This Just Seemed Off To Me - Really Off

Rating: 3/10 (14 September 2013)

I love Star Trek. I've watched pretty much every television incarnation of it. Some I've enjoyed more than others, but I've watched them. I've seen all of the movies. I know Star Trek, in other words. This didn't seem like Star Trek. It was off; it was wrong. It was for the most part little more than a pretty standard action movie that tried to pass itself off as Star Trek by using the Star Trek characters. But it wasn't Star Trek. At best, there were times when it seemed to be almost a spoof of Star Trek. It wasn't something I could take seriously, and I'm not sure what those responsible for this movie were really thinking of and trying to accomplish. Frankly, I also can't figure out the title. Into what "darkness"?
I found the plot both pretty standard action fare, and also convoluted and lacking any real direction. There was no philosophical underpinning to this, which is often what made Star Trek worth watching. It's about a criminal/terrorist who attacks Star Fleet headquarters, with the Enterprise being sent off in pursuit, only to discover a massive bit of cover-up and corruption way up at the top. In the end, as the massive "enemy ship" readies to collide with Star Fleet headquarters there's a certain 9/11 feel to this. Honestly - couldn't they have done something more original?
Khan Noonian Singh? Again? Really? Yes, "Space Seed" was one of the best episodes of the original "Star Trek" TV series. Yes, "Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan" was definitely one of the best of the Star Trek franchise of movies to date. But - Khan Noonian Singh? Again? Really? This is kind of the equivalent of "Next Generation Trek" milking the Borg way too far for them to be either really interesting or really scary. And did we really need the bit of role reversal as the movie reached its "climax" - with dialogue being lifted in some cases word for word from "Star Trek II" but the roles of Spock and Kirk interchanged? That all just says to me that no one really put a great deal of thought into this. It was a muddle of things that are already very familiar thrown together (there's even a tribble in this!) with no particular coherence to them. And did we really need Leonard Nimoy? Again? I loved Leonard Nimoy as Mr. Spock. But - really - if you're going to try to keep this going (and there's another movie planned apparently, without J.J. Abrams directing) it's time to move on. You know. To boldly go where no one has gone before. Without Leonard Nimoy. Really. The whole Spock Prime thing serves no purpose whatsoever. Let Nimoy go. He's been honoured sufficiently.
I've not much to say about the cast. The movie was so centred on action that the cast didn't stand out. They faded into the background behind the action itself and the special effects.
I'll watch the next one. I mean, I watched "Star Trek VI" even after the disaster that was "Star Trek V." But, please, make it better. Show some thought. Be creative. Do all the things that weren't done for this one. (3/10)