Another Reason Why Red "Doesn't Speak Klingon"

SPOILER ALERT!
If you intend to watch Star Trek: Into Darkness, you may want to skip this post. Thanks for stopping by, but fair warning is fair warning.
I will not give away any plot points, but "some people" don't like knowing anything about a movie before watching it. (I love you, Brett!)

My Movie Whore has been sadly neglected of late, what with my big move and all. I hadn't even intended to let her out of her shell yet, but partway through the movie, I could stifle her no longer, pulled out a pen, and started jotting notes in the dark. SO...

First, with all respect to my beloved, I LOVE Benedict Cumberbatch! So worth watching the movie just for him.

John Harrison...aka...


Oh, it's not a physical attraction thing, no-no. I think if I ever met Benny-boy face-to-face, I'd probably find him too skinny, too aloof, and his piercing eyes would make me uncomfortable. Not my type. But I swoon over his acting talent.

Always great to see on screen, Benedict Cumberbatch does not disappoint in Star Trek. He gives his character such life, such passion...  His brand of villainy is the kind where you love to hate him, even while he makes you sympathize with his cause.(if you've read anything about the movie at all, you know he's the villain.)

Actually, Mr. Cumberbatch would have made a great Spock.


Nimoy on the left, Quinto right. Wouldn't Cumberbatch be  better?


I am not a fan of Zachary Quinto's Spock. Leonard Nimoy breathed life into Spock. Even to this day, Nimoy makes you care about Spock, logical as he is. Quinto's Spock is...dry. Even his rare exhibits of humanity feel somehow "alien".

(Jim Parsons would even have made a better Spock, IMHO, but since Big Bang Theory was already running before this Star Trek series began, it would have just been ironic.)

This is a good action movie. Kind of like the last Star Trek. You don't have to be a Trekkie to get into the action sequences. Good fights. Great villain. Iconic characters.

Characters:

Aside from Spock, I still appreciate the casting of this crew! I have loved every Star Trek captain I've known: TOS' Kirk, TNG's Picard, Chris Pine as Kirk. Okay, I guess that chica who was Captain in Voyager didn't light my fire, but I didn't watch it much, so don't remember her much.

Bones? Pretty even, but I gotta give Karl Urban the nod for Dr. McCoy. Possibly I just identify better because we're nearer in age, possibly I just find him hot as Eomer from LOTR. He won me with his first dialog in the last movie, when he explained his new nickname "...all I got left is my bones." Haha.

Scotty? Even-Steven. Love Simon Pegg, but this character is all in the writing, I think. The original Scotty made me laugh just as much. But I have to say, I LOVE Scotty.

Uhura? I love that she's a bigger role now, but that kind of gets watered down by her mushiness in the new romance created for this series. Nichelle Nichols wins by a nose. (Through no fault of Zoe Saldana, who is exceptional.) It's just the new character-twist that bugs me.

John Cho as Sulu ROCKS!

Sulu rocks. Again, seems to have a bigger role now, so overshadows George Takei's take on the role. But this new Sulu? ROCKS! If you're not a Star Trek fan, you should become a fan of John Cho, and watch these Star Trek movies for him.




Random notes from the Movie Whore:
"42". There was an homage - surely intentional, in a sci-fi movie like this - to Douglas Adams' "ultimate answer" as defined in the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. (Unfortunately, the line was before the Movie Whore made me start taking notes, so I can't remember how they used it. "Suite 42"? "42 days"? No idea. The Movie Whore's gonna make me watch it again.)

They are flying a shuttle early in the film, which from a distance resembles the Millennium Falcon from Star Wars - (RESEMBLES! I said RESEMBLES! When they come in close, it's too bulbous-y to really look like it, but the overall shape is similar, and the maneuverability seems akin. Geez! Take it easy!) If the resemblance is intentional, kudos for connecting to both HHGG and Star Wars. If not, happy coincidence.

This movie does ascertain to me however, that I am more of a Star Wars fan than a Trekkie... In case there was any doubt. The storyline of Star Wars in continuous, and - complain about the acting all you want - it goes from beginning to end. Star Trek is a bit more disjointed. Like episodes of a TV show.

Huh. Go figure. 

Nice one, Gene Roddenberry. Well-played.

Finally, I doubt there is a soul alive in the Western world who could deny the iconic status of the Star Trek theme music.

The new theme (during closing credits) by Michael Giacchino incorporates the original, but with punch.

FINALLY, finally, the dedication at the end choked me up. 'nuff said.

AND... I made a comment about this movie within the last week or so on facebook that elicited an odd response.
...Now I am very confused, and must watch Wrath of Kahn to understand the response.