Reanimating the Tribble - Star Trek Into Darkness One Year On

One year ago today not only did I receive the Revell USS Enterprise in the post but also went to the midnight showing of Star Trek Into Darkness.

Yes, seriously - 12 months have passed since the film that fans rate as the worst Star Trek movie ever was released on the unsuspecting public. Premiered on May 2nd, the UK became the first country in the world to receive Abrams' sequel into cinemas. 

As with Bond's Quantum of Solace there is the hope that this is just a faltering step in what could be the triumphant rebirth of Star Trek. Indeed, as with that 007 movie, the film to follow Into Darkness will be marking the 50th anniversary. While we know how Skyfall faired, we can only pray to the Prophets that Star Tr3k will manage to reverse the opinions of many in 2016.

Looking back, we'd got an inkling that this was going to be about Khan, there were going to be blatant homages to Classic Star Trek and that JJ Abrams would be heading further into action-adventure territory rather than a "more cerebral" take on the franchise.

We covered the buildup to the movie in fairly extensive detail - all the trailers, the virals, the rumours, the posters - just about everything and even in the final week, a daily digest of what was being gradually revealed to us. It was a masterful promotional campaign and for that we have to praise the team behind it. Each month we got more, the Enterprise rising from the sea, Harrison standing in a rubble strewn London, character shots, magazine features - I lapped up the lot and this might have been my downfall. Expectation on my part was in overdrive and far too high. It could, in no uncertain terms, absolutely fail to deliver. For fandom as a whole though, frenzy would be an understatement and there was more than a keen level of interest in the sequel. After all, the 2009 film had revitalised the brand, polarised fans and guaranteed the rejuvenation of Roddenberry's creation at least for a few years more.

Sadly at about 3am all I could muster to the other half as I dropped into bed was "It was OK..." and nothing more. I had been significantly underwhelmed in under three hours. Star Trek Into Darkness was enjoyable but there was something missing. Ironically three little viral trailers bore the answer - there was no soul, mind or heart to the movie; it was all out action with a rather impressive long range transporter to quickly fill in some irksome plotholes. It seemed to just exist and I have to say that I've only watched it three times since it's cinematic release. Once in 3D on the big screen and twice on DVD. 

I'd still rather watch Nemesis or The Final Frontier than Into Darkness even if only for the fact that it's not "Classic Canon" nor the Roddenberry Vision. I know that there will be those who are of the strict opinion that it's Total Garbage and won't hear anything to the contrary however, what were the successes here? What do we think that Abrams multi-million dollar sequel do right or do well? Surely there's something redeeming about last year's Star Trek offering?

Time for us to hit the DVD version and see what we can find that would keep our interest in the future...

Klingons

It took a bit of time for the full reveal here. We'd been teased with them in the deleted scenes from the 2009 movie but in Into Darkness we saw them face to face in full battlegear replete with armour, piercings, crinkly foreheads, batleths, d'k'targs and some mightly fine looking Birds-of-Prey. The fight sequence on Quo'noS is spectacular especially with Cumberbatch's arrival carrying some serious firepower. They did put up some resisitance but Khan turned out to be a one-man war machine.  These were brutal, pre-The Next Generation Klingons through and through where only honour and ass-kickings mattered. Well done to the writers for placing the action in the Ketha Province where one General Martok would be born in the Prime Universe. More of the same please.

USS Vengeance

We spotted her in the background of the trailers during the Kirk/Khan space-diving sequence as well as realising that it was this starship and not the Enterprise that was taking a dip in San Francisco Bay when fans started comparing nacelle configurations. The Vengeance was a totally different design, unmarked with a registry and bearing all the hallmarks of a stealthy hunter cloaked in black. The tell-tale Starfleet traits of a saucer/sec hull/nacelles were still there but this was the deadliest starship we'd seen in the fleet ever - it even had a menacing warp sound. Dwarfing the Enterprise emphasised it's venom before we even saw a single shot fired. Her decent and obliteration of a good portion of San Francisco is total overkill and rarely has Star Trek managed to fit so much death and destruction into one movie especially at the hands of one of Starfleet's own ships. Certainly if there's one thing we remember about this movie it's the Vengeance. We all wanted a model and luckily some were quick to market.

