Apparently Benedict Cumberbatch did some videos from Khan's perspective in which he analyzes the weaknesses of Kirk, Spock, and Uhura. I didn't see any of them until last night.
Here they are, courtesy of YouTube:
Spock
Kirk
Uhura
Showing posts with label Benedict Cumberbatch. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Benedict Cumberbatch. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
"Star Trek: Into Darkness" Review (2013) (Spoilers)
I saw Star Trek Into Darkness
last Sunday and now I'd like to review it...
The Good
For starters, the film was fast-paced and entertaining. I don't recall ever being bored. One goes to movies to be entertained, after all, and this one did a good job.
Secondly, it was great to see iconic Trek baddie Khan Noonien Singh back in action. The reboot of the Star Trek franchise (well, with the exception of stuff like Enterprise that takes place earlier) allows for the best stories of the old universe to be done again and Khan was among the most terrible enemies the Enterprise has ever faced. He would have won in "Space Seed" were it not for Lt. Marla McGivers' attack of scruples and made the named characters (as opposed to the disposable red-shirts) bleed the most--in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
he killed Scotty's nephew and (temporarily) killed Spock. And he's a complicated character in his own right, not some one-dimensional killing machine.
Although I would have rather an Indian actor (or at least someone who could pass for Indian) play Khan, Benedict Cumberbatch did an excellent job. I liked his speech to Kirk when he reveals his identity and how the Federation needed a warrior and a savage like him to fight the Klingons. Khan is supposed to be charismatic and that speech works. And he has so many great lines ("no ship should go down without her captain") that he delivers so awesomely. And apparently Cumberbatch was willing to learn how to fight hand-to-hand as well, something he shows off taking on waves of Klingons (and some of their ships) while dual-wielding some very large guns
Speaking of that, I liked how all the baddies had reasonable motivations. Admiral Alexander Marcus wants to militarize Starfleet and after the events of the first movie (in which a Romulan ship from the future destroyed many ships and the entire planet Vulcan), that's not completely unreasonable. The original series featured the Klingons as the Federation's great enemy, and that was without the enormous losses the Federation took at the Narada's hands. Marcus points out the Klingons have seized two worlds--with the Federation damaged, I imagine they'd be more aggressive than they were in canon. If the Federation's peaceniks are still in charge, Marcus trying to do things on his own--like finding the Botany Bay and employing Khan, who described himself as "an engineer of sorts" when introduced in "Space Seed" to covertly advance Starfleet's weapons program--makes a lot of sense. And Khan, who views himself as genetically-superior to Marcus, no doubt rankles massively at being forced into servitude, especially since Marcus is using the last remaining (to Khan's knowledge) Augments as hostages.
The movie also does a lot more with Uhura, which was really cool. I particularly liked her interactions with the Klingons.
Also, like its predecessor, the film has plenty of humor. In particular I liked Scotty and his little alien sidekick, plus the scene where Chekhov is assigned to engineering and given a red shirt was funny.
The Bad
I didn't mind call-backs and references to earlier "Trek" material, or even references to previous adventures featuring Khan. However, toward the end of the movie it started getting ridiculous. Kirk's self-sacrifice to save his crew is identical to that of Spock at the climax of Wrath of Khan, even down to the touching-hands-through-the-glass part. And this time it's Spock screaming "KHAAAN!" That came off as unintentionally hilarious. Plus the reason Spock sacrificed himself was that he was the most physically durable of the bunch and could withstand the radiation in the core long enough to get the drive functioning again. Kirk would probably not have been able to do that in the first place.
Once I began to suspect the villain would be Khan and he'd be played by Cumberbatch, I got mildly irritated. Khan is supposed to be northern Indian, a Sikh specifically. The original Khan, Ricardo Montalban, wasn't Indian, but he was darker-skinned. Cumberbatch is VERY white. Cumberbatch did a great job, but I'd rather have someone of the proper race playing the character. Hollywood has a not-very-pleasant history of racial miscasting--in my "ethnic cinema" class in college, I remember reading about how a great Japanese actor was denied a part in a movie in the 1920s because everyone else was played by white actors in heavy makeup and he'd stand out too much. I'd suggested Hrithik Roshan play Khan, since he's a major Bollywood star who looks the part. The only major Indian actor I can think of who's well-known in the U.S. is Kal Penn and he seems too young, plus the fact John Cho plays Sulu risks people calling this "Harold and Kumar Go Into Space" and that'd be a strike against the movie from the get-go.
