I told Mike that I should have watched the first of the new "Star Trek" movies again before we saw the second one because I really didn't remember it. I remembered that we watched it; I remembered the new actors; I remembered that Nimoy was in it; I remembered that it had something to do with time travel and that it created an alternate universe, but I did not remember any of the details of the plot.
So, I got the DVD from Netflix and watched it yesterday, and realized that it was a good thing that I had not watched it earlier, or I would have sat through the second film saying, "But this is the saaaaaaaame movie! It's based on the same original film! It's the same plot! It's the same action sequences! It's the same weaknesses!"
It's the same movie because both reboots are based on _Wrath of Khan_. I know this because I saw the screenwriters, at an event several months after the first reboot, talking about the connections to _Khan_, which they (and everyone else!) consider the best of the ST movies. I also ran home and watched _Khan_ right after seeing the first reboot to confirm what I suspected were close parallels between the two films. NEVERTHELESS, I loved both reboots, even though I was a tad disappointed that they revisited _Khan_ so soon after making what I thought was a brilliant tribute film in the first reboot. I hope I'm making sense here, even though I know you won't agree!
ReplyDeleteI could have done with a new plot, but that wasn't what really bothered me. "Khan" did not include Kirk getting it on with an alien babe; Kirk and someone becoming human bullets; Star Fleet headquarters being attacked. Those are all original to Abrams first film. And those are just the ones I remember off-hand.
ReplyDeleteWhat I really see is the hand of the studio exec saying, "This stuff tested well -- do more of it and make it bigger." So, in the second film, Kirk gets it on with TWO alien babes -- with tails, no less -- the human bullet scene is at least twice as long, and Star Fleet STILL doesn't have any defense systems! The attack is bigger, louder, more destructive. And Spock meets himself because that's what the fans wanted.