Admiral Marcus

Peter Weller made everyone else look amateur and, for me, stole the movie. Hardcore, a believer in the preservation of humanity and in taking the first strike, Marcus was the epitome of the slightly unhinged Starfleet admiral that popped up on more than one occasion over the years. Not exactly evil, more driven in his beliefs, Weller's experience shows through in droves every time he's on screen. His reaction of "Oh s**t you talked to him." when he realises Kirk has met with Khan and found out all the dirty facts was great and almost seemed off the cuff. True facepalm moment superbly executed. Weller is also one of the few to have featured in both aspects of the franchise, having guest-starred in the final Enterprise two-parter in it's final season from 2005. 

The Five Year Mission

After two movies they finally got to the point. We've not boldly gone at all so far and one of the big criticisms of the revamp was the fact everything was very, very Earth-focused. Embarking on the fabled mission does lend us to believe that the next movie will take place Out There but the hints of Klingon aggression in Into Darkness might indicate that will be the major plot line. It felt that we'd come to the end of a formation period in the life of the ship and crew - major foes had been faced down, Pike was dead and the slate was clean - we could even forgive Kirk being returned to the rank of captain after his rapid rise and demotion through the ranks. Maybe. 

The Descent of the Enterprise

Not necessarily something that was done right more of a "Wow" moment. The fall of the Enterprise into Earth's orbit was stunning both internally and externally. Whether you agreed with it happening in the first place is beside the point as we watched the ship literally start disintegrating before our eyes. Seatbelts were deployed on the bridge and Kirk and Scotty start running up walls to make it to Engineering. Watching all the background action here - the crew falling about the set, the shuttles crashing about in the hangar or seeing the great starship rise from the clouds all made this a well crafted visual experience. 

The detailing was immense on the crumbling ship and it just looked incredible to see her in such a state. The less said about the Star Trek II homage at the reactor room door, the better. The Enterprise probably took more of a pounding here than ever before and the signs are there when the mains comes back on line. Add in the nifty mini-refit at the end and you've got a whole new merchandise line for 2016.

London

Thanks to +Aaron Gallo for this one: "The one thing that I really liked about the movie was the inclusion of Section 31. The opening scenes with Harrison (Khan) and Harewood brought a very relatable, human, moment to the film. Having Section 31 operating in a secret location under a library was a great idea and presented a link between Star Trek from Enterprise to Deep Space Nine."

I do agree with Aaron - and from this point of view it did hit the mark on exactly what Roddenberry envisaged for Star Trek - linking modern day events into the future just as he did with the Vietnam War, racism, the US vs USSR; telling real issues through the forum of the future and science-fiction. Here Abrams did get it right, presenting a real danger in a capital city as has been the case in many terrorist attacks. The conclusion that it turned out to be an inside job so to speak did lessen the impact that might have been had it been revealed that the Klingons or Romulans had been responsible.

The Tribble with Darkness

It's easy to point the finger at Into Darkness for not being Classic Star Trek and being the summer action movie but here we've tried to show that there are a few things at the least which made it a success and showed the potential of this new timeline where anything is possible. Yes, there were some ropey homages and fans can lambaste that Abrams mined The Wrath of Khan far more than he should ever have done. At least there were a few nods to past glories (and the computer game linked to the production) with references to the Kelvin, Section 31, the Gorn, the NX-01 and other classic ships in the Marcus Office scene, a tribble...but not enough that was new. Bringing a tribble back to life with superblood (eh?!) was hardly the epic ending we were hoping for - there was a fist-fight a la Where No Man Has Gone Before (networks love 'em) but not involving, surprisingly, Kirk.

Star Trek II, the Meyer one, is THE Star Trek movie and should never be touched. Some bits were twisted but still, this should have been fresh and new not recycled. OK, new fans would have no idea what we long-termers were screaming about but stealing from the greats (while total flattery) doesn't bode well to keeping your loyal audience. 

Not only did JJ and Co touch it, they left mucky finger-marks all over. Let's hope that the changes in personnel for the next adventure help to reassure fans that this new extension of Star Trek has a bright future and we can be won back. Happy first anniversary Star Trek Into Darkness - let's hope to some degree that we can look back and know that this was the turning point to producing some new Star Trek of first class quality. Abrams is likely to just produce following his defection to the Dark Side and with all the rumblings around Kurtzman and Orci's involvement or lack of/writing partnership split, the intrigue is just beginning. Heck, Orci might even direct. Maybe some of that Khan superblood should be injected into the script for the third movie? Might just do the trick, no tribble required.

Was there anything else that made Star Trek Into Darkness redeemable? Have we missed something out or chosen something that you would never have considered? Let us know below right now!

