Star Trek Film Rankings (UPDATED FOR STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS)

‘Star Trek Into Darkness’ has been out for at least two weeks and in that time, I was working on where this film would place in my overall list that would rank all of the Star Trek films. So, here’s that updated list, which now includes the latest film. I won’t go into these films too much because I’ve already done that in my last four Star Trek posts. For my full opinions on each of the Star Trek films, here are the links to my Film Series Retrospective, my full reviews of the 2009 Star Trek film and ‘Star Trek Into Darkness’, and my Spoiler Post for the latter…

Film Series Retrospective: http://rimoviecorner.blogspot.com/2013/05/trek-week-star-trek-film-series.html

 

Star Trek 2009 Review: http://rimoviecorner.blogspot.com/2013/05/trek-week-star-trek-2009-review.html

 

Star Trek Into Darkness Review: http://rimoviecorner.blogspot.com/2013/05/star-trek-into-darkness-2013-review.html

 

Into Darkness Spoiler Post: http://rimoviecorner.blogspot.com/2013/05/star-trek-into-darkness-spoiler-post.html

 

‘Shall We Begin?’

12. Star Trek V: The Final Frontier

 



The film that nearly killed the franchise

11. Star Trek: The Motion Picture

A dull and very boring start to the ‘Star Trek’ films

10. Star Trek Insurrection

 

Same problem as ‘Motion Picture’

9. Star Trek Generations

 

An uneven first film for ‘Next Generation’ that shoehorns in a few members of the original cast

8. Star Trek Nemesis

 

Seriously, this one’s actually not that bad

7. Star Trek III: The Search for Spock

 

It’s a bit of a copout following its predecessor, but still entertaining.

6. Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country

 

A darker and much more satisfying conclusion to the Original Cast’s run.

5. Star Trek First Contact

 

The best Next Generation film and another well-handled darker ‘Star Trek’ film

4. Star Trek Into Darkness

 

And here’s where I put the latest Trek film. I can’t say that it’s better than the previous Trek film because while Into Darkness has a superior villain in Benedict Cumberbatch’s interpretation of Khan, there were some certain elements of the film that were kind of underdeveloped, namely a second villain with no clear motivation. As for the ending that has attracted the most controversy, I’m not so critical on it but I will admit it does feel kind of rushed. Still, ‘Into Darkness’ is a rock-solid follow-up to its predecessor.

3. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home

 

A well-done ‘fish out of water’ adventure for the crew of the Enterprise with great humor despite a very strange plot.

2. Star Trek (2009)

 

The film that brought the franchise back to prominence that succeeded even when taking the risky move of creating a whole new alternate reality.

1. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

 

Really, what other film was going to take this spot anyway?

That should be the last ‘Star Trek’ related post I’ll do for a while, most likely until the next Trek film (unless I do a review of one of the Trek TV Series). Until then, ‘Live Long and Prosper!’

Fast and Furious 6 (2013) review

It’s truly amazing how far the ‘Fast and the Furious’ series has come ever since it was just a simple street-racing franchise back when it began in 2001. I’ll admit that for a long time, I was never really a big fan of the series, mainly because I thought it was… just that; a franchise that was more focused on the street races than actual story. Looking back, that was clearly the case with the first two films in this series. However, it feels like this series has been on a better run since director Justin Lin took over the franchise in 2006. While ‘Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift’ and 2009’s ‘Fast and Furious’ were still focused on the street races, they do benefit from better direction and the latter also benefits from the return of the original cast. Then, there came ‘Fast Five’, the first film in the series to abandon the street racing theme, with the end result being more of a heist film. So now, this series has reached its sixth installment; quite a feat for any franchise that has not done a reboot after all of this time. ‘Fast and Furious 6’ is not really a heist film like its predecessor but that doesn’t stop it from being an exhilarating action film from beginning to end.

