As someone who grew up (semi-literally) with Star Trek: TNG and then the others, I found this to be the most solid of the three so far. Still could have been better, but there's not many episodes I ever saw where I didn't say the same thing. The problem here is honestly the same problem the Marvel movies keep running in to... you have well known, developed characters going up against random_threat_038 and resolving it within a matter of hours.
There's plenty of nitpicking to do, but I'll probably watch it again when it hits Netflix or Amazon or whatever, unlike Into Darkness. My biggest gripe is mostly trivial and possibly just an oversight but...
Why did the Enterprise-A look exactly the same as the first 1701 at the end? They even made offhand remarks at Yorktown about how the only "more advanced" ship around wasn't complete yet, so it suggested that either that would be turned into the A (unlikely but whatever) or there was new tech to be had, and part of the point of going from 1701 to 1701-A/B/C/D was always to change up the look and make it more up-to-date. I'm hoping they just didn't put in the effort here and it actually looks different in the next movie.
Edit: Am I the only Trek fan that likes VI? I honestly think it's just a good movie, and a great Star Trek movie, but fuck if anyone ever talks about it. Have to agree with the negative sentiments about First Contact too, I loved it when I first saw it but can't stand it now, which leaves me with... Generations, I guess, as the most tolerable TNG film, which is sad.
IMO the first and so reboot's enterprise' were suppose to be homages to the movies designs, while to me at the end of this one it looks like the original series model with the deflector separated some and looking like a satellite dish, not incorporated into the hull. To me this is kind of hinting that we are in "timeline" where TOS started, I the midst of the 5 year mission. That or they just like designing new ships and putting little throw backs of design here and there. As long as they stay away from TNG's pig nose warp nasals.
I want to compare two flight/fight scenes in the last two trek movies to illustrate why this one is shit.
Into Darkness:
Plot buildup to Kronos with an action scene already featuring Khan, we know Klingons are bloodthirsty badasses from previous tv/movies.
Shuttle chase scene through ruined as fuck Kronos with smashed moon, we never knew the Klingon homeworld was so dystopian but it fits.
Klingons reveal a new scary as fuck design as Uhura skillfully tries and fails to reason with them and Kirk/Spock tries and fails to fight them.
Khan beats the shit out of the entire Klingon squad with a huge blaster, he is soon revealed to be a genetically engineered human not long after.
Beyond:
Nobody wants to be on the Enterprise, we go to a planet we know nothing about and care nothing for behind a technobabble barrier.
Ship crashes to massively overpowered to the point of magic drones and aliens we know nothing about.
Planet is generic California forest with some generic bounty hunter types on it never mentioned again and Scotty fails to do anything to protect himself.
Newly met Mary Sue beats the shit out of the bounty hunters with magic, it's revealed to be some sort of holograms and since it would make all future combat in Star Trek pointless I'm sure we will never see it again.
Into Darkness had some plot holes but it had a ton of awesome shit in it. I'm not saying don't have new aliens or planets but fucking introduce them properly so we care and make it NOT a forest planet because budget. At least make the fucking fodder for Mary Sue be Cardassians or something rather than forgettable single use new designs.
That white chick wasn't a Mary Sue, she couldn't beat a single baddie in hand to hand combat.
Hint: Paperweight world champion of communications Uhura, on the other hand, won two fights against multiple opponents.
Also, Scotty must be gay. He didn't try to hit on her a single time. Fsck SJW.
For a dumb action movie, some of the scenes are good. And out of context, some of the dialogue is good. I've always remembered Picard smashing the glass, losing his shit about having to abandon the ship the Borg. Patrick Stewart delivers his lines perfectly and Moby Dick is a great reference(take notes Abrams, this is the correct way to fan service) to Wrath of Khan.
But they got the completely wrong character to deliver them. Picard has been in much worse situations with the Borg and he's always kept his rationality. The scene memorability ultimately backfires because instead of being a cool moment, it's instead a penultimate example how the movie(all 4 actually) shits all over 7 years of character development from the tv show.
