Hang On, I'm Running

[cordelianne]

I feel it's only appropriate that I break my accidental LJ silence (oops, hi everyone!) with talk of the new Star Trek.

Since it'll be spoilery, I'd better put it behind a cut:

I really enjoyed the movie! In fact, I think what's mostly brought me down from the experience is reading other people's reactions. There's probably a lesson there, similar to the "NEVER read the comments on an article." So here's my quick and dirty reaction:

• Star Trek Into Darkness (STID) is a fun, entertaining Hollywood blockbuster, and I approve! I love a good independent/art house film, but I also really like to be entertained. I'm in the midst of crazy stressful Summer Reading Program preparation at the library (why did I want to be a Children's Librarian again?) and I don't want to see something that'll leave me depressed. I want to leave a movie feeling good.


• I'm not an original Trekkie. I'd seen the old movies, some of the shows and enjoyed parts of them, but they never grabbed me. What I like about the new ones is they're faster paced (good god, I wanted to stab my eyes out rewatching some of the older movies), fun, bantery, and have great relationships.
  
  In all mediums, when I watch or read I care more about the relationships than the plot. I don't care if this movie was some damn morality play, I just care that the characters had interesting interactions (they did).
  
  Did Bones have crazy funny things to say? Yes, and even though it would have been fun to see more of him, that's what fic is for!
  
  Did Scotty steal the show with funny and heroic (including his ethical stance) moments? Yes, and it got me excited to explore his character more in fic.
  
  Did Kirk and Spock's friendship develop and deepen? Yes, and both actors did an excellent job portraying their characters' journeys.
  
  Did Uhura continue to be awesome? Oh yeah, I especially loved when she attempted to negotiate with the Klingons. That was bad ass! I enjoyed her increased role and how her relationship with Spock has developed.
  
  Did Sulu get to be kick ass? Hell yeah, this time from the Captain's chair! Sure, I would have liked to see more of him and Chekov, but that's cool - lots of fic possibilities. In fact, I basically left the movie letting out a big sigh of relief: nothing was so irrevocably Jossed - all fic possibilities remain.


• Apparently there's a) lots of annoying Benedict Cumberbatch fans out there, and b) even more people (it seems to me) annoyed by his fans. Maybe it's because I avoid Tumblr like the plague (I'm old, yo), but I've never encountered the fans, only the backlash. I get being annoyed by fans, I've been there (hello, Twilight and Supernatural), but I wouldn't let that ruin something I'm excited about. Anyway, my point (is there one?) is that Cumberbatch is good. He's excellent in Sherlock (a truly great show) and he's excellent in STID. Full stop. I don't care that his fans call themselves Cumberbitches (honestly, I'm amused), I just care that he gave good, complex villain, and he did. It was also cool to see him completely immerse himself in the sociopath/psychopath, since he walks that line in Sherlock.


• I was kinda meh about the new character Carol Marcus (okay, not "new" new but new to this worl), but didn't hate her. I appreciate that they at least *tried* to increase the amount of key women (which I feel is hard when there's so many male characters who exist from the previous series).


• The storyline itself was engaging and thrilling. I'm sure if I sat down and pondered the plot I'd find lots of plot inconsistencies and silliness, but I don't care.

Here's why I enjoyed the movie: I like to imagine the movies as one aspect of the ST universe. We're getting a glimpse of these characters at this particular time, and the movies can then spark other creative output. For example, Kirk and Spock's character growth in this movie is very inspiring fic-wise. My world doesn't rely on the movies to be exactly what I want. I just want to be entertained and see all my favourite characters on the screen, interacting in fun ways - which I did.

So I'm now pondering a Scotty & Chekov fic, and trying to come up with ideas for a Kirk/Sulu fic. If anyone has any ideas let me know!