There's also the problem of knowing just who Khan is. When Harrison reveals he is Khan I knew who that was, but the movie doesn't go into detail about why he's such a bad guy. Terrorists are a dime-a-dozen, but evil overlords who once ruled a quarter of the human population and are now back to wreak even more havoc aren't. Comments from Khan, Marcus, and both Young and Old Spock drop hints, but more exposition through dialogue or even a flashback to the Eugenics Wars would have been better. That would have involved dealing with the nature of those wars (most of the ST expanded-universe material makes the EW sound like a world war complete with the original U.S.S. Enterprise being destroyed in battle with a nuke, but a pair of novels attempted to make the events of our 1990s the result of Augment machinations), but it could have been really interesting to see the last days of the Great Khanate, the launch of the Botany Bay, etc. In the second "How I Would Have Done It" post, I recommended introducing Khan at the beginning of the film in a Eugenics Wars flashback, only played by a different actor so the big reveal would still work.
(Plus when Khan was introduced in "Space Seed," he got a mixed reception from the Enterprise crew, some of whom outright admired him. In the film, Young Spock calls him a genocidal monster bent on exterminating all he deems inferior to himself, something Khan doesn't deny. Although Spock in "Space Seed" is the one most skeptical of Khan's worthiness of admiration, I don't think he hated Khan like that, nor was Khan that blatantly monstrous.)
Also, although I'm quite willing to admit Alice Eve is good-looking, the scene where her character Carol Marcus strips down to her underwear was gratuitous and stupid. I know from canon that she and Kirk will get together and she ultimately bears his son, but non-Trekkies won't. This scene got on so many people's nerves that one of the writers even apologized for it, which is a pretty big deal.
The Verdict
Overall a good movie, even if the plot could have been more creative. 8.0 out of 10.
last Sunday and now I'd like to review it...The Good
For starters, the film was fast-paced and entertaining. I don't recall ever being bored. One goes to movies to be entertained, after all, and this one did a good job.
Secondly, it was great to see iconic Trek baddie Khan Noonien Singh back in action. The reboot of the Star Trek franchise (well, with the exception of stuff like Enterprise that takes place earlier) allows for the best stories of the old universe to be done again and Khan was among the most terrible enemies the Enterprise has ever faced. He would have won in "Space Seed" were it not for Lt. Marla McGivers' attack of scruples and made the named characters (as opposed to the disposable red-shirts) bleed the most--in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
he killed Scotty's nephew and (temporarily) killed Spock. And he's a complicated character in his own right, not some one-dimensional killing machine.Although I would have rather an Indian actor (or at least someone who could pass for Indian) play Khan, Benedict Cumberbatch did an excellent job. I liked his speech to Kirk when he reveals his identity and how the Federation needed a warrior and a savage like him to fight the Klingons. Khan is supposed to be charismatic and that speech works. And he has so many great lines ("no ship should go down without her captain") that he delivers so awesomely. And apparently Cumberbatch was willing to learn how to fight hand-to-hand as well, something he shows off taking on waves of Klingons (and some of their ships) while dual-wielding some very large guns
Speaking of that, I liked how all the baddies had reasonable motivations. Admiral Alexander Marcus wants to militarize Starfleet and after the events of the first movie (in which a Romulan ship from the future destroyed many ships and the entire planet Vulcan), that's not completely unreasonable. The original series featured the Klingons as the Federation's great enemy, and that was without the enormous losses the Federation took at the Narada's hands. Marcus points out the Klingons have seized two worlds--with the Federation damaged, I imagine they'd be more aggressive than they were in canon. If the Federation's peaceniks are still in charge, Marcus trying to do things on his own--like finding the Botany Bay and employing Khan, who described himself as "an engineer of sorts" when introduced in "Space Seed" to covertly advance Starfleet's weapons program--makes a lot of sense. And Khan, who views himself as genetically-superior to Marcus, no doubt rankles massively at being forced into servitude, especially since Marcus is using the last remaining (to Khan's knowledge) Augments as hostages.
The movie also does a lot more with Uhura, which was really cool. I particularly liked her interactions with the Klingons.
