"Into Darkness" Boldly Goes Where Others HAVE Gone Before (but still well worth return visits)

[revdorothyl]

I finally got around to seeing "Star Trek: Into Darkness" in the theater yesterday and was pretty well satisfied, though it definitely covered some familiar ST:TOS and original series movies territory. Still, it mixed the familiar elements around in some truly interesting and entertaining ways. And I'm fond enough of ALL the new Enterprise officers (including the more mobile Christopher Pike) AND their relationships (yes, I dig the Spock/Uhura, among other things) that I'll be happy to spend further time in their company, on repeated viewings of this film.

All told, I can honestly recommend this film, though my first impression is that I don't think it's going to change anyone's life or open any new fields of philosophical debate.

Now, if you haven't yet seen it and want to, please stop reading here.

If you HAVE seen it already, then ON TO THE DETAILED COMMENTS!

First, let's talk about some of the familiar elements:

Yes, this movie DOES recycle (quite well, really!) and reinterpret elements from at least three Original Series movies that I noticed, including the beloved "ST II: The Wrath of Khan" (and the 'needs of the many' death scene works even better for me, in some ways, with Spock on the other side of the glass, saying good-bye to his newly-realized (rather than oldest and best) friend Kirk, and doing the "Kha-a-a-a-an!" scream of grief and promised vengeance.

I gotta love the symmetry of Kirk doing what he figures Spock would do in his place, while Spock does what he knows Kirk would do. Kirk makes the logical sacrifice, and Spock cons the bad guy and then turns into Enraged-Vulcan-Action-Guy determined to beat Khan to death with his bare fists. And hey! No annoying wait for the resurrection that you know is coming as soon as you see Dr. McCoy injecting Khan's super-blood into a tribble that has 'ceased to be'.

I liked 'Nu!Khan' quite a lot more than I ever expected, since I had Benedict Cumberbatch pegged as a much more likely choice for some new version of 'Lord' Garth of Izar than for the more East-Indian-sounding Khan Noonian Singh (until I saw him barely fazed by Kirk doing his level best to beat him to a pulp, displaying more-than-Vulcan levels of stamina and strength, after which it became pretty obvious that he must be genetically enhanced). I actually found him a sympathetic character for a little while, even when I knew his real name, until his essential ruthlessness and savagery came out, scaring me even more than the more romantic, superficially charming, occasionally swashbuckling portrayal offered by Ricardo Montalban in the original series and movie.

And of course I enjoyed Scotty disabling the super-ship that was threatening the Enterprise, even though I'd seen something sort of similar in "ST III: The Search for Spock".

Peter Weller as Admiral Marcus seems to be on the side of light, for a change, at the beginning, but then once again turns out to be a bad guy (as he was in the last two REAL episodes of "Enterprise"), only this time he's a Star Fleet Admiral ruthlessly setting Kirk and company up to take the fall for starting the 'inevitable' war with the Klingons, as in "ST VI: The Undiscovered Country". (Plus we get a glimpse of what a formidable starship captain Hikaru Sulu will be, as also seen in that 6th TOS film!)

Oh, and 'Section 31' rears its disturbing head again, having been introduced first in the final season of my beloved "Deep Space Nine" and then picked up again in the last season of "Enterprise".

And then there's the stuff that's definitely unique to this particular alternate universe version of Kirk, Spock, and the others:

I was first surprised, then disturbed, and ultimately pleased that this second film in the re-boot actually dealt with some of the fallout and problems related to young Jim Kirk's troubled youth and perhaps too-speedy (and definitely too-traumatic) accession to 'the chair' at a much younger age than original Kirk.

In fact, I eventually realized that the film was bringing up some of the issues that jedibuttercup had drawn attention to in her ST:TOS/ST:XI crossover one-shot last October, where Original!Kirk had found himself really disturbed by the potential for chaos and trouble inherent in the much-younger alternate crew:

...The others did appear, on the surface, as would any tight-knit crew who'd worked together for years-- but the fact was, they were nothing of the sort. They hadn't gone through all of the preliminary training his own men and women had. They hadn't learned respect for the division of roles and ranks in the traditional command structure, beyond their initial education in San Francisco. They hadn't earned their confidence through the long process of trial, error, and hands-on education that either proved an officer qualified for a position on the flagship... or shunted him aside to some other, less precarious Starfleet station.

They'd forged their unity in a much more vicious arena, without any superior officers available to guide them. And that showed in the belligerent tilt of their Captain Kirk's chin; in the calculation behind their Spock's avid gaze-- not nearly as detached as Jim remembered his Spock in the early days of their acquaintance; and in every glance exchanged between the members of their command crew.

"They're a pack of wolves, Bones," he said, grimly.

In the new film, Christopher Pike -- whose role as substitute father-figure for Kirk, particularly, comes through even more strongly than in the first film -- has to express almost the same sentiments when informing Kirk that violating the Prime Directive and then lying about it in an official report to his superiors has cost him both his captain's chair and the company of Spock, the friend for whose sake he'd shattered the rules.

(By the way, this whole "lying-in-an-official-report-and-thereby-disappointing-a-trusted-superior-and-losing-what-you-love-most" bit in the latest film is just another way that Nu!Kirk continues to remind me of younger Miles Vorkosigan, since Miles went through something sort of similar in Lois McMaster Bujold's Memory! But I digress . . . .)

