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Star Trek Into Darkness (Abrams, 2013) — The Reviews Thread (Spoilers, Duh)

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Star Trek Into Darkness (Abrams, 2013) — The Reviews Thread (Spoilers, Duh)

Old 05-09-13, 02:33 PM
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Star Trek Into Darkness (Abrams, 2013) — The Reviews Thread (Spoilers, Duh)

Please continue pre-release discussion here.

Movie:
"Star Trek Into Darkness" (Starring: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Benedict Cumberbatch, Karl Urban, Alice Eve, Simon Pegg, John Cho)

Release Date:
5/16/2013

Rating:
PG-13 (for intense sequences of sci-fi action and violence throughout)

Running Time:
132min. (2h. 12m.)

Budget:
$185 million (estimated)

IMDb Synopsis:
Spoiler:
When the crew of the Enterprise is called back home, they find an unstoppable force of terror from within their own organization has detonated the fleet and everything it stands for, leaving our world in a state of crisis. With a personal score to settle, Captain Kirk leads a manhunt to a war-zone world to capture a one man weapon of mass destruction. As our heroes are propelled into an epic chess game of life and death, love will be challenged, friendships will be torn apart, and sacrifices must be made for the only family Kirk has left: his crew.


IMDb Info and Rating:
8.3 (27,104 votes as of 5/17/13)

Rotten Tomatoes:
Fresh:171 Rotten:25 (87% as of 5/17/13)

Metacritic:
73 metascore ('Generally favorable reviews' as of 5/17/13)

Trailer:
<object width="720" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.traileraddict.com/emd/73032"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.traileraddict.com/emd/73032" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" wmode="transparent" allowfullscreen="true" width="720" height="344"></embed></object>

Poster Art:
Old 05-09-13, 03:38 PM
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Re: Star Trek Into Darkness (Abrams, 2013) — The Reviews Thread

Well, I... hmm. I don't want to spoil anything for anyone so I have to be careful what I say, but while I really liked most of it and it was fantastic spectacle, STID left a bad taste in my mouth somehow. It's one where the more I think about it the more holes I find.

The positives -- stunning action sequences galore, amazing special effects, the cast all were excellent (Quinto and Pegg really stood out for me, and I love seeing Peter Weller in anything.) Benedict Cumberbatch, as you can tell from the trailers, stole the movie out from pretty much everyone. And there's some nice "shout backs" as we see some familiar aliens from the old Treks....

However ... and seriously, major spoilers, don't click if you don't want them:

Spoiler:
...There's a thin line between "homage" and "ripoff" and the last 30 minutes went right over it in my mind. I liked Cumberbatch being Khan, even if it was rather predictable. I liked how they retooled the character and how you weren't really sure who was the "bad guy" for much of the movie.

But, as soon as they introduced the radiation chamber I started thinking, surely they're not going to just totally ape Wrath of Khan are they? But they did, with the "clever but not really" flip of characters. It just seemed really indicative of a lack of ideas in the new Trek incarnation... while I quite liked the first one, too often this one had me feeling they were going in lazy fan-servicing directions than anything novel. It was lazy storytelling to just re-enact the end of Khan. When Spock yelled "Khaaaaan," half the theater I was in laughed which is not the effect I imagine they wanted. I just really hated how Abrams & Co. decided to lazily remake Khan without telling anyone that's what they were doing -- the "twist" in Iron Man 3 didn't bother me at all as it worked in the movie but to me this just felt like a cover band playing Wrath of Khan greatest hits. That said, it's really the last 30 mins or so of the movie that bothered me. I just wish they hadn't gone that way.

I'll be curious to see other reactions. Like I said, the Mandarin riff in IM3 didn't bother me - I didn't particularly care for the comics character and thought it was an original spin on it. But the "twist" in this one just didn't work for me and brought the whole movie down a star in my book for its sheer clumsy remaking of a perfectly classic Trek story instead of coming up with an original climax of their own.
Old 05-10-13, 02:58 AM
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Re: Star Trek Into Darkness (Abrams, 2013) — The Reviews Thread

Thanks for creating the thread, scott1598! I thought about making it earlier today since I was seeing it this evening, but didn't, and now my laziness and your diligence pays off for me!

I thought it was really terrific. Benedict Cumberbatch was awesome, the action was great, it had humor (I'll have to see it again since I missed some of the lines due to audience laughter), the 3-D effects were good (and I'm not a big 3-D fan), and the plot was interesting and kept me guessing. While I tried to avoid rumors, I did hear speculation about who Cumberbatch was playing, but I wasn't thinking too hard about it when I was watching the movie and really liked the reveal (there were audible gasps in the audience, though it seemed pretty obvious a couple minutes earlier).