Also, like its predecessor, the film has plenty of humor. In particular I liked Scotty and his little alien sidekick, plus the scene where Chekhov is assigned to engineering and given a red shirt was funny.
The Bad
I didn't mind call-backs and references to earlier "Trek" material, or even references to previous adventures featuring Khan. However, toward the end of the movie it started getting ridiculous. Kirk's self-sacrifice to save his crew is identical to that of Spock at the climax of Wrath of Khan, even down to the touching-hands-through-the-glass part. And this time it's Spock screaming "KHAAAN!" That came off as unintentionally hilarious. Plus the reason Spock sacrificed himself was that he was the most physically durable of the bunch and could withstand the radiation in the core long enough to get the drive functioning again. Kirk would probably not have been able to do that in the first place.
Once I began to suspect the villain would be Khan and he'd be played by Cumberbatch, I got mildly irritated. Khan is supposed to be northern Indian, a Sikh specifically. The original Khan, Ricardo Montalban, wasn't Indian, but he was darker-skinned. Cumberbatch is VERY white. Cumberbatch did a great job, but I'd rather have someone of the proper race playing the character. Hollywood has a not-very-pleasant history of racial miscasting--in my "ethnic cinema" class in college, I remember reading about how a great Japanese actor was denied a part in a movie in the 1920s because everyone else was played by white actors in heavy makeup and he'd stand out too much. I'd suggested Hrithik Roshan play Khan, since he's a major Bollywood star who looks the part. The only major Indian actor I can think of who's well-known in the U.S. is Kal Penn and he seems too young, plus the fact John Cho plays Sulu risks people calling this "Harold and Kumar Go Into Space" and that'd be a strike against the movie from the get-go.
There's also the problem of knowing just who Khan is. When Harrison reveals he is Khan I knew who that was, but the movie doesn't go into detail about why he's such a bad guy. Terrorists are a dime-a-dozen, but evil overlords who once ruled a quarter of the human population and are now back to wreak even more havoc aren't. Comments from Khan, Marcus, and both Young and Old Spock drop hints, but more exposition through dialogue or even a flashback to the Eugenics Wars would have been better. That would have involved dealing with the nature of those wars (most of the ST expanded-universe material makes the EW sound like a world war complete with the original U.S.S. Enterprise being destroyed in battle with a nuke, but a pair of novels attempted to make the events of our 1990s the result of Augment machinations), but it could have been really interesting to see the last days of the Great Khanate, the launch of the Botany Bay, etc. In the second "How I Would Have Done It" post, I recommended introducing Khan at the beginning of the film in a Eugenics Wars flashback, only played by a different actor so the big reveal would still work.
(Plus when Khan was introduced in "Space Seed," he got a mixed reception from the Enterprise crew, some of whom outright admired him. In the film, Young Spock calls him a genocidal monster bent on exterminating all he deems inferior to himself, something Khan doesn't deny. Although Spock in "Space Seed" is the one most skeptical of Khan's worthiness of admiration, I don't think he hated Khan like that, nor was Khan that blatantly monstrous.)
Also, although I'm quite willing to admit Alice Eve is good-looking, the scene where her character Carol Marcus strips down to her underwear was gratuitous and stupid. I know from canon that she and Kirk will get together and she ultimately bears his son, but non-Trekkies won't. This scene got on so many people's nerves that one of the writers even apologized for it, which is a pretty big deal.
The Verdict
Overall a good movie, even if the plot could have been more creative. 8.0 out of 10.
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
How I Would Have Done "Star Trek: Into Darkness" v.2.0 (SPOILERS)
My earlier post on how I would have done Star Trek Into Darkness
was based on a scenario I devised on my alternate-history forum before I even saw the movie. I've seen the movie and I think the basic premise is sound. However, I'd make some adjustments...
Begin the film during the tail end of the Eugenics Wars. Depict Khan Noonien Singh and notable Augments like Joachim making their last stand in occupied Australia. My message-board featured a Eugenics Wars collaborative timeline and I suggested that India, with its much stronger democratic tradition, might've rebelled against Khan while he was visiting occupied Australia, leaving Khan and company stranded far from their homeland. Khan is prepared to drag as many enemies as possible into hell with him, but Joachim (who, based on his characterization in The Wrath of Khan
is more rational and can at times get Khan to calm down) points out they've captured a slower-than-light starship prototype, the Botany Bay. They can flee Earth and found their "perfect" Augment society elsewhere. Khan thinks for a moment, and smiles.
