#abramverse

WARNING: This is a rant. I am writing this down, without editing, and posting it before I lose my unbridled rage.

Star Trek: Into KHAAAAAAN is one of the worst films I have ever seen in a cinema. I am not judging this on being a Star Trek film, as Star Trek XI solidified in my mind that Abrams had no desire to obey canon, tone, style, or theme. Now, let me clarify, I enjoyed Star Trek XI, I really did, just not as a Star Trek film. Wrath of Khan 2: Wrath Harder goes beyond ignoring its franchise, it refuses to create its own; it is the most generic science fiction film I have ever seen.

The entire script is a string of nonsense, almost constant deus ex machina, and fan service that no one cares about. Plot points are heavy-handedly jammed in where they have no place, and most of the references to TOS or to WoK will be lost on the layman and make Trekkies contemplate lobotomies. Nearly every scene is centered around the major characters making terrible decisions that are never rectified or pointed out.

Now, I will admit that it did look very pretty, and overall the cast was excellent (except for the actor playing Admiral Marcus, he was abysmal), but the roles written for the characters were bone-gnawingly painful. The film is riddled with missed opportunities for character-building, sometimes (such as with Lieutenant Uhura) where sorely needed.

A final topic, which irked me to no end, was the 'science'. The 'science' used throughout the film made less sense than Star Wars, which never pretended to mimic life. Star Trek is, and always has been, about exploring the possible. Orci and his cronies use whatever helps create another improbable action scene, even at the expense of all believability, and then forget about it at the next moment.

The character of Khan was also underutilized. This is the first thing that I have seen Cumberbatch in, and I was pleasantly surprised; the scene where he is imprisoned in the holding cell is, in my opinion, probably the strongest moment of the film. But the ham-handed insertion of another (and much less interesting, threatening, or necessary) villain meant that Khan is often pushed to the side.

Also, this film basically solidifies by the end that Star Fleet is incompetent and almost decimated (mostly by its own hand). Then, SPOILERS, the only crew capable of doing anything in their entire fleet (as evidenced by two whole films) is given leave to fly off in whatever fucking direction they please with no clear goal and no intention of returning for FIVE GODDAMN YEARS. If war erupts with the Klingons (which, come on), then Earth is FUCKED. Better start brushing up on your Klingon, ladies and gents, because there is no competent force left in the universe that gives two fucks about you.

Also, the use of the Klingons was... Unnecessary. They were just meat shields with no personality or real threat. And they misspelled the name of their homeworld.

ALSOalso, the music was often quite abrasive and out of place.

AND most of the dialogue was terrible.