Into Darkness Arrives – Poll & Open Thread


Vote and chat about Star Trek Into Darkness all weekend in sticky open thread.

 

Star Trek Into Darkness is here

The wait is finally over. Star Trek Into Darkness has finally arrived in North America. In addition the movie is opening up worldwide in a number of countries over the next couple of days including Columbia, Panama, Peru, Egypt, Lebanon, UAE, India, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Phillippines, Thailand, Croatia, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Latvia, Norway, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Sweden, and Ukraine.  So by Friday most of the world will now be able to see Into Darkness.

TrekMovie.com has already posted a review and now it is your chance. TrekMovie has created a new fan reviews page for Into Darkness.

POLL

We have created a new poll. Please only vote in the poll if you have actually seen the movie.

[poll id=”716″]

 

DISCUSS STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS (WITH ANY SPOILERS)

Below chat about the movie, including discussing any spoilers.

 

UPDATE: Discussion closed: Moved to new open thread

 

 

 

 

 

WARNING: This open thread is for people who have seen the movie. If you haven’t seen the movie you really shouldn’t be reading this as you are sure to get spoiled.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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I’ve already seen it in Sweden. xD

Shall we begin?

about 4 hours until the Star Trek double features start…

SPOILER REVIEW After a 4-year wait and a team of people so brilliantly talented, the one word I shouldn’t be using is “rushed”. Unfortunately “rushed” is the best word I can find to describe STID. It’s not terrible but it’s certainly not brilliant. – The film feels rushed – jumping from one scene to another. – The dialogue feels rushed – no time for character in between the action. – The plot feels rushed – is this the best they could do given so much scope? Now don’t get me wrong – I want to love NuTrek. I initially didn’t like the new-look ship and the ibridge. But I’ve come to terms with all of that and I think there’s so much good in this new universe: – The production values are better than we’ve ever seen before. – The actors are brilliant and I honestly don’t miss the original cast, however much they’ll always have a special place in my heart. – the dialogue is clever, witty, and faithful to the original. But there’s one area that I feel lets everything down, and I’m almost embarrassed to say it because I know Bob Orci reads these pages, and that is the writing. Not the dialogue writing but the basic plot ideas. The plot feels rushed (again) and lazy. What was probably intended to be an homage (Khan / reactor death etc) actually feels like a lack of originality. Why spend so much time and money in re-launching Star Trek, only to then fall straight back on to old villains and old ideas? In my opinion, Khan simply doesn’t work as a villain – his “vengeance” doesn’t really make sense and he’s not really the true bad guy. It feels like the writers took a load of random ideas and threw them all together: – Let’s do Khan! – Wouldn’t it be cool to do something with Section 31?!? – What about a huge starship?!? To carry on my problem with how unoriginal this film feels, many scenes are lifted from ST09: – Kirk fails and then succeeds (theme, not scene) – Kirk works out that it’s a trap (Ent bridge / Starfleet meeting) – Let’s punch it! – the ending – hanger bay before the mission – shuttle to the Enterprise – the big, bad, black enemy ship – and so many more… How sad that so many fans on this website came up with more original and more creative suggestions. That shouldn’t be possible! Ideas that really excited me prior to the film: – Gary Mitchell done with a big budget! – Captain April gone bad! – A renegade Starfleet officer! – A film that wasn’t about a bad guy wanting revenge! And yet we get a Khan who doesn’t really make sense. Marcus is the true bad guy. In fact, I spent most of the film thinking Khan might have been decent (at least that would have been original) but then he just falls into an unexplained stereotype… Whatever you may think of the original Star Trek films, at least they were varied in theme and plot: – TMP: An ancient probe looking for home – TWOK: A returning villain looking for revenge – TSFS: A mission to rescue a fallen colleague – TVH: A bit of time-travel fun – TFF: Klingons and a crazy but good-hearted Vulcan – TUC: A mission of peace and an internal threat And now we have: 09: Bad guy wants revenge in big, black ship 13: Bad guy wants revenge in big, black ship Seriously? OK, let’s change the record… Did anyone else feel like they’d seen the film before arriving at the cinema? Despite JJ’s desperation for secrecy, there were no surprises at all. We knew Khan was coming, we had seen the Vengeance, we’d even seen its demise which turned out to be the end of it. I was waiting for some surprises but none came my way, despite avoiding spoilers and just watching trailers. There was also no surprise in Kirk’s death and resurrection. The writers were never going to kill Kirk in Film#2 so there was no emotion and no surprise. It sounds like I hated STID and I didn’t; here’s what I liked: – the special effects – the actors – the nods to the original series – the costumes – the sets (yes, even engineering) – the characters (apart from Kahn, who was unnecessary) – the ships – the Klingons – the list could go on and on (it’s basically everything we see on screen) But why can’t we be treated to a brand-new, fantastically creative storyline? Do 4 years of wait and all that money deserve a re-hashed villain and a rushed and mixed-up plot? Couldn’t this new, wonderful, crew have stood on their… Read more »

