5. A Better Villain
In my opinion, there simply aren't many weak points of the 2009 version of Star Trek. However, the one I would pick first if I was making a list would be the villain. Of course I mean no disrespect to Eric Bana's portrayal of Nero. I believe he did a truly commendable job as the film's main villain. However, the main focus and purpose of that film was to get the main crew from the academy to the bridge in about two and a half hours and that's exactly what happened. The film needed to have a threat and a villain obviously but there's no denying that Nero gets lost in the shuffle upon reflection of the 2009 film. There's also no denying that this time around, the villain will play a much more centralized role. Nearly all of the trailers have been focused on everyone's reaction to John Harrison and how they plan to deal with him. It feels slightly reminiscent of the marketing around The Dark Knight back in 2007-08 when the vast majority of it focused on the Joker. There's more of a balance with Into Darkness but there's no second guessing that J.J. Abrams wants everyone to know before they see the film that John Harrison is someone who shouldn't be taken lightly. And yes, I believe he is playing no one other than John Harrison. There are many people who have been so quick to assume that he's playing Khan. Yes, I know that there's a lot of evidence that can suggest that's who he's playing. But there's just as much evidence to suggest that he's "only" John Harrison. I'm not going to bother listing all of the reasons why I believe he's exactly who the filmmakers say he is because that isn't the purpose of this article but if I am wrong, I will gladly admit my false prediction. I like to believe that these filmmakers are more creative than using a villain that's already been done just because it's their second film. I hope I'm right!