This Khan will be Indian and played by Hrithik Roshan, who according to my friend Sanjay Matthew (a Singaporean of Indian background) is a big hulking sort of guy. Ricardo Montalban, the original Khan, was really built (those pecs were real), so having a big dude play him matches up nicely.
Having the incident on the alien planet take place immediately afterward reeks of a "second prologue," but it does introduce the film's conflicts between Kirk and Spock and Spock and Uhura, so keeping it is necessary to have the later stuff. Jurassic Park
had raptor attack on Isla Nublar as the prologue and then we meet Donald Gennaro in the Dominican Republic, so a "second prologue" might not be that bad. The film will continue as it does until the scene where Khan reveals himself to Kirk while captive aboard the Enterprise.
Yes, I'm suggesting Benedict Cumberbatch should play Khan in the movie's present day. People will remember the Indian-looking Khan at the beginning of the movie and will think "John Harrison" is someone else entirely. Then when Cumberbatch does his big reveal ("My name is Khan"), have Kirk put two and two together (his name is Khan, he's hundreds of years old, he's got a superior intellect) and gasp, "Khan Noonien Singh." Alternatively, have Lt. Marla McGivers there and have her, the ship's historian, recognize Khan. Kirk, shocked, will stammer something like, "How could this be?" and Spock will helpfully point out that the melanin levels in the Augments' skin adjusted to their environment. If Khan had been in space (with no sunlight) for an extended period, he would have gotten really pale.
(Spock's attitude and people skills--or lack thereof--make for good info-dumping. Alternatively, McGivers could have this line, as the Eugenics Wars could be one of her areas of interest. "Space Seed" depicts her as having this fetish for strong men from the past, so she might have done her dissertation or whatever on Khan.)
One issue some people on my message-board had with the film was that nobody seemed to know who Khan was, until Young Spock called Old Spock. In "Space Seed," once the Enterprise crew deduced who their guest was, they knew that Khan was "the best of tyrants" from the 20th Century Earth. In my scenario, somebody will at least recognize him for who he is much faster.
Then things continue as they did in the canonical film. Having Spock do his "Vulcans cannot lie" routine in the beginning re: Kirk's falsified report foreshadows his tricking Khan to cripple the Vengeance (Khan demands the torpedoes and gets them--with the Augments taken out). However, I would definitely avoid the reversal of Wrath of Khan with Kirk dying instead of Spock. Having Kirk die to save his crew is important because it shows he listened to Christopher Pike's criticism of how he will someday get all his men killed, but it could be done rather differently. And definitely NO Spock screaming, "KHAAAN!" That was pure Narm. With the whole "Khan's healing blood" thing established already (the Starfleet officer Harewood's daughter, the Tribble in the lab), Spock and Uhura can tag-team Khan and use his blood to save Kirk, regardless of just how he's killed. Then Khan and friends can be put on ice wherever it is Starfleet has them.
Alternatively, Spock's trick fails and Khan transports the torpedoes out of the Vengeance before they can explode. Perhaps McGivers contacts him on her own and warns him or he's able to detect the warheads are live. This "pays off" the "Vulcans cannot lie" bit, but shows just how smart and dangerous Khan is (either because he's able to figure out the trick on his own or because he's seduced McGivers in a really short time and made her his spy). He then denounces Spock as a murderer and begins to attack the Enterprise again, only for Spock (or McGivers, if she's still online) to reveal he'd be killing his own. Khan makes his life-support threat again and Kirk and/or Spock points there are other Starfleet units approaching. This is in the Earth system, after all, and after the Narada incident it should have been better defended. Instead, he offers him a deal. Khan will surrender, avoiding risking the lives of his remaining kin, and he'll get a trial for what he's done. With other Starfleet units closing in and with the remaining Augments as hostages, Khan surrenders.
The film will end with Khan (looking a bit more Indian due to the melanin issue referenced before) and McGivers awakening Joachim and the other Augments in a pastoral clearing. The camera pulls back to show them, the 72 other Augments, and the Botany Bay itself on the surface of a virgin world, with the Enterprise in orbit. After one last communication with Khan (or McGivers, given how she's a Starfleet officer after all even if she's a traitor), the Enterprise warps out. Given the military aid Khan has provided to a Federation critically weakened by the Narada incident only a few months to a year before and whatever goods he can give up on Admiral Marcus's remaining conspirators, he might be able to talk his way out of a noose or being put back on ice. Given how Marcus references the Klingons conquering other worlds, the idea might be that Khan's new Augment society could be a buffer against Klingon expansion.