I’ve seen it 5 times and I still can’t get enough of it! Seeing it again after work tomorrow!

At last we can discuss!
Saw it last Thursday her in Glasgow IMAX the UK and loved it.
It look beautifully shot – actors were great and loved the music
Im sure i heard a short refrain from TWOK near the very end of the film!
Anyone else?

And as for Khan – gotta admit that was a shocker for me – my Wife guessed it at the blood sample scene in the brig!

Worth the wait? Yes.. using Khan and all the stolen lines from TWOK? Yes i think so, my 20 and 22 years old daughters loved it and so did all my friends who are not huge trek fans – off to see it again next week – but in 2D this time.. 3D does my eyes in although I thought it was the best 3D I have seen in a film!

KHAAAAAAAAN!

I hated ST 2009. Never planned to watch the sequel, when my dad invited me to go with him, when I was visiting my parents (we have seen every film together since 1991 when I was at primary school).

Suffice to say. I enjoyed it. Yes, it had gapping plotholes, yes Khan was completely unnecessary, yes, the last quarter of the film could really have been completely different (I wonder how they dared to copy and paste TWOK and not expect criticism for this). But… on the contrary to 2009, it was dense, had a much better cinematography and actually felt like… well Star Trek. The scenes on the Enterprise, the use of the Enterprise, Kronos, Earth with its various beautiful locations… eye candy!

It is a popcorn flick, a 1000 times better than the 2009 film was (imho at least) and eventhough I won’t go to see it in cinemas again, I will actually get the Blu Ray to watch it at home occasionally.

Now I also see the problem with the reboot. Not JJ, not the cast, not even the redesign (the big E grew on me in this film… a shame they changed it after it almost crashed), the authors.

Since I know that Mr.Orci and Mr. Kurtzman are visiting this site… Please. Let someone go over your screenplay and check out for plotholes.
– When Kirk violates the prime directive by revealing the Enterprise, everyone ask him/herself… how did he NOT violate the prime directive when he took her UNDER water
– Why does Starfleet hold that emergency meeting in a conference room on the top of the skyskraper where instead they should go to a save bunker?
– Why doesn’t starfleet use a similar transwarp transporter to get their men on Kronos?
– What happens to the starbase when Vengence attacks the Enterprise?
– Why doesn’t McCoy use the blood of one of the 72 augments on board to revive Kirk? Answer: No hunt for Khan on Earth.
– Where are Starfleet security officers on Earth, or is Spock the only Starfleet personal left?

This is not nitpicking. It is totally obvious. Please avoid such huge mistakes in the sequel. And you will win me over completely.

I saw it only 4 times! Love it! So much goosebumps! Proud to love Trek

BC would have made a great villain, just not THAT one!

Khan Noonian Singh is, by ethnicity, a Sikh. What is a blue-eyed Home Counties boy doing playing Khan???

^@4 I’m finding it difficult to disagree with almost all of your points, I didn’t really have a problem with them doing Khan (The Dark Knight didn’t get slagged off for doing the Joker) my beef is the re-hashing of the Wrath of Khan scenes & dialogue – came across as a bit contrived and lazy (just like the Delta Vega scenes in 09). Maybe it’s a good thing JJ will be doing Star Wars instead of Trek 3, a dose or originality is what’s required for the next instalment, no question.