However, one thing really disappointed me. I'm still giving it 4.5 stars but wondering if I should dock it a little further.
Spoiler:
I have to agree with Sierra Disc that aping the Wrath of Khan really didn't work for me. I was fine with it up to a point, but then when they're at the radiation chamber, I said, "Oh, come on!" There's homage, but this almost plunged into parody. I don't mind rebooting the Khan character into an original storyline, but then to throw that in like it's just a remake? I don't know if I'd call it lazy as much as it seemed like fan service gone too far. Little references and clever winks? Great! Copying the ending and dropping it into your movie like you're a desktop video editor? Lame. And the fact that it came at nearly the end, followed by a somewhat anticlimactic final battle--I dunno, maybe I was too generous with the score.

I think people who don't know or remember Wrath of Khan that well will be more forgiving.

Also, the way they "saved" Kirk seemed really obvious--as soon as we knew he was going to be in jeopardy, I was saying, "Duh, you can use the Khan blood like you did on the tribble." It might be interesting if that has consequences on Kirk's body down the road.


So like Sierra Disc, the more I write here the worse I feel about it, and I'm not even sure if I still want to call it "really terrific" in my above text (but I'm not going to revise it now). If I'd voted in the poll after I wrote this, I'd probably say four stars, and that's disappointing after what I originally thought I'd give it.
Old 05-10-13, 03:45 PM
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Re: Star Trek Into Darkness (Abrams, 2013) — The Reviews Thread

Originally Posted by davidh777

So like Sierra Disc, the more I write here the worse I feel about it,
Definitely the way I feel. It was great at the time watching it, but I'm starting to think the trailers for it were the best part.
Old 05-10-13, 04:03 PM
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Re: Star Trek Into Darkness (Abrams, 2013) — The Reviews Thread

You guys overseas seriously got this a week early! I've had a bad week and was looking forward to unwinding with this, but you guys have it already and we had to wait! That sux!
Old 05-10-13, 05:39 PM
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Re: Star Trek Into Darkness (Abrams, 2013) — The Reviews Thread

I sat through this with a huge grin in my face. 5/5 for me on this.

In the end I liked their "homage". It's weird but before this came out I'm sure this is was what ever one wanted?! I like to look at it like a film version if an "Elsewhere" or "What if" comic series.
Anyways, I wanted to point out an effect that JJs effect crew do really well. The fight on 2 hover ships is so well done, like the fight on the drilling platform. They filmed it outside ( shock! LA has nice weather ) and then they put it together. It looks more natural.
Old 05-14-13, 08:45 PM
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Re: Star Trek Into Darkness (Abrams, 2013) — The Reviews Thread

Originally Posted by jdslater1
I sat through this with a huge grin in my face. 5/5 for me on this.

In the end I liked their "homage". It's weird but before this came out I'm sure this is was what ever one wanted?! I like to look at it like a film version if an "Elsewhere" or "What if" comic series.
I'm ok with the use of
Spoiler:
Khan
, but not with the
Spoiler:
shameless and clumsy re-enactment of the climax of Wrath of Khan in their own final act. It felt like watching high school students put on a Broadway play, and as much as the rest of the movie was enjoyable fun Pine and Quinto were nowhere near as effective as Shatner and Nimoy in those moments. You had to earn that emotion, and I felt like Abrams just used it without any subtelty whatsoever-- which, although I'm a fan of a lot of his films, I'm coming to realise is one of his big weaknesses.
Old 05-15-13, 05:38 AM
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Re: Star Trek Into Darkness (Abrams, 2013) — The Reviews Thread

What trailers were attached to this?
Old 05-15-13, 08:12 AM
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Re: Star Trek Into Darkness (Abrams, 2013) — The Reviews Thread

Currently has 88% on rottentomatoes.com with 102 reviews.
Old 05-15-13, 08:36 AM
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Re: Star Trek Into Darkness (Abrams, 2013) — The Reviews Thread

Looking at what the last one had that had a 95%. So not as good as the last one. I'll find out Friday what I think of it.
Old 05-15-13, 02:52 PM
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Re: Star Trek Into Darkness (Abrams, 2013) — The Reviews Thread

I'll be out of town this weekend so I probably won't see it until next weekend.
Old 05-15-13, 06:07 PM
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Re: Star Trek Into Darkness (Abrams, 2013) — The Reviews Thread

Saw this tonight, thought it was great. I will preface this with I have only watched the original movies once and I was pretty young. So I think davidh777's review is spot on
Spoiler:
(especially about the part where people who hadn't seen the originals might be more forgiving.