After successfully stealing $100 million from a crime boss in Rio, professional criminal Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) and his team, including ex-cop Brian O’Connor (Paul Walker) and Dominic’s sister Mia (Jordana Brewster) have since spent their time ‘in retirement’. But, all that changes when Dom is approached by DSS Agent Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson), the same agent who chased after them in Rio, to help him take down a group of criminals led by former British Special Forces solider Owen Shaw (Luke Evans). Dom ultimately ends up helping when he learns that one of the members of Shaw’s crew is his ex-girlfriend Letty (Michelle Rodriguez), who was thought to have been killed in ‘Fast and Furious’. Dom gathers up his team to help Hobbs in taking down Shaw in exchange for full pardons for the whole team. More importantly, Dom looks to get Letty back in order to make their family whole again.

Don’t go into this movie expecting some major Oscar contender, because you won’t find it here. But that’s the whole point of the movie. ‘Fast and Furious 6’ is a film that doesn’t try to be something it isn’t. It’s just a straight-forward action film that is extremely entertaining. Lin is a director that knows how to direct some impressive action sequences, as this movie once again proves. Sure, there are still some moments that completely defy all logic and physics, but when considering what has happened in this franchise before (remember the safe being dragged around the streets of Rio in the last film?), it’s not really that big of a surprise. The plot is fairly simple, and the reintroduction of Letty into the franchise is a bit of a cop-out after the events of ‘Fast and Furious’, but again, that’s not what this series is all about. It’s about the fast cars and the high-octane action sequences. It’s just that since Lin took over, the movies have gotten much better at doing just that.

But that doesn’t mean the writing is devoid of substance. For one thing, one of the key themes that have been a part of the series since the beginning, the importance of family, is still present here. This is mainly thanks in part due to the cast. Yes, these characters are supposed to be criminals but they’re there for each other (to quote Vin Diesel in the film, ‘You don’t turn your back on family, even when they do”). Here, it’s shown in contrast with Owen Shaw, who doesn’t really react much when a member of his team gets killed and in Shaw’s mind, the code of family makes Dom and his team ‘predictable’. The acting may not be ‘Oscar’ material, but in terms of action movies go, it works for this movie. The cast just works well together, leading to some really funny dialogue (namely from Tyrese Gibson as Roman Bridges). The new additions to the cast are also pretty good as well; namely Gina Carano as Riley, a member of Hobbs’ team who has some really awesome fights with Michelle Rodriguez, showing off her fighting skills from all those years in MMA.

‘Fast and Furious 6’ won’t be winning any Oscars, but really, who goes into these movies expecting a great story anyway? This film knows what it is and it doesn’t try to be something that it’s not. It succeeds at being what it wants to be; an entertaining action film with impressive action scenes, even if they do defy all logic and physics. Sure, the plot is fairly simple but after six films, that is something that you just expect to see in these movies. It’s amazing how far this series has come, and it’s mainly been thanks to Justin Lin, who has breathed new life into this franchise. The last three movies (this included) have easily stood out as the best in the series. Also, be sure to stay a while after the credits for a post-credits scene that sets up the next film. Sadly, Lin won’t be back to direct the next one but the character (more importantly, the actor playing him) that they introduce certainly has me excited for what’s to come in ‘Fast and Furious 7’.

Rating: 4/5

Star Trek Into Darkness SPOILER POST

THE FOLLOWING POST CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS. IF YOU HAVE NOT YET SEEN THE FILM, DO NOT GO ON AFTER THIS FOR I WILL BE ADDRESSING THE FILM’S KEY SPOILERS. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!

For those who are not looking to learn the film’s key spoilers, here is my Spoiler-Free Review of the Film:

http://rimoviecorner.blogspot.com/2013/05/star-trek-into-darkness-2013-review.html



Like ‘Iron Man 3’, ‘Star Trek Into Darkness’ is another movie where the major spoilers of the film prevent me from talking about the film completely in an official review. So now, let’s talk about the key spoilers of the highly anticipated sequel to 2009’s ‘Star Trek’. Of course, the biggest spoiler for the film is the identity of the main villain, Benedict Cumberbatch’s John Harrison. Ever since Cumberbatch was cast in the role, there was speculation as to who Cumberbatch was really playing with some possible identities being some classic Star Trek villains who would have been making their debuts in the new Star Trek alternate universe. Even after his ‘Harrison’ name was confirmed, some weren’t really convinced that was all there is to the character. So who is John Harrison? In order to explain it further, let’s delve into the plot for a bit. To quote Cumberbatch from the film, ‘Shall We Begin?’