Flip side is the film is a balls out blockbuster thrill ride which as a cinematic experience is way better than Iron Man 3, and probably anything else this summmer.

@#4/ Dirty Harry
TNG movies implemented the villain concept. Nemesis, ST2009, STID even feels all the same. STID is a mixture of things we’ve already seen in ST2, ST7, ST10.

My minor gripes:

– The whole plot point of Kirk being Captain, then commander, then Captain for all of what felt like 10 minutes was awkward.

– The plot felt political, it felt like a lot of 9/11 Conspiracy theories you hear about, like how it was an inside job in order to set us up for a war in which we can take resources. That said, this will come across in later years a a movie that’s a product of its time, which is status quo for Trek.

– My only casting gripe with Khan was that he didn’t look anything like his counterpart. The rest of the crew I was fine with, especially since these are younger versions. Khan would have actually been older than Ricardo Montablan was in Space Seed at this point.

But, this is the internet, focus on the bad and ignore the good. Honestly, I loved it. To me it almost came across as really good fan fiction with enough action/adventure to keep the general audience’s interest.

Throwing in things like Section 31, a model of the NX-01, down to referencing Mudd from “Countdown to Darkness” and the Gorn c-section in the latest game made the fanboy inside of me totally happy.

4. Wanna go through an exercise?

Pitch me Wrath of Khan without using any names.

For example,

Star Trek Three:

We open on a man recently returned from a long voyage that ended in when he lost his best friend. Or so he thinks.

When the lost friend’s father pays our hero a visit, he informs him that there may yet be hope to save his friends life.

Unfortunately, there will be many obstacles. The authorities will not allow our hero to return to the site of the tragedy, and he defies orders with the help of his other friends to voyage to the location.

Unfortunately, while there, another set of travelers descends on the area looking for the very power that killed our hero’s fallen friend.

Also, I would have liked to have seen all that exposition played out instead of the speeches we got.

etc…

get the idea?

Unfortunately, I thought that Leonard Nimoy’s cameo was a complete waste. Basically he was there to tell the audience not familiar with Trek lore that Khan is dangerous – just in case there was anybody left who hadn’t figured that out by that point in the movie. Other than that he didn’t add anything to the story.

@4 – Best review and assessment I have read to date. Well said.

Seeing it tonight, will cross post my review here, if anyone cares.

@15

Pitching is a separate skill. The question of originality is distinct; is this film adding to the canon or rearranging previously seen parts?

Of course, that has nothing to do with my enjoyment. Trek is a genre, not simply a story or even a series of stories. It is formula by design: as you know, being such a Trekker, Roddenberry’s logline to NBC was ‘Wagon Train To the Stars,” so it was always deriving from something else, in particular western tropes.

I loved the “remix” quality of your earlier movie, actually.

For Mr Orci, if he has the stomach to come here:

I love it. Love it love it love it. Thank you, to everyone involved. I think your choices were brave and bold and truly fascinating. I love the mirroring of WoK, the death a singular event imbued with such different meaning and purpose this time. Shout out to Simon Pegg, whose Scotty is a revelation. He’s not comic relief, there is an astonishing humanity and vulnerability there. Shout out to Bruce Greenwood – Pike’s death is gutting, heart-wrenching without a word spoken. His scenes with Pine are wonderful. I could go on and on and on. Do I think your film is perfect? No. There are some structural issues I could quibble on, even though I see why you did what you did. But on balance? You achieved something fabulous. Please, please, be pleased and proud of yourselves. Don’t let the hate diminish you.

I haven’t seen it yet but I am concerned about the alleged plot holes. We waited four years for them to “Do it right” and there’s what sounds like pretty big plot holes?

STAR TREK II – THE WRATH OF KHAN

A man is coming to the end of his successful career and is at a loose end.

An old adversary reappears and swears revenge.

Our protagonist gets a distress call from somebody he once loved and heads out, surrounded by youth, to investigate.

On the way, he meets a son he never really knew who has been working (with his mother, our hero’s lost love) on a device which creates life from nothing.

In a last ditch attempt to destroy our hero, the villain unleashes said device, but in order to escape, our hero’s best friend sacrifices his life.

