I tried posting here with my opinions about a year ago, but the board wouldn't work, so I'll just say my ideas now. First, I absolutely hate how Khan was turned into a White British guy. Why couldn't they hire an Indian actor? The whole movie just felt like they didn't know what they wanted to do. First we have some cool stuff about the Klingons, which I wish they had continued, and then we get the redo of Space Seed, but not as good. I rewatched The Wrath of Khan some time ago and was far more impressed than I thought I would be. I was watching the original series a couple years ago but eventually just stopped, and watching Wrath of Khan was like seeing only the best of the original series. The pacing was very nice as well, I especially liked that conversation that Kirk and McCoy had earlier in the movie. So yeah, these reboots just don't do it for me. You guys all point out the many reasons why they're just so disappoint and unfulfilling.
Wrath of Khan is something else in its own right. Nevermind the scifi element but the Shakespearean persona of a very seasoned, Ricardo Montalban. Kirk's desperation and Khan's vengeance it was a perfectly written dichotomy. Into Darkness just came off as desperate, I got no sense of genuine anger out of spock. lol
ShadowDancerWhen I say, "Why aye, gadgie," in my heart I say, "Och aye, laddie."London, UK
To be honest, I found the angry Spock thing in Into Darkness very out of place. It felt very forced, and very sudden. I never got the feeling prior to it that he cared about Kirk that much, so it just felt very much like the writers were shoehorning it in to fit with what they wanted
My biggest issue with the reboot is that the whole Kirk/Spock friendship is forced. Like, they're friends because they were friends in the original series. If you disregard the original series, as if it never existed, nothing in the reboots would indicate that they would like each other *at all*. The audience just accepts they are friends because they were in the original. The context isn't right.
ShadowDancerWhen I say, "Why aye, gadgie," in my heart I say, "Och aye, laddie."London, UK
That's exactly what I was trying to articulate! Just not as well!
It's been awhile since I watched it but I always got the impression that Kirk's episode of TOS isn't their first mission. It's just the first one we see.
With JJ Trek, we see it's the first time Kirk and Spock meet. They hate each other at first (I actually find that believable in those films) and then they're supposed to be best friends by the end? Yeah it felt too quick and forced to me as well.
The new films also failed to get the whole Kirk, Spock and McCoy dynamic right. Spock offering his cold, logical perspective, while McCoy brought a passionate and human side to things, with Kirk then having to find a balance between the two to solve whatever crisis they were in.
While I think McCoy is fairly true to that in JJ Trek, it's hard to believe Spock is cold and logical when he keeps going into fits of rage and smashing things. He's not supposed to be The Hulk.
ShadowDancerWhen I say, "Why aye, gadgie," in my heart I say, "Och aye, laddie."London, UK
McCoy is the only one I think they've really gotten fairly right, but both he and Scotty seemed to have been relegated to amusing supporting characters who mostly serve to advance specific plot points or serve a humerous purpose
Biggles<font color=#AAFFAA>The Man Without a Face</font>
Both McCoy and Scotty are played by actors who are huge scifi geeks themselves. I think the characters being "got right" (in personality, etc.) in JJ Trek is almost entirely due to the efforts of those two actors rather than thanks to the writing staff or director.
Honestly, just based on the photos of the McQuarrie-style X-Wing and bolt-for-bolt rebuild of the Millennium Falcon, I wish Trek remakes were being done by someone who loved Star Trek half as much as Abrams loves Star Wars. It's reading into things a bit, but perfectly recreating one iconic 1970s design, and "updating" another with a pretty deep cut in Star Wars fandom shows a lot more affection to Star Wars qua Star Wars than the remakes have to the existing body of Trek.
ShadowDancerWhen I say, "Why aye, gadgie," in my heart I say, "Och aye, laddie."London, UK
I can't argue with that, and it's the only thing that gives me hope
Comments
First, I absolutely hate how Khan was turned into a White British guy. Why couldn't they hire an Indian actor? The whole movie just felt like they didn't know what they wanted to do. First we have some cool stuff about the Klingons, which I wish they had continued, and then we get the redo of Space Seed, but not as good.
I rewatched The Wrath of Khan some time ago and was far more impressed than I thought I would be. I was watching the original series a couple years ago but eventually just stopped, and watching Wrath of Khan was like seeing only the best of the original series. The pacing was very nice as well, I especially liked that conversation that Kirk and McCoy had earlier in the movie.
So yeah, these reboots just don't do it for me. You guys all point out the many reasons why they're just so disappoint and unfulfilling.
Nevermind the scifi element but the Shakespearean persona of a very seasoned, Ricardo Montalban. Kirk's desperation and Khan's vengeance it was a perfectly written dichotomy. Into Darkness just came off as desperate, I got no sense of genuine anger out of spock. lol
With JJ Trek, we see it's the first time Kirk and Spock meet. They hate each other at first (I actually find that believable in those films) and then they're supposed to be best friends by the end? Yeah it felt too quick and forced to me as well.
The new films also failed to get the whole Kirk, Spock and McCoy dynamic right. Spock offering his cold, logical perspective, while McCoy brought a passionate and human side to things, with Kirk then having to find a balance between the two to solve whatever crisis they were in.
While I think McCoy is fairly true to that in JJ Trek, it's hard to believe Spock is cold and logical when he keeps going into fits of rage and smashing things. He's not supposed to be The Hulk.
I'm terribly afraid of SW Ep 7...
You know how it is for an old Eagles (Music Band) fan...
I can't complain, but sometimes I still do.