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Into Darkness: The Lost Blog

Going through the pictures on my phone the other day I found a clip I had totally forgotten about but now might have just a smidgen of relevance given today's DVD/blu-ray release.

It's a video of me outside the cinema before going to see Star Trek Into Darkness on opening day at midnight. See what you think and did any of these predictions manage to come true or did we just avoid them like the plague. Anyway, it's just being put out there....!

Why didn't I post it? Well it kind of got forgotten in all the excitement that surrounded the movie and became slightly irrelevant at the time. Now it's just a great chance to look back at a snapshot of time before we'd seen Into Darkness and experienced the second bite of JJ Abrams' Star Trek vision.

Of course the next question is, how does it fair on the smaller screen four months after it's cinematic opening back in May? Is it better, worse and what do the extras bring to the table? 

Into Audio Darkness

I wouldn't be the first to say that Star Trek Into Darkness disappointed.

Nor would I be the first to note that the novelisation was probably better and just added a few essential lines and asides that helped fill out the plot and smooth over some rather gaping cracks that made it to the silver screen.

Which should mean that the unabridged audio version of the novel by Alan Dean Foster is a pleasure to behold and kept my attention from page one to the end. Sadly this isn't in the same league even though it's basically the same material.

Comprising of seven CDs, the audio book is presented in a simplistic card case with a white folding sleeve. No booklet, no inserts. Nothing. This is about as no frills as it gets and  a shame straight away as I would have loved a little additional info sheet or something that would have enhanced the experience akin to that which you might get with a DVD. All we get on the rear of the case are details the plot and a brief profile of the actress narrating.

For note, I'll be avoiding any discussion of plot here as I've already discussed some elements of that in a previous blog talking about the recent novel tie-in release. Also this will be distinctly shorter as I'm sure we're all familiar with the content!

Alice Eve (aka Carol Marcus) is the voice that adorns every word of this narration. She has a very distinctive, crisp and unashamedly English accent that is absolutely perfect for this type of media and in that respect every single word is crystal clear from start to finish. 

The shame of it is that while Ms Eve is undoubtedly a very talented actress she is definitely not a voice artist. The story is engaging enough but when Alice attempts to change into another character it can become very, very painful to listen to. Case in point being John Harrison. Despite being English herself, Alice Eve insists on turning Cumberbatch into one of the three witches from MacBeth which is very offputting. Every word is over enunciated and suddenly the calculating superman becomes something not too far different from a pantomine villain. Admiral Marcus and Scotty are equally badly represented. Peter Weller's Starfleet commander becomes slow and lethargic while Scotty, well...let's say it's played out to the stereotype in the movie a little too much in the recording. Luckily Keenser is mute so we're spared that interpretation but the rest of the crew come out as bland and uninteresting. She does do a pretty good Carol Marcus for note.

I just don't get why Alice Eve had to put on all these different accents. I think we'd have been perfectly happy with her reading the novel in her own precise English tones. In fact it would have made it very enjoyable as it's very well read throughout. The other trouble is that Alice just doesn't get excited. At all. Ever.

The scenes on the Nibiru set the tone for the whole seven discs actually. There's no excitement, increase in pace or addition of tension through Eve's narration. Everything seems matter of fact and unsurprising. Nor does the final scene in San Francisco bear any of the pace that marked it out on the screen as Khan and Spock duke it out. It all stays very calm, very serene. Very well spoken. Very dull. Sorry, Alice, it's just not what I hoped for.

Now I can understand this might be to ensure that every word is heard and every word is understood but this is action. It needs some kind of edge. At one point I even failed to realise it was an action sequence (Vengeance versus Enterprise) until about three-quarters of the way through the scene. A shame as I could imagine Alice building the tension nicely from Alan Dean Foster's novel but this never happens. Everything is delivered at the same, smooth tone. Ideal for a nice relax but not when you might want to feel the action and become immersed in the story. Coupled with some of the worst improvised accents in recent years it doesn't make for the ideal package. 

For those who perhaps have partial sight I would, absolutely, recommend this because it will give you a better picture of what happens in Star Trek Into Darkness. For those of you who enjoy an audio book as a diversion I would maybe direct you to read the book as a first choice. If necessary, yes, try this out if it's an easier listen for a car journey but just beware that the monotone level of narration pervades the whole story and might lead you into distraction or worse, sleep. If it was Alice Eve's choice to read it this way, I'm shocked however if it's a standard approach, then I think it might be time for a rethink. 

