Star Trek: Into Darkness–It Should Have Been a Whole Lot Better

I love Star Trek. Please do not take this the wrong way, but this movie could have been made a lot better. The story line is good– although there are times I was left scratching my head and saying “WTH?” to myself.
There are two villains in here. First you have Benedict Cumberbatch who does an EXCELLENT job of portraying Khan. It is hard to imagine him as Khan if you grew up watching the original series and saw “The Wrath of Khan“…However, he does make that part his own in a sense. One thing the viewer may come away with is a strange sense of empathy for his reasoning because it does have some logic.

This character is not just simply a “madman” hell-bent on getting even with Kirk, as portrayed in earlier versions. Cumberbatch actually gives Khan a high degree of intelligence, cunning and an ice-cold demeanor, whereas in earlier versions Khan was much more emotional. A viewer really cannot predict Khan in this one either. Other characters are used for that purpose and that is also a good thing!  However what led to the feud with Kirk from the original story line is totally absent. They wrote in a new reason for it. If you go to this, you’ll see what I mean. It could have something to do with the timeline being messed with in the 2009 version.

Then you have Peter Weller. I have seen a lot of Peter Weller’s work and he is usually top-notch, but I felt that as Marcus, he was over the top in some of those scenes. This is the character that should have been the “greater villain”/”God Character” but this is role where he came off as “not believable” for lack of a better description. That character was also written to be too predictable. I like being surprised and I was not surprised with that character’s actions. I think the fault for this lies with J.J. Abrams. Anytime that happens, it’s usually direction that is the cause of it.

As usual, Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto and the actors portraying those we all grew up watching did a great  job in this film. They are the main reasons I’ll get the DVD. I was really impressed with how Scotty (Simon Pegg) actually ends up being what I call the “God Character” here. His character knows what is best and finds out what is really going on at times–so some of this story line is revealed through him. Writing-wise it is a good strategy to use him for that since the writing with the Marcus character left much to be desired.

The other issue I had with the film is that there is some mirroring of Wrath of Khan with a bit of role reversal. One will know what I mean when they see the film so this is not a spoiler. I felt that the writers should have had a little more restraint with that tactic and more originality. Something needed to be fresh and different from what we know of as viewers in that sense, but I feel that this was a set up for a later film.

I do not understand why in the world there is a scene in this movie where Alice strips down to her underwear while Kirk is in the room.  She makes him turn around, but the funny thing is, she really didn’t change clothing.  The dress she put on may have been a different color.  It’s not like she put on any special gear.

The acting was great! Don’t get me wrong there, but it is obvious that the writers borrowed way too much from “The Wrath of Khan“. I do like how they made Khan more cunning and cold–less emotional. For that reason, Benedict Cumberbatch deserves some kudos. For those who have not seen the “Wrath of Khan” you’ll probably love the whole thing! For those who have and grew up watching Star Trek, you’ll find that there is too much borrowing from the 1980 movie script with no sign as to what originally led to the feud between Kirk and Khan. For a movie that takes place in the early days of the Enterprise crew, that was disappointing. And then there are those who love action–period…They will love it too.
While there is non-stop action and a good story going on here, I feel it could have been told without all the references to the other film. I do like how the Klingons were portrayed. They rocked! Get ready for the next sequel. Let us hope that it follows the 2009 version in terms of originality. This film does not ruin the franchise by any stretch because it is good, it is just that it could have been so much better. Maybe next time…

Movie Critics are a Waste of Time and Energy…

I have very little respect for most movie critics…Why?  Most of them can’t act themselves, so they resort to slashing other actors with a pen and call themselves “experts” in the entertainment field.  I feel that the critics in the UK are the epitome of what snobbery is. Case in point: “William and Kate”–the Lifetime movie that aired tonight.  Not ONE word was said about bad acting for the most part–but they did slam the filmmakers for casting an American as Kate–and for filming it in L. A. Can anyone say “regional bias” because that is exactly what their writing reflects.  One made up his mind that the hated the movie before he ever watched it–and admitted it in his own review.  Guess what!? All of them were from the U.K.!  These were probably the same type of reporters that trashed Sarah Ferguson and chased Diana into the tunnel in Paris.  Sorry, but they make themselves sound like that.

In my opinion, even a movie that gets panned has good points in it.  Is there any critic really going to argue with me over the fact that Ben Cross probably made Prince Charles look pretty damned good?  Hell, he should be knighted for having the cojones to take that part!   One reviewer even complained because Mr. Cross didn’t “look like” Prince Charles.  You know what?  That one is right! Cross looked a hell of a lot better!  The Prince should be flattered and honored.

I get so sick and tired of these social nematodes that disguise themselves as writers and then try to elevate their status by ranting and raving over a movie when the public doesn’t give a flying rat’s ass what they think.  Why do editors even pay them?  Want to save some money? Fire them all.  The same holds true for music critics.  I know this much, if I were an actor, I wouldn’t even read the damned reviews.  I would probably be of the opinion that as long as I have my fan base and I get paid, I would most likely not give two shits about what some critic thinks.

As for Mr. Cross, he does not short change his fans.  Period!  He has a worldwide fan base and there are many movie watchers who adore his work.  Instead of you critics bitching and moaning all the time–why don’t you look at what the ACTORS and ACTRESSES are doing right and put something positive in those articles?  They wouldn’t find their way into the bird cages (or the litter boxes) so quickly if you did.  Hopefully this will lead to a lot more work for Mr. Cross because he is an actor who has been largely ignored and immensely under-appreciated for at least 3 decades now.  Hollywood! What the hell is wrong with you?  There are not many actors of his caliber left.  I suggest you give him the chance that he so richly deserves. 

This man is definitely long overdue for a few kudos.  He does have range and that is a lot more than I can say for a lot of his younger counterparts at the moment.  I, for one, would love to see him paired up with Matthew McCaughnehey.  Mr. Cross is one actor I will pay for the ticket to go see–not the headliners.  You can bet on that.  He is the only reason I got out to see Star Trek when it came out.  I never was impressed with the shows “Heroes”, “Lost” or the like on TV so I would have never paid to see Zachary Quinto.  Sorry, but that’s the way it is.  Everyday people have different tastes and movie critics fail to see that on a grand scale.  Quinto was great in that movie, by the way.  However, one can rest assured that if Ben Cross was not in that movie, I would have waited for the dvd.  Producers and directors need to pay more attention to the everyday fans instead of these paid crybabies who have nothing better to do than to complain.  It really does get old.

Have a great week folks! I’ll get off of my soapbox now.

Hey Hollywood! Put this guy to work while you can. You don't realize it but his fan base is bigger than you think. He deserves recognition!