So as the film begins, Harrison bombs a Starfleet archive in London and then proceeds to attack Starfleet’s Top Officers (who had gathered together in response to said attacks) at Starfleet Command in San Francisco, with Christopher Pike being one of the casualties. Captain James T. Kirk, looking to avenge Pike’s death, volunteers to go after Harrison who, following the second attack has fled to Kronos, the home-world of the Klingons. The Enterprise follows Harrison to Kronos and eventually Kirk does end up capturing him after a little skirmish with some Klingons. While in captivity, Harrison tells Kirk to examine one of the 72 photon torpedoes that were loaded onto the Enterprise at the request of Starfleet Admiral Marcus (Peter Weller) to use against Harrison in case they were unable to capture him. When Bones and Dr. Carol Marcus (Alice Eve) examine them, it is revealed that there are actually cryogenic pods containing humans who have been frozen for about 300 years. When Harrison is questioned about this, he reveals his true identity, which is…

Everybody say it with me now…

KHHHAAAAANNNNN!!!

That’s right, Benedict Cumberbatch’s Harrison is actually Khan Noonien Singh, the genetically engineered superhuman who is arguably Star Trek’s most famous villain and the star of the best Star Trek film to date, ‘Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan’, where he was portrayed by the legendary Ricardo Montalban. In my review, I stated that this film pays homage to a classic Star Trek film, and ‘Wrath of Khan’ is that film. Not only is Khan the main villain, but Dr. Carol Marcus is also in the film as well, though in a relatively minor role. Also, there’s a major death near the end of the film, and yes, even the famous ‘KHAN!’ yell returns as well. The only difference here is that this time, there are changes to those last two moments. So, the big question now is whether or not this all works out in the film.

Well, overall the new take on Khan’s story does work well because while there are many similar events that happen again in this new film, it at least does do enough to be different from ‘Wrath of Khan’. I did like how at one point, Kirk even allies with Khan in an attempt to capture Admiral Marcus, who is revealed to have revived Khan (who had also been in cryogenic freeze for 300 years), forcing him to help Starfleet design weapons in order to start a war against the Klingons by holding Khan’s fellow colleagues hostage as a way to blackmail Khan into helping him. However, this leads to my major complaint of the film in that there are some certain story aspects and characters that were rather underdeveloped, and Admiral Marcus is right at the center of this dilemma.

While the writers do give Marcus a clear goal in mind (he’s looking to start a war with the Klingons), there is absolutely no clear motivation or reasoning for his actions. Khan had a clear motive; Starfleet was holding his people hostage but as for Marcus there’s nothing. There’s also no real connection between him and his daughter. For the record, Alice Eve is fine in the role of Carol Marcus. It’s just that she doesn’t play a big part in the film. Actually, I’m glad that the filmmakers did not try and make her Kirk’s primary love interest right off the bat, even when considering that, in the original Trek timeline, she was the mother of Kirk’s only son David and the co-creator of the Genesis Device (maybe that will make an appearance in the next film, perhaps?).

But aside from the ‘secondary’ villain, there are a couple other story/character elements that don’t really go anywhere. The father of a sick girl, as shown at the beginning of the IMAX preview (by the way, the two scenes in the preview are actually switched around in the final cut) last December, doesn’t really play a big part in the movie. Khan offers him a cure for his daughter’s disease, he takes it, it works, and then he helps Khan blow up the Starfleet Archives in London by setting off the explosion. Also, and while this may be just a minor nitpick, not enough Klingons. I know it’s not really that big of a deal in this film because of course the focus is on Khan, but hopefully the Klingons will play a bigger part in the next film. They’ve played a relatively minor part in this new series (in fact, there were some Klingons in the first ‘Star Trek’, but those scenes were removed from the final cut).