Overall, a good and enjoyable story that is let down by the performance and interpretations of the vocal artist used. I hope, for one, that Alice Eve remains on the screen rather than the speaker.

The Star Trek Into Darkness audio book is available now from Simon and Schuster priced $29.99

Star Trek Into Darkness: Into Motion

Stateside is still waiting for the arrival of the movie while in the UK we just can't move for any more reviews. It's like being in an avalanche. Seriously.

While it's a real mixed bag, Paramount continues with its marketing campaign and this time on Are You #The 1701? you can search the site and find the link to motion versions of the character posters that have already been released. It's not the hardest search - it's the Bad Robot logo if you must know. If you're not fussed, here's the link through to the images. I was expecting more than some flying dust over the pics. They also now carry the revised launch dates for the US.

Now if images are your thing then you're gonna LOVE this next bit. I've had a bit of a hunt across the 'net and found these beauties hiding out from the movie. Apologies if you've seen them before. I hadn't until today so I hope you enjoy. I've captioned where applicable! I believe they are from startrekmovie.com (also feature pic above is from the same place via Pinterest)

Talking about Spock in the turbolift

Confronting Harrison in the Enterprise brig

Flying to the Klingon homeworld

In Command

Cumberbatch as Harrison

Aboard the Enterprise in sickbay

Uhura on Qo'nos

Uhura, Scotty and McCoy on the Enterprise bridge

It's definitely interview time for the cast with not only John Cho pulling time on the main startrek.com site but writers Robert Orci and Alex Kurtzman dropping in for a chat about their script too. This is a great one, looking at how they wrote the film, the development process and even how it all started off as well as their reactions to the whole Harrison/Khan/Mitchell conspiracy theories that have been swirling around the internet for many months.

Over on iO9 there's a new interview with Simon Pegg which gives insight into the sets used for the movie and some of them are a little surprising - not as much greenscreen as you might have imagined! Also there's a hint of at least one deleted scene in there that MIGHT make it onto the DVD/blu-ray release. In line with this, The World's End director and associate of Mr Pegg, Edgar Wright revealed on his Twitter profile that he directed one of the shots in Star Trek Into Darkness and by the looks of things it's on the Klingon homeworld....

There is some rumbling, particularly on trekmovie.com that Wright "could" be in the frame for directing Star Trek 3 if Abrams is over on Star Wars duty. I think this is HIGHLY improbable even though it's a nice rumour to hear. So that means so far we've got a movie about the Klingons at war directed by Edgar Wright set for the 50th Anniversary in 2016....

Talking of hearing and again, on the trekmovie.com site, you can listen to an interview with Michael Giachinno and 22 minutes of the brilliant soundtrack from the new movie which is available for preorder on Amazon (sidebar here on SKoST) and is out on May 28th 2013. I am seriously excited and wanting to get hold of this asap. I may have mentioned that before...

Two more titbits for you before I head off for the weekend - firstly, if you're seeing the movie at an Odeon cinema in the UK, be sure to get some food before you go in as you can get a free Starfleet badge with a combo purchase. It looks a bit plasticky but it's a momento of the event nontheless. I've dropped a pic of the promo board here if you want to check any details.


The last bit is that The Guardian newspaper in the UK will be running a Making of... supplement on Saturday 11th May 2013 as part of its publication. I've dropped the gorgeous cover shot here so you'll know what you're looking for. It's different to the rest of the recent promo materials and who's going to grumble about the Prime battle phaser sitting alongside the reboot Enterprise...?

You can still check back over the build up to the launch of the movie by clicking on the Countdown to Star Trek Into Darkness label below. Be sure to come back and check out our review of the movie and novelisation tie-in soon!

Morning After Star Trek Into Darkness

I now know everything.

Ok, not everything everything, just everything to do with Star Trek Into Darkness but for a lot of people that moment of revelation is still to come and just to reinforce that, Paramount have continued the onslaught of marketing with a few new bits for us.

Four of the teaser TV spots have been re-edited with the updated US release date and even give brief new footage (such as the one above). They are entitled Battle, Forget, Spectacular and The Dark. Click on each for the Paramount YouTube vid. The MTV clip we were perhaps waiting for turned out to be something of a disappointment - how many times would you like to see the USS Vengeance taking to San Francisco Bay....again?! There's a fraction of new footage in these 16 seconds (16?!?!?) but don't get too hopeful as it's quickly into trailer territory.

McCoy finally got his character profile online today with the announcement coming from the echelons of the #1701 site. Here's Karl Urban getting all gruff in the movie and then all Australian in real-life plus some stills from the minute with the doctor. I spent most of the time looking at the shuttle in the background and the giant green screen...

