Star Trek (2009) & Into Darkness
Happy Canadian Thanksgiving! I had mom's turkey dinner yesterday - fabulous!
I meant to do this last year after the theatrical release of Star Trek Into Darkness but kept forgetting to do it. After I was done watching and reviewing all the four movies from The Next Generation series last year, I wanted to review the two J.J. Abrams-directed movies. After watching Into Darkness earlier last month and watched the previous movie last year on Blu-Ray (but for some reason, my copy disappeared... probably was "borrowed" by one of David's subs without my permission...), I might as well get it over with. So here we go!
Star Trek (2009)
I remember seeing the trailers for this reboot and finding it kind of fascinating. My roomie at the time and big trekkie, Shane, took me to see it in (I think) late May of 2009 at Metrotown. I wasn't into Star Trek at the time though have seen some random episodes of the various series (plus I happened to watch Star Trek III: The Search for Spock nearly ten yars ago on TV) and my late-third, Kevin McKenzie, was a trekkie. It's a shame he passed away months before he could see this movie as I would have loved for the three of us to have seen it together and know his opinion. Anyways, the movie begins in 2233 with the Federation starship USS Kelvin investigating a "lightning storm" in space. A huge Romulan ship, the Narada, emerges from the storm and attacks the Kelvin. They demand that the Kelvin's Captain Robau come aboard to negotiate a truce. Once aboard, Robau is questioned about the current stardate and an "Ambassador Spock", whom he professes not to know. The Romulan commander, Nero, kills him, and continues his attack on the Kelvin. George Kirk, the Kelvin's first officer, orders the ship's personnel, including his pregnant wife Winona, to evacuate the ship while he pilots the Kelvin on a collision course with the Narada, as the auto-pilot function has been damaged. At the cost of his life, Kirk ensures Winona's survival as she gives birth to James Tiberius Kirk. 17 years later, on the planet Vulcan, a young Spock is accepted to join the Vulcan Science Academy. Realizing that the Academy views his human mother Amanda Grayson as a "disadvantage", he decides to join Starfleet Academy instead, much to the shock and disappointment of his father, Sarek. On Earth, Kirk becomes a reckless but intelligent young adult. In 2255, after a bar fight with Starfleet cadets accompanying Nyota Uhura, Kirk meets Captain Christopher Pike who encourages him to enlist in Starfleet where Kirk meets and befriends the cynical doctor Leonard McCoy. Three years later, Commander Spock accuses Kirk of cheating during his "Kobayashi Maru" simulation. Kirk argues that cheating was acceptable in this context because the simulation had been designed to be unbeatable. The disciplinary hearing is interrupted by a distress signal from Vulcan. With the primary fleet out of range, the cadets are mobilized. McCoy and Kirk board Pike's ship, the Enterprise. Realizing that the "lightning storm" being observed on Vulcan is similar to the one that occurred at the time of his birth, Kirk breaks protocol to convince Pike that the distress signal is a trap. The Enterprise arrives at Vulcan to find the fleet destroyed and the Narada drilling into Vulcan's core. The Narada attacks the Enterprise and Pike surrenders, delegating command of the ship to Spock and promoting Kirk to first officer. Kirk, Hikaru Sulu, and Chief Engineer Olson perform a space jump onto the drilling platform. Olson is killed (red shirt of course!) but Kirk and Sulu disable the drill while fending off Romulans. Despite their efforts, Nero launches "red matter" into the core, forming an artificial black hole that destroys the planet. Spock transports down to the surface in time to rescue the Vulcan high council and his father, though his mother dies by falling to her death - despite the efforts of Ensign Pavel Chekov's attempt to transport her. As the Narada moves toward Earth, Nero tortures Pike to gain access to Earth's defense codes. Spock maroons Kirk on Delta Vega after attempting mutiny. Kirk encounters an older Spock, who explains that he and Nero are from 129 years in the future. Spock mind-melds with Kirk explaining that in that future, Romulus was threatened by a supernova. Spock's attempt to use "red matter" to create an artificial black hole and consume the supernova was too late, and Nero's family perished along with the planet. The Narada and Spock's vessel were caught in the black hole, sending them back in time. Nero arrived 129 years in the past in which he destroyed the Kelvin and