(Assuming they can build up to the point they could defend themselves against the Klingons quickly, which is a highly dubious proposition. A couple Birds of Prey in orbit could bomb them into bits in a few minutes.)
This ending is a bit of a Karma Houdini for Khan, but given his relatively sympathetic portrayal and what happened to him at the end of "Space Seed," it might work. And like the canonical ending of Into Darkness, it leaves us with the option of seeing Khan again.
What do you all think?
was based on a scenario I devised on my alternate-history forum before I even saw the movie. I've seen the movie and I think the basic premise is sound. However, I'd make some adjustments...Begin the film during the tail end of the Eugenics Wars. Depict Khan Noonien Singh and notable Augments like Joachim making their last stand in occupied Australia. My message-board featured a Eugenics Wars collaborative timeline and I suggested that India, with its much stronger democratic tradition, might've rebelled against Khan while he was visiting occupied Australia, leaving Khan and company stranded far from their homeland. Khan is prepared to drag as many enemies as possible into hell with him, but Joachim (who, based on his characterization in The Wrath of Khan
is more rational and can at times get Khan to calm down) points out they've captured a slower-than-light starship prototype, the Botany Bay. They can flee Earth and found their "perfect" Augment society elsewhere. Khan thinks for a moment, and smiles.This Khan will be Indian and played by Hrithik Roshan, who according to my friend Sanjay Matthew (a Singaporean of Indian background) is a big hulking sort of guy. Ricardo Montalban, the original Khan, was really built (those pecs were real), so having a big dude play him matches up nicely.
Having the incident on the alien planet take place immediately afterward reeks of a "second prologue," but it does introduce the film's conflicts between Kirk and Spock and Spock and Uhura, so keeping it is necessary to have the later stuff. Jurassic Park
had raptor attack on Isla Nublar as the prologue and then we meet Donald Gennaro in the Dominican Republic, so a "second prologue" might not be that bad. The film will continue as it does until the scene where Khan reveals himself to Kirk while captive aboard the Enterprise.Yes, I'm suggesting Benedict Cumberbatch should play Khan in the movie's present day. People will remember the Indian-looking Khan at the beginning of the movie and will think "John Harrison" is someone else entirely. Then when Cumberbatch does his big reveal ("My name is Khan"), have Kirk put two and two together (his name is Khan, he's hundreds of years old, he's got a superior intellect) and gasp, "Khan Noonien Singh." Alternatively, have Lt. Marla McGivers there and have her, the ship's historian, recognize Khan. Kirk, shocked, will stammer something like, "How could this be?" and Spock will helpfully point out that the melanin levels in the Augments' skin adjusted to their environment. If Khan had been in space (with no sunlight) for an extended period, he would have gotten really pale.
(Spock's attitude and people skills--or lack thereof--make for good info-dumping. Alternatively, McGivers could have this line, as the Eugenics Wars could be one of her areas of interest. "Space Seed" depicts her as having this fetish for strong men from the past, so she might have done her dissertation or whatever on Khan.)
One issue some people on my message-board had with the film was that nobody seemed to know who Khan was, until Young Spock called Old Spock. In "Space Seed," once the Enterprise crew deduced who their guest was, they knew that Khan was "the best of tyrants" from the 20th Century Earth. In my scenario, somebody will at least recognize him for who he is much faster.
Then things continue as they did in the canonical film. Having Spock do his "Vulcans cannot lie" routine in the beginning re: Kirk's falsified report foreshadows his tricking Khan to cripple the Vengeance (Khan demands the torpedoes and gets them--with the Augments taken out). However, I would definitely avoid the reversal of Wrath of Khan with Kirk dying instead of Spock. Having Kirk die to save his crew is important because it shows he listened to Christopher Pike's criticism of how he will someday get all his men killed, but it could be done rather differently. And definitely NO Spock screaming, "KHAAAN!" That was pure Narm. With the whole "Khan's healing blood" thing established already (the Starfleet officer Harewood's daughter, the Tribble in the lab), Spock and Uhura can tag-team Khan and use his blood to save Kirk, regardless of just how he's killed. Then Khan and friends can be put on ice wherever it is Starfleet has them.
