Star Trek Into Darkness: 5 Pros & Cons Of Benedict Cumberbatch As Khan

1. The Khan Plotline Seems Forced

Khan and McCoy

Star Trek Into Darkness is a thrilling two hours at the cinema. Few would dispute that. A film doesn€™t have to be perfectly made to be perfectly watchable. But as many fans and critics have pointed out, Into Darkness seems crowded with too many characters and too many plot threads. The end result is this: the development of many of the central characters gets lost in the shuffle.

There is a lot going on in Star Trek Into Darkness: Klingons are introduced, the story arc and relationships established Star Trek are dealt with, Kirk runs afoul of his mentor Admiral Pike, Spock and Uhura are together, there€™s a sinister plot within Starfleet, and so on. Trying to fold the Khan story line into such a rich batter makes for a sometimes uneven film. While Benedict Cumberbatch delivers a fine performance in Star Trek Into Darkness, was his presence there really necessary? The movie has enough going on without him. Had Abrams dropped the Khan story line, the secondary characters could have been given more screen time, more could have been made of the relationship between Carol Marcus and Jim Kirk, and the plot involving Admiral Marcus€™ attempts to start a war with the Klingon Empire would probably have made more sense. It would have been a very different movie indeed.
Contributor
Contributor

Not to be confused with the captain of the Enterprise, James Kirk is a writer and film buff who lives in South Carolina.