waited for Spock to arrive in the same location, 25 years later. Nero captures Spock's ship and strands him on Delta Vega to watch Vulcan's destruction by use of the red matter as revenge for failing to save Romulus. Kirk and the elder Spock then proceed to a Starfleet outpost where they meet Montgomery Scott or commonly known as, "Scotty". With the elder Spock's help, Kirk and Scotty beam onto the Enterprise while it's in wrap drive. Following the elder Spock's advice, Kirk provokes younger Spock into attacking him by showing his true feelings towards his mother (that he resented her being human and cannot truly be Vulcan himself), forcing Spock to recognize that he is emotionally compromised and relinquish command. Spock is approached privately by Sarek and reveals that he didn't marry Amanda because it was "logical" but because he loved her. Feeling that his mother should be avenged, Spock decides to help Kirk. While the Enterprise hides itself within the gas clouds of Titan, Kirk and Spock beam aboard the Narada. Kirk rescues Pike while Spock uses the elder Spock's ship to destroy the drill - recognizing him as "Ambassador Spock". Spock leads the Narada away from Earth and sets his ship to collide with Nero's ship. The Enterprise arrives and beams Kirk, Pike, and Spock aboard. The older Spock's ship and the Narada collide, igniting the "red matter" and consuming the Narada in a black hole. Kirk attempts to show compassion to Nero by offering assistance but it is refused, preferring death. Kirk obliges and commands the Enterprise to fire on the Narada while it is being consummed in the black hole. After it disappears, the black hole then attempts to pull the Enterprise in too. Under Scotty's suggestion, the blast from detonated photon torpedoes should be enough to push the Enterprise out of the gravitational pull. The plan succeeds, and the Enterprise crew barely make it out alive. On Earth, Kirk is promoted to the rank of Captain and given command of the Enterprise, while Pike is promoted to Rear Admiral. Spock encounters his older self. Having selected a planet for the surviving Vulcans to colonize, the older Spock persuades his younger self to continue serving in Starfleet, encouraging him to do what feels right instead of what is logical. Spock remains in Starfleet and becomes first officer under Kirk's command. The Enterprise goes to warp as the elder Spock speaks the famous "Captain's Oath" monologue in voice over.
Being my first Star Trek movie I have ever seen in theatres, I loved it! I had very little knowledge of the series but I could understand what was going on and Shane was a great help in pointing things out for me. In fact, I can thank him and this movie for getting me to watch the TV series from the beginning and all the other movies too! When I watched The Original Series and first 6 movies, I began to see certain interesting plot points and allusions. For example, there was an episode in TOS called "Journey to Babel" in which Spock's parents, Sarek and Amanda, visit him on the Enterprise. It is revealed that Sarek was not impressed toward Spock for rejecting the offer to be admitted into the Vulcan Science Academy and instead, join Starfleet. The scene in the movie shows how it all happened and why Spock made his decision to defy his father. Another example is the "Kobayashi Maru" scene - when I later saw Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan I was overjoyed that Star Trek explained how Kirk cheated to win it! It was little things like that which showed that at the very least, the people working on the movie knew their Star Trek lore (you can't say the say the same for video games-turned-movies or TV shows!). The portrayal of the original Enterprise crew is mostly hit than miss. I completely understand that these new actors and actresses CANNOT fully act like the originals and I feel to do so is missing the point. These characters were written with certain strengths, weaknesses, personalities, and histories and these new actors are doing their best to fulfill expectations. We have to keep in mind that this is a new generation of actors and their abilities are different. Chris Pine, for example, cannot act like William Shatner and we obvious know why he can't (insert laughter here!). But he does bring out the younger James T. Kirk with almost the same sense of intelligence, leadership, charisma, and even vulnerability as his older counterpart. Zachary Quinto does a pretty good younger Spock and he even got training by Leonard Nimoy himself. Speaking of which, having Nimoy is this movie was pure genius and great fan service! Karl Urban as McCoy was