Amusing Musings

Dear Internet, I have to rant at you for a moment.

I have watched Star Trek since I was a wee lad. I have seen, and been influenced by, every movie, and most of each series, except for Enterprise. I’m a definite Trekker. I love the mythology of Star Trek, and strive to learn from the basic humanity and compassion demonstrated by the series. When you get down to it, the purpose of the show is to promote equality and understanding. A lovely message for our world in times of uncertainty about our future. Basically Star Trek assures us that we have a future as a species.

That being said, I have to say that J.J. Abrams is mishandling a much loved series of mine. The big red flag for me is that Abrams was NOT a Star Trek fan until he made the first movie. How does someone who doesn’t care deeply for the series make a movie for fans of the series. Simply put, he can’t.

!!!Spoilers, do not read past this point if you want to be surprised!!!

Okay, opening scene, Bones and Kirk running from a mob of angry natives. Instead of hiding the Enterprise in a place that makes sense (i.e. in orbit around the planet), the writers decided that hiding it in the ocean would be “more awesome.” This goes against logic in just about every way. Apparently Spock didn’t chime in on this one.

Next, the story. Some genetic superman, who people who have seen Star Trek II, and the series already know well, shows up to wreck havoc upon earth. We learn that he is Khan Noonien Singh, and he has a vendetta. I like the Khan character, and Benedict Cumberbach gave a great prrformance. What I don’t like is that the new movie was basically just taking Star Trek II: Wrath of Khan, and changing only slight details. The heavy use of older source material makes me feel that this film was not made to honor the franchise, it made it feel like a cookie-cutter Summer blockbuster which feels more like parody or fan fiction than something that fits into the mythos of the series. They also took liberties with the way Starfleet operates. The Enterprise crew finds out that a massive warship was built next to Jupiter, and is dispatched to destroy the Enterprise for some stupid reason. This is about the time in the film where I had to ask myself if they were just fucking with me. The Federation is a peaceful alliance, and the first ship designed for combat before Abrams decided to play with the timeline was the USS Defiant in Deep Space 9, at least a century after the original series.

I know I’m not the only person who feels duped by this film. We should all remember one thing: films in Hollywood are made for one primary purpose - to make money. Ironic for a mythology where money doesn’t exist on Earth. I struggle to accept this film as a part of the Star Trek franchise. I hope Star Wars fans feel equally betrayed in 2015 when Abrams gets his hands on their favorite Jedi.
I would love to hear what others think. Please respond.

savannahfaerie:

Apparently there’s a reversed one now

Too perfect…  This GIF never gets old.