you know, as someone who watched all of TOS and TNG and a pretty good chunk of DS9 and Voyager, I dont see whats so bad about JJ's writing. I like that theres a bit of a different spin to the Trek universe now.
It's not terrible, but it's also not very good. It's different, I'll give it that, but much of the difference is that he takes established lore and puts it through a blender. The result is very much like Voyager: pretty to look at, not much in the upstairs department, and been done before, better.
If
Into Darkness is any indication where it's going, it's...alright, I guess?
Into Darkness really surprised me. I was hoping to love it. Then I saw it, and I logically realized it should cause me to nerdrage. But the end result was a great big meh. It was okay, though I don't think I ever want to see it again.
It was pretty and loud and occasionally fun and occasionally stupid. It's a popcorn movie that is not so egregiously bad as a Michael Bay film, but it's also not terribly good, when it all comes down to it. I liked the first hour. Then it got increasingly silly and unbelievable. Then it just started throwing so many things at the screen that my brain gave up. When Spock was playing Frogger with Khan on the moving ships at the end, I threw in the towel. I don't even want to talk about the reworking of Star Trek II's ending. I won't call it emotional manipulation, though, because that takes some skill. This was just dumb.
In the end: no, I don't like it. Like Voyager, it defies analysis or criticism because there just isn't a whole lot of
thought going into its production. The plot is a hash with so many things that don't make sense that it's crazy to even try. There is zero emotional resonance because I can't take any of it seriously enough. They are attempting to tick off many checkboxes without bothering to see if the final product holds together or makes any sort of logical or emotional sense. Too many checkboxes.
And that's the problem with JJ's writing. It's spectacle and it's fun, but there's no depth or heart. It's about in line with the SW Prequels, except the acting's better and there aren't as many lines that are groaners. I should be mad at it, but I guess I've decided it is not worth being mad at. Like the SW prequels, it just isn't
real to me anymore. I can watch the original stuff and pretend the new stuff doesn't exist.
Unless by some crazy turn of events they make a DS9 BR announcement...but that's just wishful thinking.
