8 Ways Star Trek Just Isn't Star Trek Anymore

5. It's More Action-Oriented

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Paramount

While Trek's newfound focus on action has caused justifiable upset in the wake of Abrams' films, there's nothing wrong with a bit of excitement to mix the technobabble up from time to time.

And again, that's not to say that old Star Trek wasn't exciting either. The series has always prided itself upon its ability to deliver suspense with or without a mega budget, and while that's an element Trek continues to exploit, there's more variety when it comes to set-pieces.

Now we get to see the Enterprise darting around in dogfights; Kirk, Spock and Bones fighting in life and death scenarios. Both elements are emblematic of this new kind of Trek, and while claims that this type of action is at odds with the series' foundations make sense in some respects, the focus is only symptomatic of the franchise's wider evolution.

That isn't to say that Star Trek post-'09 is nothing but action either. While action sequences have taken a more prominent role in Trek stories, they slot in seamlessly with those older, more indelible elements we've come to associate with Star Trek since its creation.

The fact there's more of it isn't necessarily a bad thing, and with the advent of new moviemaking techniques and a bigger budget to boot, it could be said that the kind of action we've seen recently only further realises Roddenberry's initial concept.

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Content Producer/Presenter
Content Producer/Presenter

Resident movie guy at WhatCulture who used to be Comics Editor. Thinks John Carpenter is the best. Likes Hellboy a lot. Can usually be found talking about Dad Movies on his Twitter at @EwanRuinsThings.