Through his grief, our hero is grateful for what he has now, and realizes that instead of autumn, it could quite possibly be spring.

Time for a new writing team.

Rehash, retread, rework….how about something ORIGINAL?

And as for people associating “nuTrek” and better production values with things such as the “iBridge”, etc….we could have better production values WITHOUT poorly designed command centers and spacecraft (bright lights aimed directly into the faces of the crewmen at their stations? Really?!)

I’ve had enough of it. I’m ready for someone else’s take on Trek. The dialog is great between the main characters, but I’m so done with the rest.

have you folks ever heard of PLASTIC SURGERY!

Have to say that I agree with a lot of what @Dirty Harry said – particularly the lack of originality.

I was mildly disappointed that Khan was chosen to be a villain, although I can understand it as he is the only Trek villain that the general public is likely to have heard of, and overall I do think the interpretation of Khan was different enough to work.

However, my main issue was once it became obvious that basically the entire reactor scene from TWOK was going to be reused (okay, with a twist) – it may have been intended as an homage, but to me it felt more like a blatant rip-off. Further, knowing that there is going to be a third film makes it inconceivable that Kirk would truly die – so his resurrection was obvious (as was the method).

Up until that point, I was really enjoying the film – but the inclusion of that scene just kind of ruined it somewhat (NB I know “ruined” reads harshly, and “ruined” isn’t what I really mean, but I’ve been thinking about how to express this for a couple of days and have yet to find a decent way to accurately articulate my exact thoughts about this).

Maybe a second viewing will let me finalise my opinion, but at the moment disappointing is a word that I am associating with this – which is a shame as it wouldn’t have occurred to me to be disappointed half way through.

I think 4. Dirty Harry – May 15, 2013
has some valid points.

Here is my take on the movie:
https://trekmovie.com/into-darkness-fan-reviews/#5095304

21. NICE!

Morals are back. Parallels to current controversial events are back. This film has an ethical message, and is therefore very much classic Trek!
But… Klingons appear for a mere minute or so. Space battles are over after just a few seconds. The FSNP is done with only 3 instead of 5 fingers.
Seriously, it’s a good movie with a classic Trek theme. I still kinda like TVH and FC better. Into Darkness is certainly better than the last one, though.
Yes, the hommage scene was weird, and the cameo a joke (how does this information help?!). A british guy ruling over India also feels wrong, historically speaking. And why have a cybernetic crewman if he only gets 200 ms of screen time and one line? Why let the Vengeance sound like a propeller plane? Why does 31 now have crazy blue-gray suits? Despite these disappointments, it is a very pleasing experience to see Section 31 on the big screen, or to spot that little XCV 330 model and even a little Gemini capsule and an A4 rocket. The ‘Kelvin Memorial Archive’ was a nice subtle reference to the last film. The torpedoes (thank you for changing pink to red) could have been inspired by the TNG tech manual.
And for the magic-haters: It was not magic. He wasn’t dead, only fatally injured. The enhanced thrombocytes healed his body, while his brain function was preserved in cryostatis. So there was no supernatural revival and we won’t have Jesus Tsombie Kirk in the next one ;D
Watch it if you’re a fan of classic Trek morality tales, if you like references to previous Trek, or if you enjoy little things like a cable car in 2259 San Francisco. Avoid it if you’re only interested in epic space battles. I guess it’s a film more suited for politically interested adults than people who expect mindless phaser fights. Which is a good thing!

@4. Dirty Harry

what the hell is wrong with you?

I am still NOT reading anything TrekMovie or otherwise (till next week).

Scrub that last post…

This one’s official.

I am still NOT reading anything TrekMovie or otherwise (till next week).

Leonard Nimoy, Rod Roddenberry, LeVar Burton and more said it was awesome and Chris Doohan even said it is the best Star Trek to date!

So stop wasting your time hating on this Movie! These people know their shit!

I dont get the beef with the TWOK scene rehash. I really dont. They are similar but they are DIFFERENT. Kirk deals with death in both cases but they are dissimilar because he is on the receiving end this time. And it ties into the unique story arc of Spock and Kirk in the Abramsverse.

