From July 13, 2013
SCORE: A
I loved it! JJ does it again. (I can’t wait for his take on Star Wars!!!!!!!)
While not as fresh as 2009’s ‘Star Trek’, ‘Star Trek Into Darkness’ is a great sci-fi/action film.
There’s some ambiguity about the plot involving a terrorist attack, but the majority of the movie is spot-on.
The entire cast does a great job all around. Benedict Cumberbatch plays exactly who everyone on the interest thought he would, but I won’t spoil is for you. You also get to see Klingons AND Tribbles! Sweet! I also liked seeing Peter Weller in this film, who everyone of my generation might recognize as RoboCop.
I love the opening of the film, playing on the notion of ancient aliens and the Prime Directive. (Oh, Kirk, first you fuck with the Kobiyashi Maru test, now you fuck with the Prime Directive. You rascal! What will you do next?) I really liked that the planet in the beginning was even named Naibiru, which comes from the name of an ancient Sumerian name that writer Zecharia Sitchin states was the name of a planet that the Sumerians thought the Anunnaki came from. Good one, writers.
I love the twist in the film about who dies and who screams the infamous cry of William Shatner’s character, and how it echoes the second Star Trek film from the 1980s.
However, the film has garnered its fair share of controversy. From wikipedia: “The film was criticized for a scene with Alice Eve's character in her underwear, which was called "wholly unnecessary" and "gratuitous". Screenwriter and producer Damon Lindelof apologized on Twitter for the scene: "I take responsibility and will be more mindful in the future". On Conan, Abrams addressed the matter by debuting a deleted scene of Benedict Cumberbatch's character taking a shower. Eve addressed the underwear controversy at a 2013 Las Vegas Star Trek Convention and said, "I didn’t know it would cause such a ruckus. I didn’t feel exploited."
