Into Darkness

Hello Readers.

I hope you are all having a wonderful week!

Last night my roommate and I decided to go to see the newest Star Trek movie, Star Trek: Into Darkness. I was really excited, for many reasons. I loved the first movie, and was excited for the sequel, but also because watching Star Trek, even the re-boot, gives me a nostalgic feeling. When I was a kid, my father would watch the old Star Trek on T.V, and none of that "next generation" stuff, the classic, corny Star Trek that I have come to know and love. SO while my father would watch this, me being the Daddy's girl that I am, would sit there and watch it with him. While I didn't understand most of what was happening, I thought the characters looked and talked funny, and that was enough for me. So even just the name Star Trek gives me warm and fuzzy feelings, as it brings up memories and thoughts of my childhood and of my Dad, who I don't see often enough, being that I moved away to go to school. Now, that being said, I am happy that in these new movies, they aren't doing the cheesy and terrible one-liners from before, and that the effects are much better, (as to be expected as movie technology has advanced).

The movie did little things that made me laugh, mostly the throw-backs and fan-service that was put in there. Such as the "Dammit man, I'm just a doctor not a....", and the Vulcan "Live Long and Prosper" sign when Kirk and Spock were pressing their hands to the glass. As well as other moments. One of my favourites was how they got the old Spock, (Leonard Nimoy) to play Spock's Father was a nice touch.

I'm not sure how I feel about certain aspects of the movie, though. Firstly, if I'm not mistaken, in the original *****SPOILER ALERT******** it was Spock who was trapped behind the Plexiglas in the radiation, not Kirk. The whole conversation about their friendship after that was changed, but it was still heart-wrenching. The scene in this movie didn't make me tear up like the original series scene did. This little change kind of bothered me, but it also allowed Spock to seem bad-ass and to allow him to go and fight Khan with his fists and seem all cool, which was awesome. Spock is my favourite character, so I was pleased with his screen time. That was pretty much the only complaint I have about that movie, but even that may be off, because I am going from my fuzzy memory about how the shit went down in the original series.

I also loved the actors in this movie. Zachary Quinto (Spock) is one of my favourite actors. I loved him in Heroes, and his part in the second season of American Horror Story, where he played the serial killer. He is just awesome-sauce. He also plays my favourite character in Star Trek, so that couldn't hurt my love for him. He plays the role well too, which makes me happy inside.

Additionally, I am in love with Bennedict Cumberbatch. He is definitely one of my favourite British actors. I love him in the BBC series Sherlock, where he does an amazing rendition of Sherlock Holmes (a hero of mine). I first saw him in that BBC series. But since then, I have noticed him in movies such as War Horse, which I was delighted to find that he was a part of. He is an amazing actor. Also my knowledge that he has been/will be in The Hobbit, makes me nerd heart sing. (the Hobbit is one of my favourite books. Oddly enough I didn't like the Lord of the Rings books, but that is another post for another day). He was also in a TV series, Parades End, where he played a count that foolishly married a notoriously unfaithful woman. I loved his character in that as well.
Now after that tangent, I'll tell you what I thought about him as Khan. Khan is arguably my favourite Star Trek villain. He is a alien with super-human strength and intelligence. I love him because of his brain. I think Cumberbatch did an amazing job of playing Khan, even though the choice of using him was a little unexpected. I loved how in the new movie, they set up the story so that Khan and Kirk show parallels to each other, both are captains and both would do anything to save their crew. That is Khan's motivation for this movie at least, he is trying to protect and save his crew (whom he considers family) who have been essentially taken by the Star Fleet Commander, in order to get Khan to help him. This motivation is understandable and sets Khan up as a relateable villain, which I love. I am a sucker for the villain in most movies, and when they are relateable like Nolan made sure Khan was, I am putty. While Khan and his people aren't really that nice (exterminating any race that they deem  not "superior") he was shown to be caring and worried about his crew, and only really motivated by revenge and fear for his family.

So overall, I loved the new Star Trek movie. It was amazing, and really entertaining. I'd definitely recommend it, even to those who aren't Trekkies (not sure if I spelled that right).  I'd give it 4.8 stars out of 5. I really loved it, and the action was good and the funny moments made the movie worth watching. I would definitely watch it again.

If you have seen the movie, let me know what you think!

xoxoxo
Becca