So yeah, watch the movie and enjoy the ride.

Bob… I still think you’ve missed a trick here.
When do we get to see the Keesner Christmas special on planet Keesner, celebrating life day? Scotty forces the enterprise to drop him off while the crew enjoy shore leave. Said story closes with Kirk, Spock , and crew singing together the traditional life day tune, last bum note reserved for Keesner! Cut to Scotty, “see”…..”I told ya he could sing”… Fade as crew laugh in unison .

It’s a hit! :)

@28 – Just because my opinion is clearly different from your own, it does not mean that there is anything “the hell” wrong with me. I’m only here for adult and open-minded discussion and apologise if that offends you.

@15 – Mr Orci Sir, I am genuinely humbled to talk to you. Despite my obvious criticisms, I can only dream of doing what you do and take my hat off to you from the other side of the Atlantic! :-)

I’d be happy to do what you ask but am on a tablet and about to get some sleep. 21 summed it up beautifully, shall we continue or do you want my take?

The jabs about originality are hilarious especially from Star Trek fans who should know better.

Instead those arguments come off like “I’m mad cause you used a bad guy I liked a lot from other movies and shows and recasting him is a crime”.

There are only so many kinds of stories you can tell, in fact some people think we have told every conceivable story and everything else is just a variation on a theme. Name a great Star Trek movie and I can name another story that is borrows from.

Heck even Star Trek shows have copied episodes and themes from one another. How man TOS episodes where there that shared similar themes?

Originality needs to be forgotten about at the core of a story. The originality comes in how the story is told. In that way I’m sure a lot of this movie is original.

go to bed! I’ll be here all week;)

@ 5. Ciarán You are crazy! lol :D thats awesome, ill probably end up seeing it 5 times myself.

@ 31. JohnRambo Amen brother!

All you naysayers, you’re just so pathetic and bitter and I bet your all 40+ years old, “those kids and their damned music” kind of attitude. You got old and forgot how to have youthful fun, how to appreciate something fast paced and exhilarating. I wish I could describe to you how sick and tired I am of reading your complaints about these new Star Trek movie. 81% of the votes are combined of best, great or good and only 19% say its ok, bad, or worst…..what does that tell you? And don’t say you are part of the discerning few, it would be overly cliche statement. Sorry but majority wins! I love how rushed this movie is, its a roller coaster ride, you don’t have time to catch your breath and I love that!

@ boborci, well done! Another fantastic movie! Thank you.

John Harrison is Mugato.

How can anyone in their right mind describe this as the worst Star Trek film ?

Damn Negative Nancy’s.

boborci, I loved the movie beyond imagination! Thank you for giving us this fantastic Star Trek movie and I hope you can deliver an even better-again Star Trek movie in 2016 for the 50th anniversary!

@39 man…never saw that coming! Ha

@boborci, many thanks for a great Star Trek movie. I and my family thoroughly enjoyed it and hope you will stay on for the next instalment.

Live long and prosper.

@37 No, son, I know BAD writing when I see/hear it and know damn well how to have plenty of fun without drugs or booze. I was having more fun than your disrespectful sorry a$$ would know what to do with before you were an itch in your daddy’s pants. I’m sick and tired of sissified, pathetic candy asses like you who excuse a poor screenplay because the finished product looks neat. But then again you probably weren’t even paying attention because you were too busy playing with your frikkin’ phone, texting your mommy that you put out the trash before you skipped your way to the theater.

It’s a free country and we all have our opinions. I won’t tell you what yours should be so don’t tell me you don’t want to hear mine. Don’t want to read about it, then go to some other site.

I don’t think anybody posting here does so because they hate Star Trek or want the movie to fail. Neither do I believe that anybody here wants to hate on the movie team. However, I do believe fans should be able to express their own opinions and feelings – critical or not – without being insulted.

I hold Star Trek films to a higher standard than other movies. That is not fair to the film’s creators, but for me it has been such a huge source of inspiration and hope when I was young. I want it to be the same thing for future generations. I can’t say for sure, but I believe I probably would not have become a scientist, if not for Star Trek. For most films today it’s “brains off, fun on”. That’s ok. Frankly, I can forgive quite a lot. However, I was kind of hoping that the new Trek would a bit less “style over substance” than the last one.

