Yes, that includes you two.
About two weeks ago, my dad took Zach and I to see a special IMAX 3D showing of Star Trek Into Darkness, a day before I thought it opened. Still not sure how that happened. I'd been looking forward to this movie basically since the time I found out about it when I got home from my mission last year. When all was said and done, all three of us were stunned. To put it gently, we absolutely loved it. All the way home we were as giddy as school children, quoting lines back and forth, soaking in the plot and development, and still having our minds boggled by the incredible special effects. Those of you who know me well will know that I don't say this lightly; I haven't felt like that after leaving a movie since The Dark Knight.
For that reason I was puzzled beyond all belief when I heard some not so flattering reviews from the media and even close friends and fellow bloggers (his name rhymes with Watt Mebb). Then to make matters worse, the movie failed to meet the steep box office expectations that it was faced with, seemingly validating the voice of the critics. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, including me, so I'd like to explain why I thought Star Trek Into Darkness was a perfect 10.
1. CHARACTERS WERE STRONG AND EMOTIONAL
Try as I might I couldn't find a picture of them all together without director J.J. Abrams. Stop being so selfish J.J.
One of the strengths of the original Star Trek series was the characters. Lot's of people like the crews of other TV shows, but for me it doesn't get any better than the original, headlined by Kirk, Spock, and Bones. J.J. Abrams nailed the casting in 2009's Star Trek. Each and every character is true to the original depiction without being complete mirror images. I personally loved the little tweaks made here and there, such as a more renegade Kirk and a Spok-Uhura romance.
Into Darkness only pushed these characters into great new places. Last time around we got to see the meeting of all these characters, and this time relationships were furthered in emotional ways. It was cool to see Spok and Uhura's relationship progress to the fighting and bickering stage, and to see how awkward having an emotional relationship with a Vulcan must be. Best of all was the progression of the Kirk-Spok bromance. The appeal of these two has always been the fact that they're almost opposites in how they handle things, but over time have become great friends and an incredibly effective team. In Into Darkness we saw them start as co-workers beginning to like each other, and by the end got to see their full friendship bloom, culminating in Spok finally calling Kirk "Jim." Without spoiling anything, the entire moving had many emotional character interactions. This crew has great chemistry, and you really start to see them as a family that has many differences, but comes together to work for the greater good.
2. DUMB? HOW?
Does this look like a stupid face to you?
A common complaint that I've seen scattered across the internet is that Into Darkness was big and dumb, and had lots of plot holes. This more than anything is the critique that infuriates me. Maybe I myself am just dumb (entirely likely) but I found the movie to be thought provoking. By the end I was thinking about the themes of the movie just as much as the action and effects. I think a lot of people have fallen into the trap of automatically equating fights and explosions with lack of intelligence. This can be true (see Transformers 2) but not always. Into Darkness had a lot going on, I won't argue with that. From start to finish it was a roller coaster ride of action and plot development, barely giving viewers a chance to breathe. But that does not mean it was a dumb action movie. There's a lot more going on. There were questions about the morality of revenge, regulations vs. conscience, friendship, and dealing with terrorism. I thought there was actually quite a lot to think about.
The plot was not predictable and had me guessing to the very end. Everything made perfect sense to me, and any seeming plot holes or unbelievable choices can be explained by the inexperience of the young crew. As for the homage to a certain famous old Star Trek movie, I loved it. Some people were bothered, but I thought it was a clever and well-done reference to what came before, especially since the movie being paid tribute to is widely considered the Star Trek holy grail. It also goes along perfectly with J.J. Abrams parallel reality idea; this crew and timeline will be different from the original, but a lot of what happened to the original crew can and should happen, with slight tweaks and variations.
And lets not forget that when Star Trek tries to get too cerebral and brainy, this happens.
Bleh.
3. UNDENIABLY FUN
Maybe the strongest argument for Into Darkness is that it's a total blast. This movie is an incredible mixture of action, emotion, effects, and humor. Sound familiar? The Avengers is a similar fun experience, and I would argue that Into Darkness gives you a lot more to think about. Characters like Scotty and Bones are hilarious, space battles are intense, and physical confrontations are pulse-pounding and brutal. By my reasoning, there's only three possible explanations as to how someone could walk away from this movie with a negative impression; 1. Like my beloved mother, they just don't like Star Trek. 2. They went in looking to do nothing but critique. 3. They drank a huge bottle of pickle juice right before hand.
"Now I'm ready to go see that stupid spaceship movie..."
Star Trek Into Darkness was a fantastic movie, and by far the best that I've seen this year (and dare I say it, better than anything in the last few years). I personally invite all within the sound of my keyboard to explain to me otherwise.
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