Why I didn't like a great Star Trek movie (SPOILER ALERT)

Let me preface this by saying I loved the new Star Trek in 2009. I'm not one of those cronies that complain that it isn't William Shatner playing Kirk, or that it's a completely different universe or something like that. Whatever. It's a movie. It's entertaining. And it's a whole heck of a lot faster-paced than Star Trek: Insurrection where Picard and company saved a bunch of people from ... getting transported off the planet. (WOWEE, so exciting)

But Star Trek Into Darkness is basically Star Trek's Greatest Hits. It's done well. It's paced well, there are several character driven scenes that are a nice touch. You've got perhaps one of the coolest Star Trek villians since Khan (oh wait, it is Khan). The action is always just spectacular.

J.J. Abrams, however, has taken elements from the original Star Trek 2 and 3 and mashed them into this movie. Those were great movies, but I've already bought the DVDs and I want to meet something new. What I loved about the 2009 movie was that Abrams was basically like "You know what, I'm going to pay subtle homage to Star Trek but do my own thing here."

Now? Well we have nearly a shot-for-shot recreation of the Spock death scene from "Wrath of Khan" but... instead it's Kirk! What a twist? Right guys? It's so rushed and ham-fisted, and again THE SAME EXACT SCENE WE SAW IN STAR TREK 2.

If you haven't seen the old Star Trek movies, I'm assuming you have a girlfriend or are married and not living with your parents, and STID should be really entertaining. I'm not denying this. For the rest of us losers, we've seen it before. I was hoping Abrams would have added just a little more original material to this story. We have Khan, who's brilliantly done, but we've already seen him in ST2. We have self sacrifice of a key crew member. And we have their resurrection (because apparently McCoy has found the cure for death.)

I won't pick apart the plot because who cares? It's a movie, there is going to be plot holes. The fact that Abrams took his redone Trek in the same old direction it had been taken before is annoying. It's like if he redoes the Star Wars movies and had Luke blow up the Death Star again. Lets do something new guys.

I give it 4 out of 5 stars for non-Star Trek fans, 2 out of 5 stars for Star Trek fans.

(To buy the original... and better Star Trek 2, click here)