If I had to give it any major critique I would say that there was almost too much action. Not a lot of downtime for reflection in this movie. It did make the 2 hours fly by.

Last edited by shadowhawk2020; 05-15-13 at 09:56 PM.
Old 05-15-13, 06:21 PM
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Re: Star Trek Into Darkness (Abrams, 2013) — The Reviews Thread

Why are people posting about WHEN they are going to see the movie? No one cares.

After you've seen it..THEN you post. See how that works?

I'll be seeing it Wednesday after my dentist visit.
Old 05-15-13, 09:56 PM
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Re: Star Trek Into Darkness (Abrams, 2013) — The Reviews Thread

I enjoyed it ... a very good IMAX 3D spectacle (definitely more satisfying in that format than Iron Man 3).
Old 05-15-13, 10:47 PM
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Re: Star Trek Into Darkness (Abrams, 2013) — The Reviews Thread

^ Iron Man 3 kind of soured me on 3D. I'm reluctant to even bother with anymore 3D movies this Summer. I think I'm just going to stick with 2D on this one...

...when I see it tomorrow.
Old 05-15-13, 11:11 PM
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Re: Star Trek Into Darkness (Abrams, 2013) — The Reviews Thread

Saw one of the IMAX sneak peeks. I'll preface this by saying there was an 'issue' at my theatre where NONE of the IMAX footage was included and about 5 minutes in I realized it wasn't being projected in 3D ... So can't comment on those aspects. The movie started with a message stating "This is not the IMAX experience." Wtf?

That being said, I really enjoyed it! It's not perfect, and hardcore Trekkies will piss and moan about a lot of the choices made... But in terms of a solid summer blockbuster? You can't beat this. The running time moves swiftly and the plot wastes no time. If you enjoyed trek 09 , you'll enjoy this as much or more.
Old 05-16-13, 12:59 AM
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Re: Star Trek Into Darkness (Abrams, 2013) — The Reviews Thread

OK so hardcore trekker here and I saw a sneak peek tonight in IMAX 3d. First off the 3d was surprisingly good considering it's post-prod.

I didn't care too much for the 1st "new" movie but I liked this one. The parts some people are talking about bothering them didn't bother me - I thought it was a good homage and they had fun with it. I'm good with that. Might even go see this again.

Overall I was impressed and I'm getting more and more "at ease" with the new actors. So it's all good.

And I got a free poster. Ebay for $1.99 here I come.
Old 05-16-13, 01:33 AM
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Re: Star Trek Into Darkness (Abrams, 2013) — The Reviews Thread

It's great until the film falls apart and
Spoiler:
becomes a remake of Wrath of Khan.


The 3D post-conversion was fantastic, but I was disappointed we got a digital IMAX presentation rather than film despite the theater's ability to run both. However, unlike Nolan, Abrams doesn't really know what should be shot in IMAX and makes for a jarring experience at times.
Old 05-16-13, 02:11 AM
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Re: Star Trek Into Darkness (Abrams, 2013) — The Reviews Thread

Originally Posted by dvdcooler

I really enjoyed it! It's not perfect, and hardcore Trekkies will piss and moan about a lot of the choices made... But in terms of a solid summer blockbuster? You can't beat this. The running time moves swiftly and the plot wastes no time. If you enjoyed trek 09 , you'll enjoy this as much or more.
Fuck yeah, that's exactly what I'm looking for.
Old 05-16-13, 03:29 AM
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Re: Star Trek Into Darkness (Abrams, 2013) — The Reviews Thread

I thought we didn't do spoilers in review threads. I wish someone would declare a definite policy.

Anyway, my thoughts:

Spoiler:
I'm a lifelong Trekkie, and have loved pretty much everything Trek, even Star Trek V and Nemesis. I love the 2009 Abrams film, and have seen it probably 20 times. In fact, I attended a double feature tonight and got to see it again before STID. Once again at the climax of the 2009 film, even after seeing it so many times, I got chills. I got no chills from STID. The emotional scenes just left me cold. There really was too much action. I started to think I was watching a Lucas prequel and that's not good. I wanted more down time with the characters, more reflection, more planning. I really hope some of those scenes were shot and are restored in an eventual home video release.

I'm not sure how I feel about Star Trek 2 being Star Trek II. It's what we all predicted in 2009, but I didn't think Abrams would have the nerve to be so obvious. And obvious he was. On the other hand, I give him credit for being so bold as to do exactly what we thought he would, while being sure that he never would. If that makes any sense. Cumberbatch was great, as expected, though I don't see how he was remotely Indian. Also, why does Carol Marcus now have a British accent? Unnecessary changes like that confuse me. And did we really need another Beastie Boys song?