all right and given he is younger, is more impulsive than DeForest Kelly was. For this movie, I was not a fan of Zoe Saldana as Uhura but she does improve in the second movie. I find her too much a feminist type compared to Nichelle Nichols. Nichols simply sat and did her job professionally in the TV series and in the movies, takes a more active role without acting like a feminist who had to prove herself to her male superiors. Simon Pegg as Scotty is not too bad and I'd argue has more energy than James Doohan but Doohan has the charm and charisma that I love about him. John Cho is a more badass Sulu but I'd argue not as fun as George Takei. Still, I think he's good in the role. Anton Yelchin as Chekov is surprisingly better than Walter Koenig - in TOS. When Chekov was introduced in Season 2, I found him impulsive and annoying. But in the movies, he gets a lot better and I liked him! With that said, Yelchin portrays Chekov with less impulsiveness and would be preferred in TOS but Koenig makes up for it in the 6 movies. All the other characters (Pike, Sarek, etc.) do very well in their roles. As for the movie script itself, the series now has an alternate timeline and things are going to be a lot different. For some who think this is a sellout to cut off the original timeline so that TNG, DS9, Voyager, etc. never happened... I disagree. It means that they can continue but now the series can go in a different direction with a new timeline. This is no different than in The Legend of Zelda series which starts off with one timeline and by Ocarina of Time, it splits into 3 timelines. It can be confusing but it is how the various games fit into the canon so they all have something to contribute. The same may happen with Star Trek but we have to wait and see. A world of no Romulan and Vulcan could be very interesting indeed.
To see the Bum Review of Star Trek go here or below:
Star Trek Into Darkness
Taking place in 2259, four years after Star Trek, the USS Enterprise studies a primitive culture on the planet Nibiru. Captain Kirk and First Officer Spock save the planet's inhabitants from an extinction-threatening volcanic eruption, but Kirk violates the Prime Directive, exposing the Enterprise to the native inhabitants in an attempt to rescue Spock from the volcano. Returning to Earth, Kirk loses command of the Enterprise and Admiral Pike is reinstated as its commanding officer with Kirk demoted to first officer and the rank of Commander. The two attend a meeting to discuss the bombing of a Section 31 installation in London perpetrated by the renegade Starfleet operative John Harrison. Harrison attacks the meeting in a jumpship, killing Pike (sniff...). Kirk disables the jumpship, but Harrison uses a portable transporter to escape to Kronos, the Klingon homeworld. Admiral Alexander Marcus orders the Enterprise to kill Harrison, arming it with 72 prototype photon torpedoes, shielded and untraceable to sensors. Chief Engineer Scotty protests allowing the unknown torpedoes on the ship for safety reasons, threatening to decline the mission. With a hard choice, Kirk doesn't relent and replaces Scotty with Chekov. En route to Kronos, the Enterprise suffers an unexpected coolant leak, disabling the ship's warp capabilities. Kirk leads an away team with Spock and Uhura onto the planet, where they are ambushed by Klingon patrols. Harrison dispatches the Klingons, then surrenders after learning of the number of torpedoes locked on his location. Dr. McCoy and Marcus's daughter, Carol Marcus, open a torpedo at Harrison's behest, revealing a man in cryogenic stasis inside. Harrison reveals his own true identity as Khan, a genetically engineered superhuman awakened by Admiral Marcus from a 300-year suspended animation to develop advanced weapons for war against the Klingon Empire. Khan reveals Marcus sabotaged the Enterprise's warp drive, intending for the Klingons to destroy the ship after firing on Kronos, giving him an apparent moral justification to go to war with the Klingon Empire. The Enterprise is intercepted by a larger Federation warship, the USS Vengeance, commanded by Marcus. Marcus demands that Kirk deliver Khan, but the Enterprise, with a hastily-repaired warp drive, flees to Earth to expose Marcus. After the Vengeance intercepts and disables his ship, Kirk offers to exchange Khan and the cryogenic pods for the lives of his crew. Marcus forcibly transports Carol to the Vengeance and orders the Enterprise's destruction. The Vengeance suddenly loses power, having been sabotaged by Scotty, who infiltrated the ship after following coordinates relayed by Khan through Kirk. With transporters down, Kirk