I’m in the UK and I’ve seen the movie twice now. For starters, if you can see this film in IMAX 3D do it! I’ve seen quite a few films in IMAX 3D now and hands down STID has them all beat hands down… It truly is an immersive, almost visceral experience in this format, with the final ‘warp out’ one of my new favourite cinema images.

After my first viewing I must say I left the cinema disappointed. Not because STID is a bad movie, it’s far from it, but because of the big reveal. I went into this film having heard all the rumours about who was playing whom, and also with the denials of every person involved in making it. And so, when the moment in the brig arrives and John Harrison reveals his true identity… It completely removed me from the film. I didn’t think “wow what a twist!” I also didn’t think “what?!? Who” all I could think was “really? They rebooted the entire franchise, created an alternate timeline and this is pretty much the first thing they do with it?!” And that is all I could concentrate on for the rest of the film! And as such, I was completely removed from everything after.

So, instead of declaring any hatred or bile, I saw the film a 2nd time just a few hours later… And knowing what was coming, I was able to enjoy this film much more than I did on my initial viewing. As I said at the start, no film has impressed me as much as this film has in 3D (as a rule I’m not a fan of 3D) and when the IMAX format is added to it… The film really does look massive and real and epic in a way no Star Trek film has to me before.

I genuinely believe that all the well deserved praise that Benedict Cumberbatch is getting, and he is incredible… is detracting from a threesome of great performances in this film: Chris Pine has never been better! His ability to portray the arrogance of Kirk, the slight immaturity of Kirk against the heartbreak of Kirk in the aftermath of Harrison’s attack on Starfleet or The moment in the bar where Pike tells Kirk he has faith in him and you see Chris Pine physically holding back the emotion gave me goosebumps. I do think Chris Pine is a more assured actor this time round, and his growth in the last 4 years is Kirk’s growth… For me, he is Kirk. Zachary Quinto as Spock is another revelation, everything he does in this film is perfection (with the exception of the khan moment in engineering… Sorry but both times it made me laugh and not in a good way) every line, every look, every mild facial expression is so perfectly executed that its almost breathless to watch him bring Spock to life. Lastly Simon Pegg, sadly underused in the last film is a joy in this one. People will say the words ‘comic relief’ in relation to him, to Scotty… And that barely does it justice. He is amazing in this film, the character becoming less comedic and more moralistic… The man we all would be if we were in space! And lastly, the Big E herself… Some people don’t like her on the outside, some don’t like her on the inside but for me, actually getting too see her, see more of her this time round was a big thrill. In the first film I didn’t really believe they were on a starship… This time round she was almost a character herself, more enterprise interiors please.

So after all my rambling I shall say… It took two viewings but I got there. Great performances all round from all actors, great direction from J.J Abrams, and a great script. Could it have been better, yes of course it could have but then again, so could every other film ever made (with few exceptions) Has it made me want to turn my back on Star Trek, a franchise I have loved for 20years? Not a chance! Do I feel like its a part of the Star Trek I have loved for 20years? As my fave Scot might say “Too bloody right it does!” Even if it took two viewings to get there.

@44 are you John Harrison?!!

Pretty magical that Khan & Kirk have the same blood type…

Overall, entertaining and fun, but there’s some serious room for ORIGINALITY and improvement. Benedict is super as always. It may look cool, but I still have a bug about the “super star destroyer” of Star Trek. It’s a bit silly.

Don’t even get me started about the rehashed plot.

Good for an afternoon with a bucket of buttered popcorn.

@ bob orci

Who decided on the TWOK elements & why IMO you hurt the movie that way you did a great job in 2009 & created the 2nd best ST movie ever so why the sudden change now after spending all that time/money setting up a semi new universe in 09!

Its not logical is it all you had to do was something more original now you have upset some fans (like me) just for the sake of it the TWOK elements added nothing positive did they it could have been anything & just made me come out of the movie altogether when I should have been crying over the death scene!

Just redeem yourself on the next one please go original story only again!!

Thanks for listening

#26 Cheers, Bob!