Star Trek: How JJ Abrams Plunged The Franchise Into Darkness

Star Trek Into Darkness Enterprise damaged So do you want to hear the nerdy, Trekkie viewpoint of Into Darkness? Well, let's just say the angry undertone will be carried out of the theatre and into the car if you were a fan of the old Star Trek shows/movies. As a fan of science fiction in general, I did enjoy watching this film, but I'd be lying if I said it didn't make me want to crap on Abrams' doorstep. For starters, one of the most fascinating aspects of the original Star Trek offerings was the plausible and yet necessarily restrictive science on display. Often there was amazing technology on hand to help our heroes defeat an enemy or solve a huge problem, but this tech, for obvious reasons, had to be limited in some subtle way, so as not to present an easy and quick option to most problems faced by the crew. The most facepalm-worthy example of this was the notion of "transwarp beaming," which Spock Prime introduced in 2009. This allowed people to transport from a stationary position to a ship, which was headed hell for leather across the galaxy, something which despite Spock's claim was an invention of Scotty's, never made an appearance in any Star Trek fiction we've previously known. In fact, most experiments with transwarp in Starfleets history ended in utter failure. If you thought you'd seen the end of this, think again. Not only does transwarp beaming rear its ugly head once again, but it can now apparently be used to transport a person from one planet to another, in an entirely different quadrant of the galaxy. This ought to come in handy if the crew of Voyager become stranded in the Delta quadrant in this alternate reality. But the fun doesn't stop there! What would you like next? How about starfleet building a ship which seems surprisingly similar to a distant descendent of Kirk's Enterprise? We may even build it using 300 year old knowledge! Mouth watering yet? Let's throw in a character from the original movies but give her a totally different nationality. Hopefully no-one will notice, as long as we throw in a shot of her half naked for no reason. Do I sound harsh again? Perhaps it is the final 30 minutes of this film that really got into my socks like chips of glass. My biggest gripe with this film, from a Trekkie's point of view, is something I could only reveal if I wanted to spoil the whole movie for you. Indeed, I do not wish to be the one to tell you what they did, for fear that you will project your anger onto me, or that I will destroy your life. If like me, you loved the original movies, then you're likely to be frustrated and disappointed upon the conclusion of Into Darkness, but some of you may accept it without question, so don't let me stop you from going. Just don't expect me to buy you a drink afterwards. Agree? Disagree? Let us know in the comments section below.
Contributor
Contributor

My life is simple. I write songs, sing in a band, act from time to time and I watch A LOT of movies and television shows. My preferred genres are Sci-Fi and Comedy. I decided to write for WhatCulture because my girlfriend (yes, I'm a sci-fi nerd and I have a girlfriend!) is sick of me ranting about films every time we leave a cinema. I do hope people enjoy reading my reviews, although I'm sure there will be many different opinions about every film I review. I respect everyone's right to their opinions so please feel free to comment and debate anything I write. Thanks for reading!