and Khan, with the latter's knowledge of the warship's design, space-jump to the Vengeance. Spock contacts his older self on New Vulcan, who warns him that Khan is ruthless and untrustworthy, and that in another reality (the events of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan), Khan was only defeated at a terrible cost. Meanwhile, after capturing the bridge, Khan overpowers Kirk, Scotty, and Carol, killing Marcus and seizing control of the Vengeance. Khan demands Spock return his crew in exchange for the Enterprise officers. Spock complies but surreptitiously removes Khan's frozen crew and arms the warheads. Khan betrays their agreement by critically damaging the Enterprise; however, the Vengeance is disabled when the torpedoes detonate. Kirk, Scotty, and Carol are simultaneously beamed aboard the Enterprise. With both starships caught in Earth's gravity, they plummet toward the surface. Kirk enters the radioactive reactor chamber to realign the warp core, saving the ship at the cost of his life. Spock arrives outside the chamber, witnessing Kirk's death and in a fit of emotion, screams for Khan. Khan crashes the Vengeance into San Francisco in an attempt to destroy Starfleet headquarters. Khan survives the crash and flees but Spock transports down in pursuit. McCoy discovers that Khan's blood has regenerative properties that may save Kirk. With Uhura's help in stunning Khan, Spock captures him and Kirk is revived. Nearly one year later, Kirk speaks at the re-dedication ceremony of the Enterprise and recalls the sacrifices made by the victims of Marcus's machinations where he recites the "Captain's Oath" monologue. Khan is sealed in his cryogenic pod and stored with his compatriots. Carol joins the crew of a recommissioned Enterprise as it departs on a five-year exploratory mission.
I saw this in June 2013 in theatres and I invited Shane to watch it with me though he had saw it before. Into Darkness is a fun Star Trek movie with plenty of action and heavy scenes. All the Enterprise crew return and we even get to see the Klingons - who actually look pretty cool that I was disappointed they cut out the scenes of them in the first movie! I was disappointed that Pike was killed as I was hoping he would be spared in this new timeline compared to his fate in TOS's "The Menagerie". Khan Noonien Singh originated from the TOS episode "Space Seed" and then The Wrath of Khan movie in the original timeline. Ricardo Montalbán was the original actor and while not as menacing as Benedict Cumberbatch is in this movie, he was certainly more poetic and confident (though he showed his menacing side in the "Space Seed" episode). Cumberbatch's acting is quite good and he is very intimidating. I just find it a little bizarre that they brought Khan in so early (in fact, he was resurrected 10 years before the Enterprise did in the original timeline) when it would have been better suited in maybe the future fourth movie or something. Before seeing the movie and knowing it was Khan, I thought the main villain was going to be Gary Mitchell, who gains god-like powers in the TOS episode "Where No Man Has Gone Before". Given the advertising and posters, it made it look like he would be a candidate given the destruction he was leaving behind. And of course, given the ethnic differences of Montalbán and Cumberbatch, you couldn't guess it was Khan at first. The "reverse death scene" with Kirk and Spock... I dunno, it doesn't hold the same emotional note that Wrath of Khan had. They were trying to re-enact it but it was not done too carefully and hearing Quinto scream "Khannnn!"... was unnecesaary. That honour should have stayed with Shatner because it was pure, perfect, Shatner. As for the ending... it was so quick and even I noticed this when I saw it in theatres (WTF?). The Enterprise crew have more use in this movie and we also get Carol Marcus too. In the original timeline and her introduction in Wrath of Khan, she was romantically involved with Kirk and bore a son whom was named David. I wondered why at the end of the movie, that they spared Khan and kept him and his "family" of superhumans in cryogenic sleep when they should just dump them in a volcano or something considering how dangerous they are! Wouldn't that guarantee everyone's survival? Sigh...
To see the Bum Review of Into Darkness go here or below:
For a much more opinionated review, Doug Walker and his brother Rob did two videos on Sibling Rivalry. Part 1 with no spoilers here or below:
And Part 2, Spoiler Corner, here or below:
Until the next movie, that's it for Star Trek movie reviews for now. I can now concentrate on Star Trek DS9...
