Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Keep On Trekkin'

So yeah, I'm completely behind in talking about things I wanted to talk about here. So let's condense all of them down into one post, okay? Works for me.

I saw Iron Man 3 a few weeks ago. And I enjoyed it! So go read my review of it over at that other blog, won't you?

And beyond that, let's talk Star Trek for a little while. Late last month, Fathom Events broadcast the classic two-part Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "The Best of Both Worlds" in theaters to promote the Blu-ray release of The Next Generation's fourth season. It had been years since I'd seen an episode of The Next Generation, and I'd honestly forgotten just how good it was. Yeah, the second part of "The Best of Both Worlds" isn't as good as the first part, mainly because a lot of it hinges on the buildup to the big cliffhanger, but it still holds up so many years after it first aired. Getting to see it on a movie screen was a huge bonus too, despite the tickets carrying an excessive $11.50 price tag. The whole "movie theater" thing added a greater element of fun to the whole thing.

But fast forward to this past Wednesday, and the release of the new movie Star Trek Into Darkness. I would have just reviewed it for the S@TM blog, but since I wanted to write about the other Star Trek movies first, it'll probably be a while before I get to it. But hey, why not get a little mileage out of the poor unloved MSX blog and talk about it over here?

I'm honestly not sure if I liked it as much as I enjoyed the reboot from 2009, but Star Trek Into Darkness is still a really fun, really entertaining movie. The whole thing plays out like a huge love letter to Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, which I thought made the movie charming yet held it back in some aspects. Part of me wanted the movie to do its own thing without feeling the need to be burdened by the movies and TV shows that came before the reboot. Just because you can pay homage to them doesn't mean you should, because too much of it means you run the risk of going overboard. I mean, after a while I figured they should have just done a straightforward remake of either the "Space Seed" episode of the original Star Trek show or The Wrath of Khan, due to how numerous the references and shout-outs were.

But regardless, Star Trek Into Darkness is a fun ride. I honestly enjoyed the movie a lot, and would totally recommend checking it out. Besides, the only other worthwhile movie that's out right now is Iron Man 3, and you've probably already seen that by now. You have, right? Because you should.