10 Exact Moments Movies Stopped Trying
4. My Name Is Kahn - Star Trek Into Darkness
Even casual Star Trek fans could toot their own horns about how they saw the twist about Benedict Cumberbatch's character coming before they even sat down in the cinemas. And while it's a cheap win to pat yourself on the back over that easy guess, the reveal does inhabit a far worse revelation.
Up until this point, there was an intriguing mystery behind the character and where the story might go. From "John Harrison" recruiting desperate parents to martyr themselves, to Kirk hotheadedly championing a manhunt for the fugitive, it seemed like the sequel to the 2009 flick was going to take some curious turns.
Once John Harrison reveals himself to be Khan, the entire film shifts into cliches and rehashes. Peter Weller is revealed to be a war lobbyist, Kirk and Khan replay a less interesting version of the skydive from the first film, and a modernized version of the Wrath of Khan scream is bellowed out (to embarrassing uproar).
The film lacks original ideas from the moment they "catch" Khan, and in its final moments the super-blood that cures death is a cop out that proves no one in the writing team cared, dared or wanted to take any narrative risk.