I meant to do this last year after the theatrical release of Star Trek Into Darkness but kept forgetting to do it. After I was done watching and reviewing all the four movies from The Next Generation series last year, I wanted to review the two J.J. Abrams-directed movies. After watching Into Darkness earlier last month and watched the previous movie last year on Blu-Ray (but for some reason, my copy disappeared... probably was "borrowed" by one of David's subs without my permission...), I might as well get it over with. So here we go!
Star Trek (2009)
I remember seeing the trailers for this reboot and finding it kind of fascinating. My roomie at the time and big trekkie, Shane, took me to see it in (I think) late May of 2009 at Metrotown. I wasn't into Star Trek at the time though have seen some random episodes of the various series (plus I happened to watch Star Trek III: The Search for Spock nearly ten yars ago on TV) and my late-third, Kevin McKenzie, was a trekkie. It's a shame he passed away months before he could see this movie as I would have loved for the three of us to have seen it together and know his opinion. Anyways, the movie begins in 2233 with the Federation starship USS Kelvin investigating a "lightning storm" in space. A huge Romulan ship, the Narada, emerges from the storm and attacks the Kelvin. They demand that the Kelvin's Captain Robau come aboard to negotiate a truce. Once aboard, Robau is questioned about the current stardate and an "Ambassador Spock", whom he professes not to know. The Romulan commander, Nero, kills him, and continues his attack on the Kelvin. George Kirk, the Kelvin's first officer, orders the ship's personnel, including his pregnant wife Winona, to evacuate the ship while he pilots the Kelvin on a collision course with the Narada, as the auto-pilot function has been damaged. At the cost of his life, Kirk ensures Winona's survival as she gives birth to James Tiberius Kirk. 17 years later, on the planet Vulcan, a young Spock is accepted to join the Vulcan Science Academy. Realizing that the Academy views his human mother Amanda Grayson as a "disadvantage", he decides to join Starfleet Academy instead, much to the shock and disappointment of his father, Sarek. On Earth, Kirk becomes a reckless but intelligent young adult. In 2255, after a bar fight with Starfleet cadets accompanying Nyota Uhura, Kirk meets Captain Christopher Pike who encourages him to enlist in Starfleet where Kirk meets and befriends the cynical doctor Leonard McCoy. Three years later, Commander Spock accuses Kirk of cheating during his "Kobayashi Maru" simulation. Kirk argues that cheating was acceptable in this context because the simulation had been designed to be unbeatable. The disciplinary hearing is interrupted by a distress signal from Vulcan. With the primary fleet out of range, the cadets are mobilized. McCoy and Kirk board Pike's ship, the Enterprise. Realizing that the "lightning storm" being observed on Vulcan is similar to the one that occurred at the time of his birth, Kirk breaks protocol to convince Pike that the distress signal is a trap. The Enterprise arrives at Vulcan to find the fleet destroyed and the Narada drilling into Vulcan's core. The Narada attacks the Enterprise and Pike surrenders, delegating command of the ship to Spock and promoting Kirk to first officer. Kirk, Hikaru Sulu, and Chief Engineer Olson perform a space jump onto the drilling platform. Olson is killed (red shirt of course!) but Kirk and Sulu disable the drill while fending off Romulans. Despite their efforts, Nero launches "red matter" into the core, forming an artificial black hole that destroys the planet. Spock transports down to the surface in time to rescue the Vulcan high council and his father, though his mother dies by falling to her death - despite the efforts of Ensign Pavel Chekov's attempt to transport her. As the Narada moves toward Earth, Nero tortures Pike to gain access to Earth's defense codes. Spock maroons Kirk on Delta Vega after attempting mutiny. Kirk encounters an older Spock, who explains that he and Nero are from 129 years in the future. Spock mind-melds with Kirk explaining that in that future, Romulus was threatened by a supernova. Spock's attempt to use "red matter" to create an artificial black hole and consume the supernova was too late, and Nero's family perished along with the planet. The Narada and Spock's vessel were caught in the black hole, sending them back in time. Nero arrived 129 years in the past in which he destroyed the Kelvin and waited for Spock to arrive in the same location, 25 years later. Nero captures Spock's