Tonight my mother and I debated for quite some time about what movie to pop in our DVD player. I brought up Romancing the Stone (in seriousness) and my mom countered with Indiana Jones. Indiana Jones led us logically to Star Wars (which for my family is a holiday classic), but I wasn't convinced. This is when my dad reminded both of us that we've had the same Netflix DVD since October which my mother and I rejected in unison (Sorry Keira Knightley and Mark Ruffalo in Begin Again). At this point I suggested (turning my back on my upbringing in the process) that instead of watching Star Wars, we watch Star Trek: Into Darkness.
As much as I appreciate that Hollywood didn't just smack a backwards number 2 (or worse, Roman numerals) onto the Star Trek title to signify the sequel, I think the subtitle "Into Darkness" is a bit silly. I mean, we are talking about shooting off into space-- deep, DARK space. That subtitle is either very redundant or very dramatic. The other thing that annoys me is that the people responsible for the first of Star Trek reboot knew this was going to be a franchise-- I mean it is a reboot of (one of) the most successful franchises in history-- so why didn't the first of the series get a subtitle? It could have been Star Trek: The Trek Begins and then Star Trek: The Trekking Continues. Okay, I'm not good at naming movies, whatever, not the point.
The reboot was successful (duh) and the sequel was almost immediately commissioned. And here we are today watching the sequel on blu-ray in my living room. And again, this was successful enough for the franchise to be granted another movie (Star Trek: The Trek is Still Going Strong). Actually the third installment is going to be called Star Trek Beyond (which, honestly, isn't that different from Star Trek: The Trek is Still Going Strong). And according to IMDb there is a forth movie in the mix that so far is creatively called Star Trek 4 (I would have called it Star Trek: Can't Stop Trekkin').
I was born and raised a Star Wars fan and although I had seen many of the Star Trek movies (and a few of the episodes of the TV show), I'm not a superfan like some people are. I once had a professor who was simultaneously obsessed with Star Trek and Smurfs (Canadians, amiright?!). He would intermittently sprinkle in quotes from both in his lectures. Now HE was a superfan of Star Trek.
I don't know if there are a lot of haters out there for those of us who joined the Star Trek fandom with the reboot or if they are just happy to have more join the live-long-and-prosper ranks, but I am unashamedly a new recruit to the Starfleet. I don't think it is wise for people to bogart things they love that are easily shared. It does not take away from your experience or enjoyment of music, movies, books, or television shows to share it. These things are immortal only when new people can appreciate it. Sophocles, Homer, Shakespeare, Moliere, Chaucer, Dickens, Austen, and many more long dead are still remembered because a new generation picked them up, played with them, and passed them along selflessly. We should take that example in terms of more modern media like television and film.
In any case, I enjoyed revisiting this reboot and I'm excited for the continuation of this franchise. I'm always a fan of ensemble pieces, especially when they all are as sassy as the cast of Star Trek. Bones is definitely my favorite character.
For more Star Trek related hilarity, please check out Eddie Izzard's Star Trek bit from Unrepeatable. Especially if you are a fan of the old TV show.
