elanya

First - not spoilers!

Benedict Cumberbatch did an amazing job! This shouldnt' really surprise anyone. He really sells his character.
There are a lot of really fast pace action sequences!
There are also some really nice character moments.

And by all the spoilers, I mostly mean things that make me go 'Ugh!'

So, some people have already pointed out the failyness of casting Benedict Cumberbatch as a Sikh. It makes me extra uncomfortable that he was supposed to be a product of the Eugenics wars, although they don't mention it in the film.

Running gag was not meant to be taken literally, guys. The Scotty bit was good, but the other ones were really not necessary (especially the opening scene) :p

Lulz those silly natives can't comprehend what they saw, of course they will worship the Enterprise as a god. Also apparently advanced motor skills are a sign of advanced civilization that these 'primitive' shamblers have not yet mastered. Painful. :p That really set the mood for me too. It was one of many scenes that reminded me that while this is the writing team that brought us the first Reboot movie (which I loved despite it's flaws), it is also the same writing team that brought us Transformers II. The action sequences, especially the chasing/running/overly fast paced ones really felt like the TF sequences too. Stahp. That is not what this franchise is about ;_;

Overall I found the pacing terrible. It was always rushing to get somewhere, then slowdown for a character moment, then rush off somewhere else.. It felt like the only way they could keep dramatic tension was to stimulate it through actual physical on set momentum. That's hella lazy.

That said, they did pull some nice bits out of some of the terribleness. The stupid actiony stuff spurred good moments later, even if the writing around those moments was terrible. Spock and Uhura's fighting was stupid, but Spock's explanation/apology scene was good and a lot of that stuff came back at one point or another.

I will premise this by saying that I did go in to the movie knowing Cumberbatch was Khan, but there were no twists and very few surprises in this movie for me. I felt the same about IMIII, but that movie was more about characterization to me, and less about plot. Here, I knew that Kirk was in no danger and that they would bring him back with Khan's blood (or honestly I don't know why they didn't use some other sleepy super soldier, but whatever, maybe they weren't super enough). It ruined the tension of the death scene for me. The role reversal was nice, but the problem is that i don't buy that the experience changed Kirk in the slightest, or that it was any kind of stretch for him to have pulled that stunt even if it wasn't 'what Spock would have done'. We'd had scenes and scenes of him being all 'I would do anything to keep my crew safe!'. I feel like.. the writing of that scene was fine, and the acting was find, but the framework was terrible. In fact I think that is my overall impression. Some great moments with terrible framework. The whole thing with Admiral Marcus (I have been in a peaceful Starfleet for decades but lulz I'm secretly a heartless warmongerer willing to kill innocents so I can fight Klingons!) is terrible framework. I can't decide if it is good or bad that I don't remember how long he said he'd had Khan awake, so that I don't have to think about that too hard. Oh also, the Khan fakeout in-story felt extra cheap.

But great moments! I like that Uhura got a chance to try and be awesome, even if I am sad she had to be saved by boys fighting. I love all of everything about Bones. I loved Pike and Kirk in the bar, and Pike calling him 'son', and how it almost makes Kirk cry. I liked how deeply Khan underestimated Spock on multiple levels.

Overall, I really enjoyed parts of if, but it did not grip me as hard as the first. I freely admit, though, I may be being overly critical. Many people seem to love it, but I am disappointed. But hey, thanks/kudos to anyone who stuck it out through my ramblings :V