I did like the nods to Mudd, and the Tribbles, of course, meaning that the crew is experiencing many of the same things that the Prime crew did. Which brings up the argument that despite being an alternate universe, their lives are still being guided somehow down the same paths, which accounts for the events of this film. I just wish we would have gotten a discussion about that fact by someone, perhaps Spock and Spock. It just seemed like those kind of little Trek moments were sacrificed for the sake of more action.

Besides Cumberbatch, I thought that Simon Pegg really steals this movie. He is great in every scene, and is hilarious. But what's with the wig? Horrible.

At the end of the day, I'm not sure how I feel yet. It's definitely a step down from the first Abrams film, of that I'm sure. I'm also sure that it will take several more viewings for me to figure out what I really feel about its legacy in the Trek universe. But as a summer action flick, it's a kick-ass thrill ride, and non-Trekkies should love it.
I'll probably add more later as I process it further.
Old 05-16-13, 03:33 AM
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Re: Star Trek Into Darkness (Abrams, 2013) — The Reviews Thread

My quickie review: too derivative with bits from both the TOS and the early ST movies, decent cast chemistry, too damn much frikkin' lens flare. Why aren't the people on the bridge wearing sunglasses? They should be blind by now. So ridiculous.

The story mechanics are pretty underwhelming to get from one set piece to the next one. I'll put the blame on Lindelhof for the bad plotting. Heh. Plus, I thought was too much exposition in the middle, for film, much better to show than tell, but maybe they ran into budget overrun issues. I don't know.

The 3D wasn't a waste, a few spots where the in-yo-face stuff makes you duck.

I give it 2.5 stars, or a grade of C+.
Old 05-16-13, 05:55 AM
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Re: Star Trek Into Darkness (Abrams, 2013) — The Reviews Thread

Saw a IMAX sneak peak. Absolutely loved it. I am a fan of the original, and did not have a problem with the ending. Sherlock steals the show as expected!
Old 05-16-13, 07:02 AM
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Re: Star Trek Into Darkness (Abrams, 2013) — The Reviews Thread

Originally Posted by General Zod
OK so hardcore trekker here and I saw a sneak peek tonight in IMAX 3d. First off the 3d was surprisingly good considering it's post-prod.

I didn't care too much for the 1st "new" movie but I liked this one. The parts some people are talking about bothering them didn't bother me - I thought it was a good homage and they had fun with it. I'm good with that. Might even go see this again.

Overall I was impressed and I'm getting more and more "at ease" with the new actors. So it's all good.

And I got a free poster. Ebay for $1.99 here I come.

I feel pretty much the same way, only I liked the first "new" movie, but thought this one was much better. The crew interaction/banter was really good and I was cool with how they did
Spoiler:
Kahn and the Kirk/Spock switch ... and thought it was funny that a tribble saved the day
I also dug the reference to
Spoiler:
DS9/ENT and Section 31
.

I'll go see it again and perhaps give you some ebay competition with my poster
Old 05-16-13, 07:36 AM
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Re: Star Trek Into Darkness (Abrams, 2013) — The Reviews Thread

Originally Posted by nickdawgy
What trailers were attached to this?
Im in the UK and we had a 3-D trailer to World War Z. I like the look of it alot.
Old 05-16-13, 11:20 AM
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Re: Star Trek Into Darkness (Abrams, 2013) — The Reviews Thread

Originally Posted by BearFan
I feel pretty much the same way, only I liked the first "new" movie, but thought this one was much better. The crew interaction/banter was really good and I was cool with how they did
Spoiler:
Kahn and the Kirk/Spock switch ... and thought it was funny that a tribble saved the day
I also dug the reference to
Spoiler:
DS9/ENT and Section 31
.

I'll go see it again and perhaps give you some ebay competition with my poster
Right on. And if I had to critique something..

Spoiler:
I didn't really care of the silly "head crushing" thing Kahn was doing. I equate it to the un-necessarily slow dipping mechanism in Austin Powers. He had all sorts of ways to kill someone instantly instead of the slow give-everyone-the-chance-to-stop-him method.

The foreshadowing with the tribble and Kahn being right there was sort of a weird place to put it but I think given its own scene it would have been too obvious it was a "save the day" type of scene.


One thing to keep in mind..

Spoiler:
In the old series "Wink of an Eye" they had the Scalosian water which when drank would speed people up so fast that everyone else seemed to stand still. Keeping this stuff handy would have solved almost every bad situation they were in going forward but it was completely forgotten about after the episode.

So now that they have Kahns blood and plenty of it from the 72 others that sure would be handy to keep around in case of other deaths or injuries wouldn't it? Think we'll ever see it again?

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