did not get one laugh in the audience. I never even heard a single chuckle. Not a single person clapped like they did at the end of the first film. On the way out and in the restroom there were lots of negative comments by other attendees. So, maybe people in this part of the country just don't find fictional films about terrorists all that meaningful? Maybe we see enough of this crap in the real world that we would like to go to a movie to escape from it? I don't know. All I know is that nobody at the showing I went to seemed all that impressed. For me the film is Star Trek in name only. It lacks the feel and optimism of hope that Trek was about. Alternate universe is just an excuse to abandon what Star Trek is about. I thought maybe Abrams, Orci and Kurtzman understood Trek and actually cared about it but I guess I was wrong. With what is being done with Star Trek I think the future of Star Wars is in the wrong hands.

Kevin

[ChrisMC]

I know each showing audiences can vary and even vary by the part of the country you live in. The dialogue banter and humor did not get one laugh in the audience. I never even heard a single chuckle. Not a single person clapped like they did at the end of the first film. On the way out and in the restroom there were lots of negative comments by other attendees. So, maybe people in this part of the country just don't find fictional films about terrorists all that meaningful? Maybe we see enough of this crap in the real world that we would like to go to a movie to escape from it? I don't know. All I know is that nobody at the showing I went to seemed all that impressed. For me the film is Star Trek in name only. It lacks the feel and optimism of hope that Trek was about. Alternate universe is just an excuse to abandon what Star Trek is about. I thought maybe Abrams, Orci and Kurtzman understood Trek and actually cared about it but I guess I was wrong. With what is being done with Star Trek I think the future of Star Wars is in the wrong hands.

Kevin

Wow, the clapping was VERY loud in my theater! The laughing at banter and everything was all there. And it was FULL of Trek fans. Crummy audiences can ruin a movie, I guess.

[Rico]

I respect and understand everyone has their own opinion.  My week with the new job and the new Trek film has been crazy so I'm saving most of my comments for the vidcast, but I understand your points Kevin.  For me, this movie worked and I enjoyed it.  If I was the writer and or director I might have made some other choices on some things, but I still felt very entertained.  I'll be saying much more on the vidcast of course.  By the way Kevin, I'd love it if you could send in a short video with your impressions.  That way we will have some other opinions for the show which I'd love to see.  Hope you can send in a video.

[ChrisMC]

I respect and understand everyone has their own opinion.  My week with the new job and the new Trek film has been crazy so I'm saving most of my comments for the vidcast, but I understand your points Kevin.  For me, this movie worked and I enjoyed it.  If I was the writer and or director I might have made some other choices on some things, but I still felt very entertained.  I'll be saying much more on the vidcast of course.  By the way Kevin, I'd love it if you could send in a short video with your impressions.  That way we will have some other opinions for the show which I'd love to see.  Hope you can send in a video.

It's funny how the comments I'm seeing all over are either "I loved this movie" or "This movie s&%$s all over Trek." Not a lot of middle ground here. Can't wait for Star Wars...eek!

[moyer777]

I went and saw it again, this time with my wife and daughter.  I liked it even more the 2nd time around.  I caught a lot more and was able to see some cool stuff that I didn't notice.  Now, the first time I saw it was with a couple of hundred people, and we all laughed at the lines between the main characters, clapped at the cool parts and gasped at the surprises.  The 2nd showing I saw with about 20 people, and I was the only one besides Amy that laughed and got a kick out of it.

[spoiler]The Kaahhhhhhhhhhn  yell was better the 2nd time cause I knew it was coming, and believe it or not, I actually choked up the 2nd time around when Kirk died..  it was really well acted, the music was spot on and I dug it.  I still didn't get the old Spock scene, kind of pointless.  [/spoiler]

My daughter LOVED it, she is 17, and my wife had a big smile on her face, she liked it too.  That is something. 

I think it had tons of cool stuff in it and I felt very hopeful at the end.  Can't wait for the next one!!!  I didn't hear one negative comment either showing.

[WillEagle]

My day at work went by very quickly today and when I met my wife and stepmom and we went into the theater it seemed like it took forever for the movie to Start!!! We all enjoyed it and we want to see it again! And I want to say one word "WARP". I'll try to send a video to you.

[spoiler]You know I enjoyed this pretty much throughout. Yes, I can see where they got a little lazy with the writing but I didnt care. I waiting 4 years so I was ready for about anything. And I did love thar Warp effect that was freakin' cool! I also liked it when Sulu got command and the back and forth between him and Bones and with Kirk when he got back. And I didn't mind the KHAAAAAAAAN![/spoiler]

Here's a pic at out theater.

[Rico]

Cool pic Will!  You know, you look a bit like Steve Sansweet - the famous collector of Star Wars merchandise.

[X]

I know each showing audiences can vary and even vary by the part of the country you live in. The dialogue banter and humor did not get one laugh in the audience. I never even heard a single chuckle. Not a single person clapped like they did at the end of the first film. On the way out and in the restroom there were lots of negative comments by other attendees. So, maybe people in this part of the country just don't find fictional films about terrorists all that meaningful? Maybe we see enough of this crap in the real world that we would like to go to a movie to escape from it? I don't know. All I know is that nobody at the showing I went to seemed all that impressed. For me the film is Star Trek in name only. It lacks the feel and optimism of hope that Trek was about. Alternate universe is just an excuse to abandon what Star Trek is about. I thought maybe Abrams, Orci and Kurtzman understood Trek and actually cared about it but I guess I was wrong. With what is being done with Star Trek I think the future of Star Wars is in the wrong hands.

Kevin

It's not going to be for everyone, but let's not whitewash the Trek universe and say it's not Trek. Terrorist have always had a place in Trek. Undiscovered country has a cloaked Bird of prey to incite terror of when the next attack would occur. Nemesis, First Contact, and Insurrection were pretty dark. How many times have someone highjacked the ship in any of the series? Having your son butchered and ship destroyed is a pretty dark movie that ends on a pretty bad note.

I respect that mileage might vary and everything doesn't need be enjoyed by everyone, but saying it's not Trek is pretty harsh when they haven't used any elements that were not seen on the small screen before.