Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)

Title: Star Trek Into Darkness

Series: Star Trek

Director: J.J.Abrams

Starring: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, and Zoe Saldana

Rated: PG-13

Released: 2013

Personal Rating: 4/5

Oscars: N/A

Plot: After the crew of the Enterprise find an unstoppable force of terror from within their own organization, Captain Kirk leads a manhunt to a war-zone world to capture a one man weapon of mass destruction.
-------------------------------

Khan and Benedict Cumberbatch
Now I am white and know I can only look at this situation as an outsider. I have no choice in that matter, but I can do my best to understand and care. Khan was originally Native American aka not white. In this version of the Khan story, he is white. I have nothing against Cumberbatch's acting, and he does a fantastic job in this film, but the problem is that Khan has been made white. In film, and television, PoC are hardly ever able to be represented by a character like Khan. While Khan is a villain, his plights are so great that I couldn't help but sympathize with him (even until the end) and he is a master manipulator that can usually get what he wants. Never mind Khan being genetically engineered for perfection! Let me repeat: I'm not saying Cumberbatch is bad for being white, but they should've cast a PoC for the part.

Spock's Sass And Deeper Feelings
Vulcan's are supposed to be pure logic. As in there are no feelings like a human has. However, Spock has some very good snarky replies to comments made to him. It is one of the best parts of the movie, in all honesty. Spock is not comic relief, but he does bring some levity to the movie. While Spock does bring levity, there is more going on in this character. In the beginning he tells the crew of the Enterprise not to rescue him and after he's rescued this brings problems to his relationship with Uhura, his girlfriend. He also has friendship problems (I keep shipping out of my reviews the best I can so contact me outside of my blog to find out my whole thoughts on Spock and Kirk in this movie) with Kirk. All in all, I loved Spock in this movie.

How Far To Go To Be Prepared
Now Khan is, of course, the villain that was supposed to be revealed as such in a twist. This didn't happen as that spoiler was known far and wide, so it can't be a spoiler. However, the surprise villain brings up a good thing to consider. The villain did what he/she did because she/he wanted to protect the Federation. He/she was willing to go beyond what he knew was right to do so. He/she woke up Khan so that the genetically engineered man could create weapons for him/her. It is good to be prepared, but doing so at the price of morality is wrong. Even if it is with the best of intentions.

Final Thoughts
I was never a fan of the original Star Trek series. Of course I had heard about Spock, Kirk, Khan, and a few others. This stems from the fact that I wasn't much interested in the special effects as a young child and has nothing to do with the fact that I used to be a huge Star Wars fan. I have seen parts of old Star Trek episodes (including some Star Trek: The Next Generation episodes on BBC America), but haven't seen enough to make me real knowledgeable about the series. While I can enjoy the Abrams films, I can't always see problems that long time fans have. With that being said: this was a very enjoyable experience. I loved the effects and the acting. Very glad that I got to see it in theaters.