ship and strands him on Delta Vega to watch Vulcan's destruction by use of the red matter as revenge for failing to save Romulus. Kirk and the elder Spock then proceed to a Starfleet outpost where they meet Montgomery Scott or commonly known as, "Scotty". With the elder Spock's help, Kirk and Scotty beam onto the Enterprise while it's in wrap drive. Following the elder Spock's advice, Kirk provokes younger Spock into attacking him by showing his true feelings towards his mother (that he resented her being human and cannot truly be Vulcan himself), forcing Spock to recognize that he is emotionally compromised and relinquish command. Spock is approached privately by Sarek and reveals that he didn't marry Amanda because it was "logical" but because he loved her. Feeling that his mother should be avenged, Spock decides to help Kirk. While the Enterprise hides itself within the gas clouds of Titan, Kirk and Spock beam aboard the Narada. Kirk rescues Pike while Spock uses the elder Spock's ship to destroy the drill - recognizing him as "Ambassador Spock". Spock leads the Narada away from Earth and sets his ship to collide with Nero's ship. The Enterprise arrives and beams Kirk, Pike, and Spock aboard. The older Spock's ship and the Narada collide, igniting the "red matter" and consuming the Narada in a black hole. Kirk attempts to show compassion to Nero by offering assistance but it is refused, preferring death. Kirk obliges and commands the Enterprise to fire on the Narada while it is being consummed in the black hole. After it disappears, the black hole then attempts to pull the Enterprise in too. Under Scotty's suggestion, the blast from detonated photon torpedoes should be enough to push the Enterprise out of the gravitational pull. The plan succeeds, and the Enterprise crew barely make it out alive. On Earth, Kirk is promoted to the rank of Captain and given command of the Enterprise, while Pike is promoted to Rear Admiral. Spock encounters his older self. Having selected a planet for the surviving Vulcans to colonize, the older Spock persuades his younger self to continue serving in Starfleet, encouraging him to do what feels right instead of what is logical. Spock remains in Starfleet and becomes first officer under Kirk's command. The Enterprise goes to warp as the elder Spock speaks the famous "Captain's Oath" monologue in voice over.
Being my first Star Trek movie I have ever seen in theatres, I loved it! I had very little knowledge of the series but I could understand what was going on and Shane was a great help in pointing things out for me. In fact, I can thank him and this movie for getting me to watch the TV series from the beginning and all the other movies too! When I watched The Original Series and first 6 movies, I began to see certain interesting plot points and allusions. For example, there was an episode in TOS called "Journey to Babel" in which Spock's parents, Sarek and Amanda, visit him on the Enterprise. It is revealed that Sarek was not impressed toward Spock for rejecting the offer to be admitted into the Vulcan Science Academy and instead, join Starfleet. The scene in the movie shows how it all happened and why Spock made his decision to defy his father. Another example is the "Kobayashi Maru" scene - when I later saw Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan I was overjoyed that Star Trek explained how Kirk cheated to win it! It was little things like that which showed that at the very least, the people working on the movie knew their Star Trek lore (you can't say the say the same for video games-turned-movies or TV shows!). The portrayal of the original Enterprise crew is mostly hit than miss. I completely understand that these new actors and actresses CANNOT fully act like the originals and I feel to do so is missing the point. These characters were written with certain strengths, weaknesses, personalities, and histories and these new actors are doing their best to fulfill expectations. We have to keep in mind that this is a new generation of actors and their abilities are different. Chris Pine, for example, cannot act like William Shatner and we obvious know why he can't (insert laughter here!). But he does bring out the younger James T. Kirk with almost the same sense of intelligence, leadership, charisma, and even vulnerability as his older counterpart. Zachary Quinto does a pretty good younger Spock and he even got training by Leonard Nimoy himself. Speaking of which, having Nimoy is this movie was pure genius and great fan service! Karl Urban as McCoy was all right and given he is younger, is more impulsive than DeForest