I have been on a roll with going to the movies in recent weeks. It seems to me to be either feast or famine in terms of what I want to see at the movie theater. There is no denying that summer movies barrage is upon us, though as always I am inherently selective as to what I will see. One determining factor is definitely the cost of going to the movies. Between the price of a ticket and then the price of a popcorn, it really eats into the wee little piggy bank! I love my popcorn, so I usual go for a large bucket and make sure I get my free refiles over the course of the film, so that it works out to cost me around $2.50 a go around. Ha!
The latest film that I saw was a special double feature of Star Trek and Star Trek Into Darkness Wednesday night with two buddies of mine. Just as a preface to the show, we went and had a grand meal at Kabuki! I am not one for sushi actually, I wish I was for I know I would love it if I didn’t like the taste of it. Regardless, I was most happy enjoying some delicious shrimp and vegetable tempura, along with generous helpings of both saki and Kirin beer. Good food and even better company as I am want to declare!
Once in our cozy seats, which were perfectly situated within the center of the theater, always a pleasant happenstance, we began to discuss all manner of topics, in particular Burning Man. Of course, you would be correct in ascertaining that I had my bucket of popcorn in hand! Soon, the lights dimmed and we were ready for the nights entertainment.
First up was the 2009 Star Trek film, which I enjoyed. I saw it in the theaters when it was released and was pretty happy with it. What was really nice about watching it upon the big screen was the fact that the events, story lines and characters were fresh in mind for when Star Trek Into Darkness played next.
To jump right into the matter at hand, I will start with what I liked about the film. Visually, it was beautiful to watch. The overall imagery of the film was quite a grand spectacle. What caught my eye the most within this particular aspect were the different colors and hues used thought out the film. The bright reds of the tropical island, the distinct greys of the city, the visually stunning tones of the atmospheric environments was a beautiful, breathtaking spectacle to take in.
The musical score by Michael Giacchino is first rate and excellently crafted. The pensive and introspective piano playing which is played before the catastrophic events that take place in London sealed it for me! The grand scale of sounds that slowly builds and then erupts into the lavish and bold theme music of what you would expect to hear from a film of this scale. Last year, Giacchino composed one of my favorite film scores to date, that being John Carter of Mars. You may recall his score for the show Lost as well, which was hauntingly beautiful!
I loved seeing Peter Weller, talk about a happy surprise! Can someone PLEASE make the sequel to Buckaroo Banzai! I have been waiting all my life for Buckaroo Banzai Against the World Crime League, is that asking too much???
SPOLER ALTER-DON’T READ FURTHER-THERE “BE” SPOILERS!!!!!
Now for what I felt didn’t work for me.
Having seen Star Trek 2, The Wrath of Khan when it came out in back in 1982, this current film was a bit off putting seeing the conflict redone between the crew of the Enterprise and Khan Noonien Singh. I knew going in that Benedict Cumberbatch was portraying Khan. When the time comes in the film when he reveals himself, I was very much like “Cool! Bring it!” But somewhere, somehow it felt flat to me the more I watched the events unfold throughout the film. While Cumberbatch does an admiral job, it just didn’t seem to me that this was, in fact Khan. He seemed underused. The best analogy I can provide is seeing an SSC Ultimate Aero in the slow lane on the freeway. This just didn’t feel like Khan to me, something was gravely missing.
Ricardo Montalban will forever and always be Khan. Besides the clearly evident fact that his performance will ever be etched within my mind at the tender age of twelve, I think it has to do more so with the subtle nuances that he brought to the role. There is a certain natural refinement and aged quality that he brings, a certain classicalism to the portrayal with which Montalban exudes, where by the younger Cumberbatch just does not have. It is akin to a fine wine, with age it greatly improves in taste, flavor and body.
An interesting trivia fact that i learned is that Shatner and Montalban never filmed any scenes together. Think about that for a moment. At no point within the film did they ever have any direct contact with one another and yet the chemistry on screen between these two clearly locked in a battle of wits, played out much like the Miltonian chess matches of Karpov and Kasparov. There was, for me, never any real sense of some grand, monumentally overwhelming resounding danger per se from Cumberbatch’s Khan.
Perhaps it has to do with the writing or perhaps the directing, but one has to remember that the history of this genetically engineered “Nietzcheionian Uberman” at one point ruled a quarter of the Earth. There is a grandeur, a larger than life to Khan inherently that failed to come across to me by way of his portrayal in the current film.
Who would I have liked to play Khan you ask? I propose Javier Bardem. Let that sink in for a moment. If you have not seen Skyfall, stop reading this post and immediately go rent it. Better yet, go buy it! Sitting here ruminating upon the idea of Bardem taking on the role of Khan would be awesome to see! He has the depth of range and inherent nuance to be the Khan in all his full villainous resplendence.
I think too the death of Kirk, a clear juxtaposition of the death of Spock from The Wrath Of Khan left me greatly wanting. What made the scene so powerful and moving between Shatner and Nimoy is that there is a this very tangible reality of there being a genuine life long friendship. It is etched upon their faces, the nuance of countless adventures together, as well as shared conflicts and perils of exploration and many missions of space travel. The scene was believable to me.
Watching the death of Kirk unfold within the current film, it left me feeling unemotionally disconnected. It was simply too soon to play that particular card so to speak. I believe for it to be believable, there needs to be a much longer fermentation and deep rootedness of the friendship between Kirk and Spock to take place. It has not been established long enough to come across as the emotionally impacting event that it is meant to be. Perhaps I am being overly critical, but to my way of thinking, Khan and the death of Kirk would be much better suited much further down the line of the new Star Trek cannon of films, where there would be more of a weathered sense of years of serving together and the deep bonds that would be fused as a result.
When discussing my thoughts upon the film with one of my buddies who just saw it tonight, he took my lack of enthusiasm of the overall aspect of the film to be due to my not “being a Trekkie”. I would respectfully disagree with that assessment. If anything, I would consider myself more akin to a classic “Trekkie”, for I content that it has to do with my admiration and love of what the original cast and filmmakers did so well, that there are clearly elements that are lacking for me within the latest film.
Putting it into perspective, I much more enjoyed the recent Star Trek films than the recent Star War films. Those don’t even exist for me. Absolutely dreadful and dare I say embarrassing to watch!
Overall, I enjoyed the film and I would very much like to see the further adventures of the crew of the Enterprise. It is just that in a very practical fashion of the film, some things clicked, some things did not, simple as that.
Next film I am looking forward to is Fast & Furious 6…until then, phasors set to stun.
