2. Into Darkness Lacks The Elegance Of The Previous Story Arc
Between the original series episode Space Seed and the film Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan there is a lot of story. The arc is epic and graceful, and the success of the second Star Trek feature relied heavily upon linking its plot with one of the original series most popular episodes. That a feature film in 1982 would draw its plot from a television episode 15 years removed is remarkable considering it was not merely a remake but a continuation of that original series story. Fifteen years gave Khan more than enough time to seethe in his hate for James T. Kirk. The set up was perfect. When Khan returns in Star Trek II he is bitter and bent on revenge. Khans anger and hatred lead ultimately to his undoing, as he could have easily escaped with the Genesis device had his revenge against Captain Kirk not gotten in the way. Into Darkness, on the other hand, continues the story and timeline established in the Star Trek reboot while at the same time absorbs the Khan plot and character elements that made Space Seed and Star Trek II so popular. To that end, Into Darkness lacks the elegant story arc that worked so well for the original crew. Cumberbatchs Khan is disproportionately smaller than Montalbans Khan in both scale and importance. Which is too bad, really, given the potential inherent in the character.