Kelly was. For this movie, I was not a fan of Zoe Saldana as Uhura but she does improve in the second movie. I find her too much a feminist type compared to Nichelle Nichols. Nichols simply sat and did her job professionally in the TV series and in the movies, takes a more active role without acting like a feminist who had to prove herself to her male superiors. Simon Pegg as Scotty is not too bad and I'd argue has more energy than James Doohan but Doohan has the charm and charisma that I love about him. John Cho is a more badass Sulu but I'd argue not as fun as George Takei. Still, I think he's good in the role. Anton Yelchin as Chekov is surprisingly better than Walter Koenig - in TOS. When Chekov was introduced in Season 2, I found him impulsive and annoying. But in the movies, he gets a lot better and I liked him! With that said, Yelchin portrays Chekov with less impulsiveness and would be preferred in TOS but Koenig makes up for it in the 6 movies. All the other characters (Pike, Sarek, etc.) do very well in their roles. As for the movie script itself, the series now has an alternate timeline and things are going to be a lot different. For some who think this is a sellout to cut off the original timeline so that TNG, DS9, Voyager, etc. never happened... I disagree. It means that they can continue but now the series can go in a different direction with a new timeline. This is no different than in The Legend of Zelda series which starts off with one timeline and by Ocarina of Time, it splits into 3 timelines. It can be confusing but it is how the various games fit into the canon so they all have something to contribute. The same may happen with Star Trek but we have to wait and see. A world of no Romulan and Vulcan could be very interesting indeed.
To see the Bum Review of Star Trek go here or below:
Click to view Star Trek Into Darkness
Taking place in 2259, four years after Star Trek, the USS Enterprise studies a primitive culture on the planet Nibiru. Captain Kirk and First Officer Spock save the planet's inhabitants from an extinction-threatening volcanic eruption, but Kirk violates the Prime Directive, exposing the Enterprise to the native inhabitants in an attempt to rescue Spock from the volcano. Returning to Earth, Kirk loses command of the Enterprise and Admiral Pike is reinstated as its commanding officer with Kirk demoted to first officer and the rank of Commander. The two attend a meeting to discuss the bombing of a Section 31 installation in London perpetrated by the renegade Starfleet operative John Harrison. Harrison attacks the meeting in a jumpship, killing Pike (sniff...). Kirk disables the jumpship, but Harrison uses a portable transporter to escape to Kronos, the Klingon homeworld. Admiral Alexander Marcus orders the Enterprise to kill Harrison, arming it with 72 prototype photon torpedoes, shielded and untraceable to sensors. Chief Engineer Scotty protests allowing the unknown torpedoes on the ship for safety reasons, threatening to decline the mission. With a hard choice, Kirk doesn't relent and replaces Scotty with Chekov. En route to Kronos, the Enterprise suffers an unexpected coolant leak, disabling the ship's warp capabilities. Kirk leads an away team with Spock and Uhura onto the planet, where they are ambushed by Klingon patrols. Harrison dispatches the Klingons, then surrenders after learning of the number of torpedoes locked on his location. Dr. McCoy and Marcus's daughter, Carol Marcus, open a torpedo at Harrison's behest, revealing a man in cryogenic stasis inside. Harrison reveals his own true identity as Khan, a genetically engineered superhuman awakened by Admiral Marcus from a 300-year suspended animation to develop advanced weapons for war against the Klingon Empire. Khan reveals Marcus sabotaged the Enterprise's warp drive, intending for the Klingons to destroy the ship after firing on Kronos, giving him an apparent moral justification to go to war with the Klingon Empire. The Enterprise is intercepted by a larger Federation warship, the USS Vengeance, commanded by Marcus. Marcus demands that Kirk deliver Khan, but the Enterprise, with a hastily-repaired warp drive, flees to Earth to expose Marcus. After the Vengeance intercepts and disables his ship, Kirk offers to exchange Khan and the cryogenic pods for the lives of his crew. Marcus forcibly transports Carol to the Vengeance and orders the Enterprise's destruction. The Vengeance suddenly loses power, having been sabotaged by Scotty, who infiltrated the ship after following coordinates relayed by Khan through Kirk. With transporters down, Kirk and Khan, with the