For a dumb action movie, some of the scenes are good. And out of context, some of the dialogue is good. I've always remembered Picard smashing the glass, losing his shit about having to abandon the ship the Borg. Patrick Stewart delivers his lines perfectly and Moby Dick is a great reference(take notes Abrams, this is the correct way to fan service) to Wrath of Khan.
But they got the completely wrong character to deliver them. Picard has been in much worse situations with the Borg and he's always kept his rationality. The scene memorability ultimately backfires because instead of being a cool moment, it's instead a penultimate example how the movie(all 4 actually) shits all over 7 years of character development from the tv show.
ehh, HE has been in worse situations - however this was the first time the borg was able to hit home and destroy his ship and his crew, he was losing they were beaten. But sadly it was a time travel thing - and while cool - was dumb... why didn't the borg just travel back in time WAY FAR AWAY from earth, then pop over there and take over... or why haven't they tried again?! and again, and again...
I think it would have been better if they cut the time travel and had the borg not just send 1 cube but an entire unimatrix to earth or something - it can be the same conflict with picard having his ship taken over and encountering the queen etc.
Edit: also fanservice of the shakespear line was nice, that was big in TOS and movies, esp 6.
Saw this yesterday. Quite enjoyed it. Decent action scenes (way too much shaky cam, though) and I really dug the design of the city in the sphere.
1 gripe:
When they beamed Spock & Bones onto the tiny, moving drone ship, it basically rendered any conflict that could ever occur moot. Know where your bad guy is? Beam someone directly behind him with his phaser set to "kill" - Problem solved. I mean, I know they already ruined how beaming people works in the first reboot, but I would have thought they would have tried to get us to forget about that instead of question why they don't use the transporter to solve ALL their problems.
Saw this yesterday. Quite enjoyed it. Decent action scenes (way too much shaky cam, though) and I really dug the design of the city in the sphere.
1 gripe:
When they beamed Spock & Bones onto the tiny, moving drone ship, it basically rendered any conflict that could ever occur moot. Know where your bad guy is? Beam someone directly behind him with his phaser set to "kill" - Problem solved. I mean, I know they already ruined how beaming people works in the first reboot, but I would have thought they would have tried to get us to forget about that instead of question why they don't use the transporter to solve ALL their problems.
Actually that's a consistent use with cannon transporters. There's just always shields/interference/system failure/plot device #472 to screw with transporters. In some episodes they have literally just transported the antagonists off their own ship to calm shit down, and the opposite. The problem with the swarm was 1: who the fuck knows which ship Krall is on and 2: Swarm would presumably operate without Krall anyway. I mean fuck even in this movie the transporter was semi-defeated by being in a crater, when normally they can beam people from the opposite side of planets onto the ship.
Kirk: 3 years into 5 year mission and I'm bored as fuck, think I'll stop being a captain. Fast forward to after "adventure", "Holy shit I love adventures, I'mma stay a captain!!"
Kirk: 3 years into 5 year mission and I'm bored as fuck, think I'll stop being a captain. Fast forward to after "adventure", "Holy shit I love adventures, I'mma stay a captain!!"
I took it at the beginning when the admiral mentioned it he was still sort of "ehhhh, I put my name in the hat, because...but..." and then after he was solidified as "newp" - and this technical is the same as TOS movies, he wasn't suppose to be the captain of the ship for TOS 1 and 2(3) and was then "demoted" and "punished" by being put back into the captains chair (that he wanted) rather than a nice desk job.
In addition I think he wanted to remain captain for the same reason Spock wanted to remain, his crew and the people he cared about and lead - and could not go on without it. As much as Kirks "what would I do without you Spock!" was hamfisted into letting the audience "get" why Spock changed his mind, it was also showing at the same time why Kirk did the same. We have to remember these reboots don't have years of show to fall back on for character relations and history - that's why I feel just now is it "at the place" TOS show started.