Paramount have also been running a great campaign on Twitter today. Follow their UK account @ParamountUK and tweet using #IntoDarkness and you could win one of their Star Trek themed goodies. I managed to bag one this morning and will find out what it is tomorrow (May 10th). Vue Cinemas are also running a promotion and by following them and retweeting We've got planets full of #StarTrek #IntoDarkness goodies to give away! Just follow us & RT this message by noon on 13/5 to enter! #VueID  you could be in with a chance to win some MORE goodies. Oh - and add a third one to that from the Daily Mirror who are including a gamecard in their Saturday paper so you can play along right through to May 15th 2013 and win some stuff and even a near-space experience!

Thanks to +SimonAnd Schuster as well for the arrival of the novel tie-in today - very early and I'm looking forward to it - here's a sneak peak at the front and back covers if you can't wait...

One for the more dextrous among you - I've also received the Revell USS Enterprise featured in the new movie. For the unboxing of this stunning kit, jump over to this additional post here.

Also via the wonders of the Star Trek Into Darkness app you can get to see these awesome 8-bit USS Enterprise images. Of course to save you having to hunt for your phone I've added them below. The GIF is brilliant although the banner is a close approximation to the movie poster.

Finally for now, over on Are you The 1701? we got presented with two new stills from the movie - both linked to already released clips mind and focus on Carol's arrival on the shuttle to the Enterprise and Kirk and Spock aboard their little ship used on Qo'nos.

You can still check back over the build up to the launch of the movie by clicking on the Countdown to Star Trek Into Darkness label below. Be sure to come back and check out our review of the movie and novelisation tie-in soon!

Star Trek Into Darkness: Hours Instead of Minutes

Tick, tick, tick, tick...

It's 5.45am and I am awake. I'm awake because I can't sleep and I can't sleep because tonight, yes, TONIGHT I'm going to see Star Trek Into Darkness. 

At midnight.

This is going to be a long day.

It seems to be like the calm before the storm. There's very little movement as if we're all waiting for the first screenings later tonight...

First of all, the British Board of Film Classification have officially set the film with a 12A rating. The great news is that it was passed UNCUT so we're getting everything in the UK that everyone else is seeing. I've dropped the full text of the BBFC report here for you - just be aware that the following MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS!!!

To calm my nerves pre-movie night I dropped on four German trailers (eh?!) this morning. Nothing new to report in the big scheme of things but there were a few new pics that I managed to grab from them which might peak your interest and certainly did mine.

Carol gets physical (on the Vengeance?)

Scotty concentrates

Scotty (again - wow he's getting some coverage!) at phaser point on the Vengeance

So what was it about these pics that raised an eyebrow - the uniforms in pictures one and three look a lot similar to the one of Admiral Marcus we saw yesterday (here, left)....are we seeing a distinct link here? Am I going to be correct that he's got more of a prominent role than we thought. In fact back at the start of the campaign I suggested something along the lines of Peter Weller having a bigger villain role than Harrison because the latter seemed to be so in-your-face in the marketing material. Not that I'm putting two and two together in any way, whatsoever.

Add to that the new JJ feature in which he discusses upping the ante from the first film in '09, the way the characters evolved and how much he'll miss them all again (awww). He describes Harrison as a lot more complex adversary than they faced in Nero as well as where loyalties, and trust lie to deal with such a dangerous opponent. There are some shots from behind the scenes but mainly just listen to JJ talking about the movie - it seems like he might actually have enjoyed making it (shock!)

Spot the Enterprise in the background (and the Bad Robot)

With Chris Pine

On the Nibrui planet set with Karl Urban

Also it's been good news for the US audience with the announcement that the film will now be opening on Wednesday May 15th from 8pm although those screenings are sure to sell out (if not already) in record time. Overall it will open a day earlier on Thursday May 16th rather than Friday May 17th according to the Daily Mail website earlier today. Selected cast and JJ were in attendance at the Mexico City premiere with Saldana and Eve once again taking a lot of the limelight.

Over on Are You #The1701 there's the request to send in THE1701 creations via Vine or Twitter using the #the1701 I am. of course, working on mine right this second for publication....actually, here you go...looks like we managed to sneak our shot in there today (can you spot it?)

So this is it, the final reminder that you can see all of the other updates via the Countdown to Star Trek Into Darkness label below. remember I'll be updating through the day so keep dropping back for more info!