Alternatively, Spock's trick fails and Khan transports the torpedoes out of the Vengeance before they can explode. Perhaps McGivers contacts him on her own and warns him or he's able to detect the warheads are live. This "pays off" the "Vulcans cannot lie" bit, but shows just how smart and dangerous Khan is (either because he's able to figure out the trick on his own or because he's seduced McGivers in a really short time and made her his spy). He then denounces Spock as a murderer and begins to attack the Enterprise again, only for Spock (or McGivers, if she's still online) to reveal he'd be killing his own. Khan makes his life-support threat again and Kirk and/or Spock points there are other Starfleet units approaching. This is in the Earth system, after all, and after the Narada incident it should have been better defended. Instead, he offers him a deal. Khan will surrender, avoiding risking the lives of his remaining kin, and he'll get a trial for what he's done. With other Starfleet units closing in and with the remaining Augments as hostages, Khan surrenders.
The film will end with Khan (looking a bit more Indian due to the melanin issue referenced before) and McGivers awakening Joachim and the other Augments in a pastoral clearing. The camera pulls back to show them, the 72 other Augments, and the Botany Bay itself on the surface of a virgin world, with the Enterprise in orbit. After one last communication with Khan (or McGivers, given how she's a Starfleet officer after all even if she's a traitor), the Enterprise warps out. Given the military aid Khan has provided to a Federation critically weakened by the Narada incident only a few months to a year before and whatever goods he can give up on Admiral Marcus's remaining conspirators, he might be able to talk his way out of a noose or being put back on ice. Given how Marcus references the Klingons conquering other worlds, the idea might be that Khan's new Augment society could be a buffer against Klingon expansion.
(Assuming they can build up to the point they could defend themselves against the Klingons quickly, which is a highly dubious proposition. A couple Birds of Prey in orbit could bomb them into bits in a few minutes.)
This ending is a bit of a Karma Houdini for Khan, but given his relatively sympathetic portrayal and what happened to him at the end of "Space Seed," it might work. And like the canonical ending of Into Darkness, it leaves us with the option of seeing Khan again.
What do you all think?
Sunday, May 19, 2013
How I Would Have Done "Star Trek: Into Darkness" (SPOILERS)
Just got back from seeing Star Trek Into Darkness.Fun movie and I'll probably do a formal review later. I'd suspected we'd be seeing Khan Noonien Singh again, since the way the reboot was handled (time-travel to the pre-original series era) meant that all the old plots could be redone again and Khan is one of the most beloved (if that's the right word) Star Trek villains. Given the complaints I'd heard about how redoing Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
would be insulting to the original, I had the idea of making the famous enemies James T. Kirk and Khan allies this time around.
Alternate history is one of my hobbies and one of the terms used in the AH subculture is "butterfly" as a verb. Basically, events that happen after the point of divergence from our history are likely to be "butterflied" away. This is an allusion to the butterfly effect. The events of the Star Trek (2009)
pretty much "butterflied" the entire Trek timeline after the arrival of the Romulan time-travelers, considering how many Starfleet characters from the original series were likely killed in battle with the Narada, Vulcan itself (with most of the Vulcan population) was destroyed, Kirk seems to have become captain much earlier, etc.
This meant the five year mission of the original series would not have happened as it did, which means either the Botany Bay isn't discovered or someone else finds it first. Since the Klingons were active in the region of space the Enterprise was exploring, there was a good chance they'd find it.
So here's what happens. The Klingons discover the Botany Bay, defrost the Augments, and essentially enslave them for some purpose (similar to how Admiral Marcus puts Khan to work for him in the film). The Star Trek: Enterprise
TV series depicted some kind of virus derived from the Augments infecting the Klingons, so perhaps the Klingons want the Augments to assist them in dealing with that, or they simply want them to help with the Augment technology they'd captured. Starfleet learns of a group of humans apparently working for the Klingons and orders the Enterprise on a covert mission to destroy them. Kirk and friends end up rescuing the Augments and Kirk and Khan work together to foil whatever it is the Klingons are doing.
