I haven't had much to say here lately. Life has been busy and I have been lazy. Let's see if we can fix that.
I went to see the new Star Trek recently and I really liked it. It had a very Star Trek feel to it (unlike the first two). It was big and looked like a video game most of the time, but it was fun and kept me engaged to the end.
I fell asleep during Into Darkness, so I missed the end of it. I don't think I missed much. I go back and rewatch films all the time and I still haven't bothered doing that with Into Darkness, even though I haven't seen some of it. But with Beyond I'm looking forward to seeing it again.
People talk shit about the first two new Star Trek films all the time (myself included), but they did something really important: they made Star Trek cool.
Let me tell you a story
I had settled into my seat and was watching the previews. I was cautiously optimistic that I was about to be entertained for 2 hours, and that I probably wouldn't pass out again.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, a chattering, giggling group of teenage girls appeared, like a plague descending on the theater. The skipped happily toward me and took their seats directly behind me. I am an old man (and have been since birth), so I got a sinking feeling at the thought of having them talk through the movie because it wasn't what they were interested in and they shouldn't have been there.
God, I'm such an asshole.
They loved it! I wanted to join in when they spoke over the movie (I didn't, of course, because they are teenage girls and I don't want to be arrested). They spotted all the cool easter eggs and were excited at all the right moments. They were engaged to the end and even made a comment about how little lens-flare there was.
It's possible that these girls have always been into Star Trek because they were raised on it or something. But I think it's more probable that the lens flare-heavy, dumb reference making, boring action-fest first two films made them interested. They then went and became Fans, enough that they got a bunch of obscure references my wife didn't get, and she grew up watching the TV shows.
Now we're getting a Star Trek film that's a little closer to what I think of as the Trek feel, and the new fans are coming along for the ride and enjoying it. We're getting a new TV show and they'll watch the hell out of that too.
We're getting a million new Star Wars films over the next few years, but they were always going to be huge. Knowing that Star Trek still has a place on the field after fifty years makes me happy.
Of course it's looking like the movie is going to be certified as a bomb, so what do I know?