One final spoiler I want to talk about is the finale, which does pay homage to ‘Wrath of Khan’ quite a lot, namely a key death near the end of the film. This time, instead of Spock sacrificing himself to save the Enterprise from being destroyed, Kirk is the one who sacrifices himself to save the ship as it falls out of space down to Earth. The scene between Kirk and Spock that mirrors Spock’s final scene in ‘Wrath of Khan’ is a well-done scene that I guarantee will bring tears to Trek fans. As it ends, Spock is the one who utters the famous yell (‘KHAANN!’) as he then proceeds to chase after Khan. But don’t worry because Kirk does come back at the end. While Spock vengefully pursues Khan in San Francisco, Bones realizes that Khan’s superhuman-enhanced blood can save Kirk so Spock and Uhura eventually subdue Khan and use his blood to bring Kirk back to life. Is it a possible cop-out? Maybe, but at least it’s not the focus of a whole movie like Search for Spock was.

The consensus that I’ve been getting from people who aren’t really big on the film is that the movie is way too similar to ‘Wrath of Khan’ and I can see what they’re talking about. Aside from a few changes, this is pretty much the new alternate universe’s take on the best Trek movie to date. That being said, I stand by my original rating of 4.5/5 even after all that I’ve said in this post because while it is true that this is very reminiscent of ‘Wrath of Khan’, especially towards the end, the film is still a very exciting and entertaining sequel. Obviously, it’s not as good as the last Star Trek film, but it definitely benefits from Cumberbatch’s performance as the new universe’s interpretation on Khan. It is a vast improvement over the main villain of the last Trek film. I’m of course excited for the next Star Trek film, and I’m also interested to see who might be taking over for J.J. Abrams as he moves on to ‘Star Wars: Episode VII’. Maybe there will be a ‘Star Trek’ film directed by Brad Bird, perhaps?



Star Trek Into Darkness (2013) review

The 2009 ‘Star Trek’ reboot certainly took many people by surprise. J.J. Abrams took a franchise that had been in decline for 7 years and implemented a new sense of energy into it that it had never seen before. The end result was a sleek, exciting, and stylish new take on the Star Trek franchise. Abrams and the writers made the bold move of creating a new alternate universe but in the end, it did work out in the film’s favor. Now, four years after that film, Abrams and the main cast (or shall I say the ‘crew of the Enterprise’) return with ‘Star Trek Into Darkness’. Now that the Enterprise crew has come together, the writers now have more freedom to explore the Star Trek universe further without having to adhere to the series canon. The end result may not be as good as the previous film, but Abrams delivers an exciting new Star Trek film once again, thanks in part to a much stronger main villain.

After an incident on a Class M planet where the USS Enterprise violates the Prime Directive (Starfleet’s most important rule; there shall be no interference with the development of any alien civilization), Captain James T. Kirk (Chris Pine) finds himself demoted for going against Starfleet orders, having done so in order to save his first officer, Spock (Zachary Quinto), from a perilous situation. However, Kirk soon finds himself back in control of the Enterprise when a former Starfleet agent named John Harrison (Benedict Cumberbatch) attacks Starfleet directly, fleeing to the Klingon home-world of Kronos. In response, Kirk is ordered to lead the manhunt to capture Harrison but as the Enterprise heads off on its mission, Kirk and his crew soon find themselves in a dangerous situation that only gets worse and worse as they attempt to capture this dangerous fugitive and bring him to justice for his crimes against Starfleet.

If there was any problem with the last Star Trek film, it was that the main villain Nero was rather weak (mainly because of his plan) but because the film was focused on the relationship between Kirk and Spock, it wasn’t that big of a problem. This film, however, belongs to Benedict Cumberbatch, who just does a fantastic job as John Harrison, and he steals the spotlight whenever he’s on screen. Like ‘Iron Man 3’, this is another film that is full of spoilers, one of them being Harrison’s true identity. This is something that may have been spoiled already for some of you (for it was debated about who Cumberbatch was really playing ever since he was cast in the role) but I won’t mention it here along with any other major spoiler. All I can say is that the film itself pays much homage to a classic Star Trek film and it is a pretty unique new take on the ‘story’ of that film, despite the fact that there are certain elements of this new film that are sort of underdeveloped; namely the inclusion of another villain aside from Cumberbatch.

Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto do a fantastic job once again as Kirk and Spock. Like the last film, the relationship between the two is the most important aspect of the film and the two work great together. If it wasn’t, then a key scene near the end of the film wouldn’t have been as tear-jerking as it was. The returning cast is great as well, including Zoe Saldana as Uhura, Karl Urban as Bones, Simon Pegg as Scotty, John Cho as Sulu, and Anton Yelchin as Chekov. It is true that the focus is still on Kirk and Spock, but like with the last film the writers do a good enough job at giving each of them enough to do in the film. As for the new additions to the cast (aside from Cumberbatch), they do fine jobs as well, but some of them don’t really play as big of a part in the film as you may think.

All in all, ‘Star Trek Into Darkness’ is a satisfying follow-up to the last film. Having listed this film as my most anticipated film of the year, I’m happy to say that, for the most part, it did not disappoint. For some, this depends on whether or not you’ll like the homages towards an older Star Trek film; most importantly, the identity of the film’s main villain. In fact, you can pretty much call this film a ‘remake’ of that other Trek film. Still, the new take on this story does work pretty well, despite the fact that there are certain elements of the film that were rather underdeveloped. As for the main villain, Benedict Cumberbatch easily steals the show; a definite improvement over the last Star Trek villain. Of course, the acting is still top-notch all-around, the relationship between Kirk and Spock is one of the many highlights of the film, and the film is entertaining from beginning to end. It may not be as good as the last ‘Star Trek’ film, but that is one heck of a film to follow.

Rating: 4.5/5

(Stay Tuned for a Spoiler Discussion Post on the film)

TREK WEEK: Star Trek (2009) review

After the critical and commercial failure of ‘Star Trek: Nemesis’, the Star Trek franchise pretty much went into decline. The latest Trek TV series at the time, ‘Enterprise’, was canceled in 2005 due to low ratings. Just like around the time before the first Trek film came out, ‘Star Trek’ just faded into the background for most of the first decade of the 21^st century. But then, in 2009, director J.J. Abrams (in only his second directorial effort, having been mainly known for his work on television at that point) brought the series back to relevance with his reboot/pseudo-prequel. It’s a pseudo-prequel in the sense that while it is the story of how the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise came together, this new Star Trek takes the bold new route of creating an alternate universe while still establishing that the original Trek universe still exists. The end result is not only one of the most exciting sci-fi films in recent years, but a film that also does a fantastic job at reimagining the Star Trek franchise.

In this new Star Trek universe, James T. Kirk (Chris Pine) starts out as a reckless and brash rebel who never knew his father George (Chris Hemsworth, pre-Thor), who sacrificed his life to save hundreds of lives, including James and his mother; James being born just before his father’s death. When he is approached by Christopher Pike (Bruce Greenwood) to enlist in Starfleet, the same organization Kirk’s father was a member of, Kirk does end up joining but three years later, he comes into conflict with Commander Spock (Zachary Quinto), a Vulcan who struggles to deal with his half-human/half-Vulcan heritage. As Kirk and Spock try to work together as they become crew-members on the U.S.S. Enterprise, the new Enterprise crew must deal with a dangerous villain; an angry Romulan named Nero (Eric Bana) from the future (whose actions created the new alternate timeline) who vows revenge on Starfleet for the future destruction of his home-world of Romulus and more importantly, Spock. For it was Spock who, in the future, promised the Romulans he would protect their home world from destruction. But, as it has turned out, he did not succeed.

