Star Trek Into Darkness

It's okay Mat. I will not hold you down and kick you. I forgive you for enjoying this movie.

1. For non-Trek fans it is a very entertaining movie. Lots of excitement and drama.
2. As a Trek fan you will be upset at their radical changes. Old Star Trek lore be damned.
3. As a scientist/engineer, you will be horrified at how terrible the science is in this movie. You will think that people from a nation near the bottom in math/science test scores wrote this movie. Oh yeah that's us.

Hmmm...I thought the movie was pretty awesome. Looking at your chart...

1. I suppose I wouldn't be a Trekkie as I've yet to watch more than...one episode of the show.
2. But then I did watch the first four movies of the original series and liked all four.
3. It's a movie. I'm not expecting a perfect depiction of science. I did find a bit of it sketchy, specifically their use of warp drives as teleportation devices towards the end, but it was still fun to watch. Also, I'd imagine that liberal arts majors wrote the movie. So...yeah.

The one true annoyance was Chekov.

That's impossible Captain!
I can't do it Captain!
It's too difficult Captain!

I don't think he once just said "yes Captain", got up and bloody did what he was asked!

I very much enjoyed it. Benedict Cumberbatch is the best version of his character.

I enjoy Star Trek. But Star Trek to me is The Next Generation version. But I've seen several episodes of the original series, Voyager, DS9 and all of the movies. (Enterprise? Blech!) Therefore I don't have any real ties to the original series. And honestly, are they really trying to sell movie tickets to a bunch of old guys these days? LOL! So, I didn't go into this movie with many expectations. Granted there were lots of implausibilities and things that didn't make sense. But overall it was quite a fun ride, and the effects were great! Sometimes a movie is just a movie. And Benedict Cumberbatch was great!

True, Frank! Chekov was annoying! Seriously dude, how did you get into Starfleet?

I like JJ's Star Trek quite a bit. But, while the directing, production and casting is very well handled, the writing does need some attention. Star Trek: Into Darkness was a terrific cinema experience as far as popcorn flicks go. But at the same time I think the writing deprived us of getting to know the crew a little better since the story was mainly driven by Kirk/Spock. Also, as outstanding as Benedict Cumberpatch was in his role, I think for an actor of his calibre, his character deserved more depth and originality.

I went into this film thinking it would be better than its predecessor; it's not. It's just as good because it retains a very consistent formula. That's not entirely a bad thing, though, i'm skeptical whether they can make it as effective a third time around. This is especially because JJ Abrams is highly unlikely to be Directing the next Trek flick since he's signed on for Star Wars for a 2015 release.

I would say I am a Star Trek fan but not a Trekker.

My dad used to always watch the original series when it was in syndication, but I was very young... this is going back to the 80s when I used to watch it sometimes... I was born in 82 so do the math. He used to watch the old Dr Who too.

Anyway, I didn't really get into Star Trek until TNG, which I thought was an amazing show.

I watch all the movies except for Nemesis and saw bits and pieces of Insurrection and I loved them. First Contact was fantastic and everything from the Motion Picture to Four was great too. Five was not so great and Undiscovered Country was pretty good.

I really liked DS9 too. I though voyager was okay... but only watched it sparingly. And never gt into Enterprise. I was with my g/f now wife, and she is not a fan at all.

So I would say I am a pretty big fan. I think maybe I am partial to this new one too because it is something my wife can enjoy, even though she doesn't like the old Star Trek lore. Still can't get her to watch the original films or the shows DOH!!

And as far as the Science goes.... it was never that accurate after Gene Roddenberry died. Even look at the films. Motion Picture... science was great.... original series, also accurate science.... Anything after the motion picture, when they ousted him, was not quite so accurate.

Maybe it isn't as bad as the current films, but those films and shows after Roddenberry were still not perfect scientifically speaking.

I guess the new films are just plain fun where the old Star Trek really taught you something and made you think. I must admit that the new Star Trek has a more Star Wars feel to it than Star Trek.

Funny you'd say that. Coming out of the theater, I told a friend "this is a much better Star Wars film than Lucas made with his prequels".

That's probably why I liked the two new Star Trek films. I've been hungry for more Star Wars for years, and those films somehow managed to capture a part of the SW essence, despite being Star Trek.

That's possibly why many Trek fans hate it so much. I can understand and respect that. My enjoyment is purely selfish. One has to admit, though, it made for a bang up light sci-fi show.

I think my foremost feeling towards the new Star Trek films is disappointment. Star Trek at its best is examining intelligent social, political, cultural and psychological themes, and in a way where it does not pound you over the head with the "message". The new Star Trek is just another action fare in a science fiction setting. Sure, the action scenes are flashy and nice, though the writing is tepid. Most of the main characters are caricatures where they took a couple of the most prominent characteristics and amplified them to ridiculous extents.

edit: I recently heard that Abrams has said he'd like to use Q and the Borg in further films. What the hell? You set up an alternate universe that lets you do whatever you want, and you are going to rehash and mash together the popular bits from wherever you want like bad fanfiction? I guess the new Star Wars will be about the same: dumb, safe and technically competent.

Yea, Borg and Q does seem like a rehash...

I don't really view these new movies as Star Trek per se.
Maybe that is why I enjoyed them.

Although, as for Star Wars, I do see Abrams fairing much better with that series since Lucas already turned the series into what you described with the prequels.

I think he would be more at home with that series and make it fun like Revenge of the Sith, without the terrible stumble that was Phantom Menace.

I must say I like STID allot better then the 2009 one. Maybe because I thought they made the story fit allot better using khan and section 31. Section 31 which already existed in enterprise time. That they found khan earlier and stuff.