latter's knowledge of the warship's design, space-jump to the Vengeance. Spock contacts his older self on New Vulcan, who warns him that Khan is ruthless and untrustworthy, and that in another reality (the events of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan), Khan was only defeated at a terrible cost. Meanwhile, after capturing the bridge, Khan overpowers Kirk, Scotty, and Carol, killing Marcus and seizing control of the Vengeance. Khan demands Spock return his crew in exchange for the Enterprise officers. Spock complies but surreptitiously removes Khan's frozen crew and arms the warheads. Khan betrays their agreement by critically damaging the Enterprise; however, the Vengeance is disabled when the torpedoes detonate. Kirk, Scotty, and Carol are simultaneously beamed aboard the Enterprise. With both starships caught in Earth's gravity, they plummet toward the surface. Kirk enters the radioactive reactor chamber to realign the warp core, saving the ship at the cost of his life. Spock arrives outside the chamber, witnessing Kirk's death and in a fit of emotion, screams for Khan. Khan crashes the Vengeance into San Francisco in an attempt to destroy Starfleet headquarters. Khan survives the crash and flees but Spock transports down in pursuit. McCoy discovers that Khan's blood has regenerative properties that may save Kirk. With Uhura's help in stunning Khan, Spock captures him and Kirk is revived. Nearly one year later, Kirk speaks at the re-dedication ceremony of the Enterprise and recalls the sacrifices made by the victims of Marcus's machinations where he recites the "Captain's Oath" monologue. Khan is sealed in his cryogenic pod and stored with his compatriots. Carol joins the crew of a recommissioned Enterprise as it departs on a five-year exploratory mission.
I saw this in June 2013 in theatres and I invited Shane to watch it with me though he had saw it before. Into Darkness is a fun Star Trek movie with plenty of action and heavy scenes. All the Enterprise crew return and we even get to see the Klingons - who actually look pretty cool that I was disappointed they cut out the scenes of them in the first movie! I was disappointed that Pike was killed as I was hoping he would be spared in this new timeline compared to his fate in TOS's "The Menagerie". Khan Noonien Singh originated from the TOS episode "Space Seed" and then The Wrath of Khan movie in the original timeline. Ricardo Montalbán was the original actor and while not as menacing as Benedict Cumberbatch is in this movie, he was certainly more poetic and confident (though he showed his menacing side in the "Space Seed" episode). Cumberbatch's acting is quite good and he is very intimidating. I just find it a little bizarre that they brought Khan in so early (in fact, he was resurrected 10 years before the Enterprise did in the original timeline) when it would have been better suited in maybe the future fourth movie or something. Before seeing the movie and knowing it was Khan, I thought the main villain was going to be Gary Mitchell, who gains god-like powers in the TOS episode "Where No Man Has Gone Before". Given the advertising and posters, it made it look like he would be a candidate given the destruction he was leaving behind. And of course, given the ethnic differences of Montalbán and Cumberbatch, you couldn't guess it was Khan at first. The "reverse death scene" with Kirk and Spock... I dunno, it doesn't hold the same emotional note that Wrath of Khan had. They were trying to re-enact it but it was not done too carefully and hearing Quinto scream "Khannnn!"... was unnecesaary. That honour should have stayed with Shatner because it was pure, perfect, Shatner. As for the ending... it was so quick and even I noticed this when I saw it in theatres (WTF?). The Enterprise crew have more use in this movie and we also get Carol Marcus too. In the original timeline and her introduction in Wrath of Khan, she was romantically involved with Kirk and bore a son whom was named David. I wondered why at the end of the movie, that they spared Khan and kept him and his "family" of superhumans in cryogenic sleep when they should just dump them in a volcano or something considering how dangerous they are! Wouldn't that guarantee everyone's survival? Sigh...
To see the Bum Review of Into Darkness go here or below:
For a much more opinionated review, Doug Walker and his brother Rob did two videos on Sibling Rivalry. Part 1 with no spoilers here or below:
And Part 2, Spoiler Corner, here or below:
Until the next movie, that's it for Star Trek movie reviews for now. I can now concentrate on Star Trek DS9...