Tuesday 28 May 2013

Star Trek: Into Darkness

Where Spock x Kirk as an OTP is canon and Benedict Cumberpatch plays Sherlock Holmes with a bit of revenge on his mind.

Jokes aside.

It wasn't a bad movie. I enjoyed the ambiguity of who was the villain and who was the "good guy". You could see that Khan, although terrible, was not 100% evil and Kirk wasn't an angel either. It's a bit load of gray, where you question whether you should be mad at this guy, or feel pity for him. Obviously you end up cheering when he gets defeated but there is that moment of doubt halfway through the movie where you begin to question "is he really that bad". Or at least I did. I've never watched Star Trek though so it's not like the name "Khan" would've rung any warning bells. Did it surprise me that the Admiral was hell-bent on war? No. It was a very "modern" movie in a way. People bent on war, people bent on revenge, terrorism, destruction. Some of them could be our fathers, some of them could be people who have lost everything. I believe the messages the movie was trying to stress were apt and enjoyable without being too preachy.

The other message they were trying to shove though, which was Spock x Kirk (called, quite lovingly, Kock?) was a bit too much for my tastes. I love my good share of bromance and friendships, things like LoTR and The Avengers but the "touching hands between the glass" etc. etc. was just a teensy bit too much. I just don't like having pairings and ships shoved down my throat (if you haven't noticed with Sherlock *cough*) when the point of the movie is not romantic. And I know, I know, Kirk and Spock are supposed to be besties but come on. Maybe I've been hanging around tumblr too much,  I think this is a sign I need to step away from the computer.

The lovers quarrel was amusing though. What I like about Star Trek is their humor, and the character dynamics that allow for this humor. I enjoy me some Spock and Kirk interaction with the quick barbs and witty banter just as much as I enjoy Scotty and Bones (Dr. McCoy).

And I will not retract what I said about Benedict Cumberpatch. Khan was simply another Sherlock Holmes with some revenge in his system. This is merely a note about his acting though. I think I enjoy Khan's character more for his ambiguity as a villain, as I've already mentioned. I'll admit though, that I could be completely biased and I just don't like Benedict Cumberpath, that is also a completely valid reason for me nitpicking at him.

Good movie, I enjoyed it. Was it a masterpiece? I wouldn't say so and I'm not exactly jumping up and down for it to win any Oscars but it was a satisfying sequel to an already great series.

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