You’re probably expecting an article all about what I think the plot is going to be for Star Trek Into Darkness, who I think the villain is, etc. etc. Well in all honesty, I’m afraid I can’t offer you any insight into those areas. Alas, I was never an Original Series fan, and only really got into Star Trek once Voyager started (I later went back to watch TNG and DS, but TOS was just too much for me). But please put down the pitchforks! Don’t send the witch hunters for me yet! This article is going to be about my expectations for J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek sequel, and what I hope the film delivers.
At the end of the day, we’re talking about an alternate universe now; the original timelines are no longer the same that we once knew. I like to think that J.J. Abrams has decided to go down a new and different route. Yes by all means have a few nods to TOS just to keep diehard fans happy, but let’s not forget that this is a relaunched Trek Universe. Why rehash old storylines? I can’t imagine George Lucas remaking Phantom Menace and keeping Jar Jar Binx in there…well, actually I could but that’s a whole other issue. Simon Pegg himself once said before the release of the 2009 film, that he didn’t want to say all the iconic quotes from TOS unless they actually made a difference to the dialogue for the better. I recently stumbled across an article online that said Japanese fans were in uproar after seeing the extended trailer which showed a very Wrath of Khan-esque shot which prompted me to go and watch it. I can only hope there’s a reason behind it that isn’t just a “Because we could” moment. But I have faith in J.J.
So, what do I think of the recent poster and trailer releases. Well let’s just say I may go and see The Hobbit at the IMAX at least 3 times just to see the exclusive 9 minutes of Trek content! First off I’ll start off with the poster and the first thing I’d like to point out is that my eyes zoomed in on the gherkin building in London and I remember thinking, “my god, that’s new, it’s not San Francisco!”. This is quite refreshing really! The poster did however, make me feel like I was getting ready for a Doctor Who Christmas Special or end of series two parter, which are usually based on Earth and involve some form of doomsday storyline. But the poster does its job, it gets you wondering about the lonely character (whose jacket reminds me of Shinzon from Nemesis…but never mind!) and what could possibly be happening on Earth when the Federation is supposed to be enjoying peace there.
Now onto the juicy trailer! Which ironically after having gotten all excited about seeing London on the poster…starts in San Francisco! Well first off, the music pretty much sets the tone of how dark this film has the potential of being. I’m a huge fan of Michael Giacchino’s score from the first film, and it looks like it’s going to be just as epic in this film. A good film score should move you, make you happy in the right places and send shivers down your spine at the right parts, which his score certainly did for me in Star Trek 2009. So I have high hopes for this films score too. You can hear aspects from the first films score already in the trailer, so let’s see what he delivers.
Benedict Cumberbatch looks like he’s going to be quite the villain. Clean cut, which makes a difference from gritty Romulans, but he comes across as a man on the edge. Now I know lots of people are contemplating his role, whether he’s someone’s from Kirk’s past, and yes, he could be. But let’s just remember, we haven’t actually seen a whole lot of this James. T. Kirk, and as much as the old school trek fans would like it to be someone we’ve already met in TOS, the whole point of J.J. Abrams relaunch of Star Trek, was to attract new audience members, which he may quickly lose if he keeps rehashing characters that new audiences have no reference for. So for all we know, his character may have nothing to do with Kirk and his grudge may be with the Federation itself, Kirk may just happen to be the guy sent to stop him.
The film itself promises some amazing action sequences. I was wondering if the Enterprise herself would feature much in this film given the synopsis, but it looks like she’s going to be given her fair share of bruises! Along with most of the cast it looks like. But then, this is Kirk we’re talking about, there has to be a few bust ups.
The only mildly irritating part about this trailer…is the short blonde haired woman. I have an inkling as to who it is, but given how gritty and real the other characters look, she’s far too TOS looking for me. Quite fake and her scream really irritated me near the end of the trailer! It looked like one of those “get a grip” moments where you just want the air head to die so the film can progress…but we’ll see!
So all in all, I’m quite looking forward to the new film. Not because I’m dying to find out whom the bad guy is, and what similarities there are going to be with TOS. But because it looks like it’s going to be a promising film with the right levels of action and drama. We have an excellent actor for a baddy who I like to think wouldn’t have signed up, unless he saw something good in the script. J.J. Abrams did an excellent job with the first film, the story was a standalone film, and you didn’t need to know anything about Star Trek before seeing it, because there was no need to worry about continuity between Kirk and Spock etc. You could just watch and enjoy it. I just hope that this film delivers the same quality for new fans of Star Trek.