Then Section 31 shows up, acting on intelligence collected from Old Spock. They detain Khan and the Augments and for a helping of dickishness, Lt. Marla McGivers as well. Never mind that this time around, she hasn't done anything wrong. Khan manages to turn the tables and escape with his kindred (and Lt. McGivers as well). Bonus points if it's on the U.S.S. Reliant. This shows the Federation isn't nearly as utopian as it initially seems and might sow a rift between Young Kirk and Young Spock and Old Spock. It also gives Khan a modern spacecraft and allows him to be a recurring nemesis to the Federation and to our heroes (if he thinks they betrayed him). Plus it provides a roughly similar rationale for "Into Darkness"--the Federation has shown its darker side, our heroes are at odds with each other, the events of the film might kick off a Federation-Klingon war, and one of the most dangerous men in human history has now got a second chance to wreak havoc.
And although Benedict Cumberbatch did a good job as Khan, it would have been better to have an Indian (or someone who could more credibly pass as Indian, which Cumberbatch really can't) portraying him. Ricardo Montalban, the original Khan, was Mexican. Were I casting Khan for this film, I would have sought out Hrithik Roshan. He's the right ethnicity to play Khan and since he's a handsome fellow (I think he's a Bollywood sex symbol), it's plausible he could include sexual seduction (see McGivers in "Space Seed") in his bag of tricks.
Fun movie and I'll probably do a formal review later. I'd suspected we'd be seeing Khan Noonien Singh again, since the way the reboot was handled (time-travel to the pre-original series era) meant that all the old plots could be redone again and Khan is one of the most beloved (if that's the right word) Star Trek villains. Given the complaints I'd heard about how redoing Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan would be insulting to the original, I had the idea of making the famous enemies James T. Kirk and Khan allies this time around.Alternate history is one of my hobbies and one of the terms used in the AH subculture is "butterfly" as a verb. Basically, events that happen after the point of divergence from our history are likely to be "butterflied" away. This is an allusion to the butterfly effect. The events of the Star Trek (2009)
pretty much "butterflied" the entire Trek timeline after the arrival of the Romulan time-travelers, considering how many Starfleet characters from the original series were likely killed in battle with the Narada, Vulcan itself (with most of the Vulcan population) was destroyed, Kirk seems to have become captain much earlier, etc.This meant the five year mission of the original series would not have happened as it did, which means either the Botany Bay isn't discovered or someone else finds it first. Since the Klingons were active in the region of space the Enterprise was exploring, there was a good chance they'd find it.
So here's what happens. The Klingons discover the Botany Bay, defrost the Augments, and essentially enslave them for some purpose (similar to how Admiral Marcus puts Khan to work for him in the film). The Star Trek: Enterprise
TV series depicted some kind of virus derived from the Augments infecting the Klingons, so perhaps the Klingons want the Augments to assist them in dealing with that, or they simply want them to help with the Augment technology they'd captured. Starfleet learns of a group of humans apparently working for the Klingons and orders the Enterprise on a covert mission to destroy them. Kirk and friends end up rescuing the Augments and Kirk and Khan work together to foil whatever it is the Klingons are doing.Then Section 31 shows up, acting on intelligence collected from Old Spock. They detain Khan and the Augments and for a helping of dickishness, Lt. Marla McGivers as well. Never mind that this time around, she hasn't done anything wrong. Khan manages to turn the tables and escape with his kindred (and Lt. McGivers as well). Bonus points if it's on the U.S.S. Reliant. This shows the Federation isn't nearly as utopian as it initially seems and might sow a rift between Young Kirk and Young Spock and Old Spock. It also gives Khan a modern spacecraft and allows him to be a recurring nemesis to the Federation and to our heroes (if he thinks they betrayed him). Plus it provides a roughly similar rationale for "Into Darkness"--the Federation has shown its darker side, our heroes are at odds with each other, the events of the film might kick off a Federation-Klingon war, and one of the most dangerous men in human history has now got a second chance to wreak havoc.
And although Benedict Cumberbatch did a good job as Khan, it would have been better to have an Indian (or someone who could more credibly pass as Indian, which Cumberbatch really can't) portraying him. Ricardo Montalban, the original Khan, was Mexican. Were I casting Khan for this film, I would have sought out Hrithik Roshan. He's the right ethnicity to play Khan and since he's a handsome fellow (I think he's a Bollywood sex symbol), it's plausible he could include sexual seduction (see McGivers in "Space Seed") in his bag of tricks.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
