Star Trek Into Darkness: JJ Abrams' 9 Point Guide To Rebooting A Franchise
8. RUSH RUSH RUSH
If movie studios are to be believed, everyone now has the attention span of a goldfish. We dont have time for establishing shots or character development, we need quick bursts of information and then its on with the next explosion.
That is the frame of mind JJ Abrams approached his rebooted Star Trek. From the get-go, the pace is frantic. Dramatic action scenes lead to bits of information and then more dramatic action scenes. JJ keeps the momentum high, presumably to stop the average cinema-goer from being distracted by the emergency exit sign or their mind drifting to what fast food outlet they might visit on the way home.
Even the warp drive didnt survive intact. In the old Star Trek, the Enterprise would take time to warp from one location to another and that time was used to add detail and depth to the plot; in JJs ACTION-TREK, nobody in the audience has time for that. Going from Earth to Vulcan is as quick as taking a bus to the shops. Set your course; engage warp and you will be there before you have had a chance to finish your tea. A big advancement from the four days that Scotty told Spock it would take to get to Vulcan in Star Trek: The Motion Picture. Even the JJ-Turbolifts get to their destination in double-time.
But who wants to bother with an ultra-fast warp drive when you can just beam to any location in the galaxy thanks to Transwarp Beaming. I remember when it was a novelty for someone to be beamed directly to Sickbay, now you can beam yourself from Earth to Kronos instantly as Khan demonstrated in Into Darkness. Maybe in the next Star Trek movie, JJs Starfleet will get rid of ships all together and just beam wherever they need to go.
You are making an exciting action blockbuster; speed is the key to keeping an audience interested.No one wants to wait for a ship to get where it's going, even if it traveling faster than light. All it does is slow down the film. All the time talking could be better spent shooting and blowing things up, so speed through these annoyances as quickly as possible otherwise people will start shouting ''WTF!, this isnt Star Trek, it's Slow Trek!!''