Into Darkness and My Supicious Parentage

I'm pretty sure my dad has a secret identity--as Leonard Nemoy. The older Leonard Nemoy gets the more he looks like my father. Seperated at birth? Maybe, but I can tell you this for a fact: I've never seen my dad and Leonard Nemoy in the same room at the same time.

At any rate, since Mason was still away at Audubon overnight camp last night, Shawn and I hit a matinee showing of Star Trek: Into Darkness.

As I said on Facebook, my first impression was: WHEEEEEEEEE! and then, afterwards, Shawn and I sat down with the http://io9.com/star-trek-into-darkness-the-spoiler-faq-508927844" target="_blank">io9 spoiler FAQ </a>, which we'd bookmarked just for this moment, and laughed our asses off. Because, as I told my friend empty_mirrors , ST:ID the kind of movie that really only works with your brain turned fully off, and you just sit back and enjoy the show.

Because it is quite the show. And there's nothing wrong with that.

It had been so long since Shawn was in a movie theatre, she couldn't get over the concession prices. She asked me during the previews, "Are you sure this is the right size popcorn?? For TEN DOLLARS??" Since, at matinee prices, that meant we paid more for popcorn than we did to see the movie.

It was interesting to see the movie with other people. Some people clearly didn't know the big spoiler of who Benedict Cumberbatch is playing that's been around the Internet for ages, and there were audible gasps when he revealed it. I found several laugh-out-loud moments no one else in the theatre seemed to find funny, but then I'm easily amused. (I will admit to laughing at a serious moment, and I apologize to my fellow theatre goers, but COME ON!)

A couple of other things I can talk about outside of the spoiler cut, is that I left the theatre asking Shawn what happened to the warp drive in this alternate universe. (BTW, I kind of love that ST movies have become their own fanfic, as the reboots can clearly be labeled: AU.) It used to be in OT (Old Trek, for the fandom newbies,) there were degrees of warp. "Drop us down to warp 2, Mr. Sulu." Now the warp engines are either on or off. Frankly, that makes slightly more sense than imagining a space ship hurtling through... well, time at that point, really, at NINE TIMES the speed of light. But, it's one of those things I missed, though I will say that the special effects of warp is COOL.

[ Spoiler (click to open) ]
So, okay, building on what io9 says about the cheap shots of using old Star Trek tropes, I will say one thing that is starting to not work for me is seeing the Enterprise (nearly) destroyed. The first time it happened, I balled like a baby. Because this was OUR Enterprise that we'd been with through nearly a hundred episodes and several movies. But, AU Enterprise is nothing to me. I don't know these people yet, not really. They have the names of beloved characters, but entirely different back-stories. The same is true for this Enterprise. But seeing NCC-1701 in flames still hits me where it hurts, because LOYALTY, you know?

As io9 also points out Kirk seems to have to go though the same character arc. What would have been a good moment to prove that AU-Kirk is becoming OT-Kirk might have been after, during the year time skip, if there had been a montage of funeral after funeral after funeral until we get to Pike's. Just a close-up on Kirk's concerned face, as he hands out YET ANOTHER folded up UN flag. Because OT-Kirk was always telling his enemies, "There's 423 [or however many] souls aboard that ship" and he always knew the EXACT number, and you got the feeling that, even though it became its own trope, he gave a shit every time a red shirt bit it. And to see the captain of the ship going to petty officer Jo/Jane-schmoo's funeral is a powerful thing. I SAYS something about the character of the man. Something we instinctively ASSUME about AU-Kirk, but never get to really see.

Now, to defend ST:IN for a moment. The biggest caveat should be a reminder that all my comments/criticisms are post-high let down. I really enjoyed the hell out of this movie. io9 went on at great length about 'teh stupid' of the opening sequence. I LOVED THAT PART BEST. Why? Because it's such a beautiful homage to OT. All teh stupid was AT LEAST as ridiculous as some of the crap OT-Kirk pulled for THREE SEASONS and I loved those old shows to pieces. The irony of Spock worrying about the Prime Directive when he apparently (I'm thinking, drunkenly,) signed on to the plan that involved Kirk and McCoy stealing a sacred relic is CLASSIC FUCKING TREK. So, bite me, io9. That was the best damn part of the movie, IMHO. It does not bear nit-picking, but a person could make a career out of tearing apart all the stupid, non-science, poor planning of every single episode of OT.

Shawn was saying in the car ride into work this morning that the first scene was like the entire crew of the AU-Enterprise was like a floating frat house from the Academy. Their 'plan' seemed totally hatched after too many beers and bongs, you know? "Dude, I know, I know--let's get everyone away from the earth-killing volacano by running. Cuz, you know, no one will stay behind, and we can totally get far enough if we really haul ass. And I see NO FLAWS in this, do you?"

Makes more sense if you imagine that's how it went.

Shawn also thinks I'll start Cumberbatch-Fail if I say this, but, while I ADORE him in Sherlock, I thought Cumberbatch over-emoted every single line he had as Khan. What was up with his lips? Why so many close-ups on them? Not attractive. He actually often works for me as Sherlock, but maybe that's because with better writing and directing, Cumberbatch gives Sherlock some lovable vulnerablity. And, invulnerable Khan was a bad fit, IMHO.

Okay, YET no one has made much of the other fact that among the twist-ups of this AU is the fact that Star Fleet is now canonly evil. Khan is attempting, thoughout the whole thing, to STOP STAR FLEET FROM PROVOKING WAR WITH THE KLINGONS. Maybe we're suppose to think that turns out to be a front for him trying to rescue his crew, but he does seem to be acting the role of a peace-maker. He saves Kirk when he doesn't need to (during the blast through space.) He could have taken the Dreadnaught (btw, fan sqee! I remember the Dreadnaught in my Technical Manual,) on his own. Presumably, he was thinking "hostage," but he still would have had Scotty and Carol what's-her-name.)

Also, the time-skip kind of glossed over the fall-out from the fact that Kirk was complicit in treason against the commander of Star Fleet, but that's par for the course.

One last ramble-y thought: when I first heard the spoiler that Cumberbatch was playing Khan, I thought that maybe we'd finally see the Eugenics War. The Eugenics War is one of several OT throw-away 'historical' moments that has been fodder for my plot bunnies since I was in high school. Like, before we got the animated show, what the mysterious references to The Clone War were in the original triology of Star Wars. I was kind of disappointed that JJ Abrams missed the opportunity to start that war. What's fun about AUs is that you can mess with time lines and play 'what-ifs.' What if the Eugenics War starts later? What if Kirk and crew are a live to fight in it?

But, as usual, they didn't ask me. I could have helped. Clearly.