So, I will start by making a confession here: I am not the biggest Trekkie you’ve ever met. I can’t win any trivia contests and I haven’t seen every episode of every Star Trek series. That said, I still consider myself more than just a casual fan of both the original series and Next Generation, and as such I was really excited when the new J.J. Abrams films were announced. I have seen the first one plenty of times and own the Blu-ray. Of course I was excited about the new film from the moment I heard it was being planned. I was also very excited by its all-star cast, and get this: I got to meet some of them!
A few days ago, I was tipped off by a friend of mine (thanks Nicole!) that the local branch of Funcheap.com was having a cosplay photo contest on Facebook. Two pictures would be chosen and the winners would receive two passes each to preview the new film and meet three of the cast members: Alice Eve, Simon Pegg, and John Cho. Of course, since I am a huge fan of all three of the actors (and since I cosplay as Deanna Troi and my boyfriend makes a mean Riker from TNG), I thought I would try my luck. Amazingly, I was one of the two winners chosen to go! So Wednesday night, my boyfriend and I suited up and headed out to the Microsoft Store at the Westfield Center in San Fracnisco for a Meet ‘n’ Greet and preview screening. I chose to wear my star-fleet uniform with some severe eyebrow makeup and a blunt, black bob to be a vulcan this time.
The fans in line to meet the cast. Photo courtesy of the Microsoft Store (SF)
I think it is worth noting how awesome our fellow fans were. We met several representatives of the USS Golden Gate, San Francisco’s Starfleet chapter and were even recruited to join their forces! The atmosphere was so supportive of those of us who came in costume. Everywhere I turned I heard people speculating with excitement about the story line, who the villain for the film would be, and even debating issues from other fandoms (I overheard quite a few conversations about Star Wars and Iron Man, for example.)
Next came the actual meet and greet. Some representatives from Live 105, a local radio station, were giving away temporary knuckle tattoos and my boyfriend even won a Star Trek bluetooth speaker in a contest from them! Moments later, it was finally our turn to shake hands with Pegg, Eve, and Cho, who all introduced themselves to us by their first name. Since both my boyfriend and I attended UC Berkeley, we said as much to Cho, who seemed genuinely glad to hear it. Eve even gave us compliments on our costumes!
All five of us gave a rousing “Go Bears!” and took a group photo before the handlers ushered us off to the side to make room for the next person in line. We were also each given a poster signed by the three of them, which was unexpected. The three stars later greeted the audience after seating had ended for the screening. Pegg said, “If you see us after the showing, please feel free to cuddle us or whatever.” All in all, they were down to earth and quite a pleasure to meet. In all of my life, I can’t remember ever being so star-struck! (Especially since I was obsessed with Harold and Kumar and Shawn of the Dead in my high school days.)
As for the movie, I am bursting at the seams wanting to geek-out over the many references included to please the fans, but I don’t want to spoil any of them, since they are pleasant surprises. Just know that the story line and writing do a fine job of establishing new canon for the alternate timeline and also pay homage to the original series and everything that the fans loved so much about it (including some classic episodes). Again, I am not the biggest fan in the universe and I am not sure if a die-hard trekkie would approve of all of the changes in tone and direction this movie takes, but I personally found it to be a great balance of old and new story. As the previous movie establishes, this is a new timeline within the greater Star Trek universe canon, so it deviates substantially from the story lines many fans are probably familiar with. That said, the new content is interesting and is supported and enhanced by the use of effects, emotional depth of the acting performances, and keeps true enough to the original story line to provide nostalgia without being too predictable.
This movie is very heavy in character development: many relationships are put to the test, new ones are formed, and, for those of us who love non-canon pairings, there is plenty of fuel for any “ship” you may sail (my personal favorite being Kirk/Spock.) This was made evermore effective by the intensity of so many performances, particularly Benedict Cumberbatch and Zachary Quinto. Cumberbatch is very easy to sympathize with and root for, while simultaneously being an incredibly effective and terrifying villain. At times, he really tugged at my heart strings. Quinto has really settled into his role as Spock and is giving more depth to the conflict between his human and vulcan sides. Alice Eve is also a great addition to the cast for this film, and in addition to being excellent fan service for those who like pretty ladies, plays a vital role in many of the major plot points (though I can’t say much more about it without revealing too much.) And while we can all expect plenty of Kirk-based heroics, look out for epic moments from Mr. Sulu, Uhura, McCoy, Scottie and Mr. Chekov – all of these characters are given amazing monologues, one liners, and opportunities to be utterly badass.
In addition to all of that, this film is a cosplayer’s dream. I must applaud Micheal Kapplan for designing so many diverse looks with rich texture and amazing attention to detail. Every time a character changed costume I literally gasped and I can’t wait to see how many of them will be reproduced come Halloween time. Many new alien races were introduced in this film as well, and all of them look really edgy and cool. The visuals in general were stunning, though I don’t recommend seeing the 3D version: aside from a few early moments of “Oooh, it’s coming right for us!” I don’t think it added anything to the experience overall. I also just tend to prefer 2D as wearing glasses over my prescription pair tends to give me a headache, so if you are usually into 3D movies, you might want to give this one a chance.
All in all, Star Trek: Into Darkness perfectly satisfied this Trekkie’s craving for new content and I highly recommend the movie to old and new fans alike. Even if you weren’t such a huge fan of the first movie, this second installment goes above and beyond the other and is definitely worth your time and money to catch on the big screen.
Final Rating: 15 of 16-bits!
Are you excited for the new film? Let’s discuss it in the comments! (But please try to remain spoiler-free!)