On the other hand, a larger part of Original!Kirk's fears in jedibuttercup's fic turn out to be not so well-founded:

Spock and Bones grounded Jim; over the last four years, they'd become as essential a part of Jim's command as the deck under his feet. If the other's were equally supportive, but goaded an even more impulsive Kirk onward, rather than tempering his rasher decisions....

In fact, Nu!Spock and Nu!Bones and Nu!Uhura DO attempt (and eventually succeed) in tempering some of Nu!Kirk's more rash and emotional impulses . . . even when those impulses have all the force of a Starfleet Admiral's direct orders behind them. For the sake of not betraying the ideals of the Federation as seen through Spock's eyes (and to a lesser extent, perhaps, in the eyes of Bones and Uhura), Kirk unknowingly foils a large part of Admiral Marcus' plot, deciding to take the additional risks inherent in giving the supposedly traitorous Starfleet officer 'Harrison' a chance to surrender and enjoy the protection of due process under the law.

Which, in turn, leads to that so-intriguing apparent crossover of expected roles between Kirk and Spock by the end of the film (not that Original!Kirk would ever have shirked from the need to sacrifice his own life to save his ship and crew, even if he might not have expressed it as a matter of logic, and Original!Spock certainly came to appreciate the value of tactical deception -- a.k.a. 'bluffing' or 'exaggerating', at various times -- and learned to practice it well enough to mislead an amorous Romulan Commander and the original Khan, among others, but still . . .).

And I have to say that I love the fact that because of -- or more often, it seems, IN SPITE OF -- her romantic relationship with Spock, this version of Uhura has become an essential part of the core group dynamics, as well as someone who's just as likely to beam down or rush in to save the day as Kirk, Spock, or McCoy.

In TOS, the central emotional dynamic was the dyad of Kirk-Spock or the triad of Kirk-Spock-McCoy, in most cases, with Scotty sometimes thrown in to make a fourth for Bridge as the need arose.

But in this new iteration, we get a powerful new version of the Kirk-Spock, and a neat twist on the old Kirk-Spock-McCoy dynamic, but we also get a few moments of Spock/Uhura and a good deal more of Kirk-Uhura-Spock (which can involve Kirk and Uhura briefly bonding over the difficulty of relating to Spock, at times, or Spock and Kirk bonding over the difficulty of backing Uhura's play without being over-protective and having to face her wrath), and even some pretty high-quality Kirk-Spock-Uhura-McCoy. I like that! :)

Plus, there's just something about Zachary Quinto's 'baby-face' version of young Spock that makes me want to pat (or pinch) his cheek at times! So adorable!

All in all, I found a lot more to love in this movie than I'd expected, after hearing some of the reviews.

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

I actually found [Cumberbatch's Khan] a sympathetic character for a little while, even when I knew his real name, until his essential ruthlessness and savagery came out, scaring me even more than the more romantic, superficially charming, occasionally swashbuckling portrayal offered by Ricardo Montalban in the original series and movie.

Cumberbatch was a terrific villain. And yet I have to admit I missed the swashbuckling Montalban – so often, a villain is effective precisely because he/she is so attractive, seductive, and charming on the surface, so that one is deceived and taken off-guard when the true evilness shows through. Cumberbatch was too cold and calculating to take me off guard. Admittedly, though, Montalban becomes something of a cliché, and sometimes we laugh at his character’s over-the-top Don Juan role; one would never laugh at Cumberbatch’s character.

And of course I enjoyed Scotty disabling the super-ship that was threatening the 'Enterprise'...

The new Scotty is delightful. I wasn’t sure I was going to warm up to Sean of the Dead becoming chief engineer of the Enterprise, but it works for me. The only thing I’m still not warmed up to is the little alien officer friend he has as a sidekick. That little dude is too much like an Ewok or other Star Wars “cute” character, and he doesn’t do much for me. Maybe I’m missing the point.

[revdorothyl.livejournal.com]

...one would never laugh at Cumberbatch’s character.

No, indeed! The sympathy and sneaking admiration I felt so briefly for Cumberbatch's Khan didn't have anything to do with his presenting himself as a romantic or swashbuckling figure, but rather because of the deep and apparently genuine bleakness of his grief when he described his belief that Admiral Marcus had killed his 72 'family' members. In those moments, I could almost see him as sort of the negative image of what Kirk and/or Spock might have felt and become, if their isolation and losses had been just that bit more complete (if Kirk had never met Pike, e.g., and had therefore never entered Starfleet, or if Spock had truly found himself the last Vulcan left alive in the galaxy), and it was on that basis that I could begin to see Khan as somewhat sympathetic, someone whose pain I could recognize and feel for.

That little dude is too much like an Ewok or other Star Wars “cute” character, and he doesn’t do much for me. Maybe I’m missing the point.

I think that IS the point of the little 'cute' alien sidekick -- to appeal to the "Star Wars" fans. Abrams is up-front about the fact that he never got into ST at all as a kid and wasn't a fan even when he took on the first movie, though he was working with at least a couple of writers who WERE big-time [male] "Star Trek" fans. Therefore, they tried to come up with a script that contained some things for long-time fans and some things that non-fans might enjoy.