This new Star Trek is one of those rare films where it not only appeals to fans of the series, but it also works for those who aren’t Star Trek fans (I can certainly account for this, being in the latter group when I first saw the film). In fact, the film actually feels like it’s more suited to non-Trek fans. According to writers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, they wanted to inject some of Star Wars’ ‘rock-and-roll’ style into Trek, which to them felt more like ‘Classical Music’. When watching this film, it’s clear they did what they wanted to do. In fact, a lot of shots and ideas in this film do feel like they have been lifted from Star Wars; and all of this before Abrams was even hired to direct ‘Episode VII’. This is certainly much different from what longtime Trek fans were used to, but the film is exciting, sleek, and bold. The whole idea of the filmmakers creating a whole new alternate universe is risky, but it does work in the sense that it allows them to explore new stories without having to stay confined to the original series’ canon.

Casting is pretty much perfect, with each member of the cast stepping into their shoes of their predecessors quite well. Both Pine and Quinto are excellent as the new Kirk and Spock, respectively. Pine’s version of Kirk is very much reminiscent of Han Solo, as he’s the brash rebel who soon matures into the Captain of the Enterprise. As for Quinto as Spock, the writers do a great job at focusing on this Spock’s conflict of being half-human and half-Vulcan. There’s also a nice nod to the original series with the addition of Leonard Nimoy as an older version of Spock. It works because it’s not distracting and the inclusion of Nimoy also helps in strengthening the relationship between Kirk and Spock, which is the major focus of the movie. The two start out not liking each other, but as they mature they soon become the friends that we know them to be in the future.

Aside from Pine and Quinto, the rest of the cast is also great as well, and the writers did a good job at giving each key crew-member of the Enterprise a good amount of screen-time and more importantly show why they belong on the Enterprise. Uhura (Zoe Saldana), who actually wasn’t given much to do in the original series, is now the third most important character in the film, which is partially emphasized through her relationships with both Kirk and Spock, acting rather coldly to the former at first and actually being in a relationship with the latter. Uhura’s more substantial role in the film means that McCoy (Karl Urban) doesn’t play as big of a part as ‘Bones’ has had in previous Trek films, but Urban is actually probably the closest to his predecessor, DeForest Kelley. He just nails every detail about the character perfectly, from the attitude to, of course, how Bones and Spock don’t always get along. The way the writers implement Scotty (Simon Pegg) into the crew is well-done, and Pegg does a great job in the role, which pretty much has him be the comic relief. Finally, when regarding Chekov (Anton Yelchin) and Sulu (John Cho), they’re actually probably the least important of the main Enterprise crew, but the writers still give them enough to do in the film. Sulu in particular has an awesome action scene where he gets to show off his fencing talents.

If I did have one complaint about the film, it is that the main villain Nero is admittedly a rather weak Star Trek villain. This is mainly due to how his plan plays out in the film. So, in the future where he came from, the planet of Romulus was destroyed by a star that went supernova. Nero and the future Spock get caught up in a wormhole which sends them back in time; in Nero’s case, his appearance is responsible for creating the new alternate universe. Rather than warning Romulus about the planet’s impending doom, he just waits for at least two decades for the future Spock to arrive so that he can have him suffer the same way he did (Spoilers: in this new universe, the planet of Vulcan is destroyed). Eric Bana is fine as Nero, but the character needed a stronger plan. But, this film is mainly focused on the relationship between Kirk and Spock, so while the main villain is a weak one, it’s understandable as to why it is how it is and it doesn’t really affect the movie that much.

While great reboots are sometimes hard to come by, this new Star Trek greatly exceeds expectations and stands toe to toe with some of the best Star Trek films ever. Even with the risky move of creating an alternate timeline, the writing is superb, the cast is excellent, and the movie is a bold, sleek, and stylish new take on Star Trek. Kudos to Abrams for bringing the Star Trek franchise back to prominence after it sort of faded out following ‘Star Trek Nemesis’. This is how the Star Wars prequels should have turned out. After all, this does actually kind of feel like ‘Star Wars’ in certain areas. But as the next evolution of Star Trek, it does its job of not just appealing to Trek’s longtime fans, but it’s also a great introduction for someone like me who went in not knowing a damn thing about Star Trek. Not only is it one of the best Star Trek films ever, but it has quickly become one of my favorite films of all time.

Rating: 5/5!