For mainstream audiences J.J. Abrams first Star Trek film was delight, making a previously high-nerd property into something accessible. But in Wars-ing up Trek some of the more die-hard fans of the original series were left out in the cold. They weren't a massive group, but when you're dealing with a franchise that survived purely because of the most dedicated minority of the audience you have to try and keep them happy. Star Trek Into Darkness saw Abrams attempt to temper things with a plethora of in-jokes for Trekkies to uncover and a plot was more classic Trek. Unfortunately some pre-release snafus made it all look a little pandering. The lies about the identity of Benedict Cumberbatch's character were the centre of this, with all involved repeatedly telling us he was John 'definitely-not-Khan' Harrison. No one really bought it, with the increasing evidence that Into Darkness would bear more than a passing resemblance to franchise zenith The Wrath Of Khan convincing all he was really Mr. Noonien Singh. It all culminated in a twist that meant nothing and a plot the fans had seen before. The minority who didn't like the film became vocal (Into Darkness was recently voted fan's least favourite entry in the series) and, as is the norm when the super-fans don't like anything, anyone who listened to them assumed they were right.
