JJ Abrams Was Kinda Right About Trek Needing To Get Its Act Together

[TheSubCommander]

From the episode, "Patterns of Force" in season 2.

There's also Spock's blood in Journey To Babel, when he was giving Sarek a transfusion.

 

[jaime]

Y'know, just in case there's any confusion, I don't think that the green stuff of the pointy eared ones is really in dispute.

 

[BillJ]

Y'know, just in case there's any confusion, I don't think that the green stuff of the pointy eared ones is really in dispute.

Whether they showed it or not, was. We are just showing that it was indeed, onscreen, in multiple instances.

 

[suarezguy]

Action films are traditionally the more popular Trek movies, like TWOK, TUC and First Contact.

I think TUC was very much not an action film, despite a battle in the end and an other very brief fight, and it's questionable if TWoK was one; FC indeed was pretty action set piece-y, though.

Clash of ideologies/philosophies: The most obvious instance of this is Admiral Marcus, and his desire to put Starfleet on a war footing. He is a cynical, Kissinger/Rumsfeld-type character who is prepared to use false-flag operations and secret incursions, and Kirk has to choose between this and a more Trek-like idealism.

That was an attempt to have a theme or at least ideas but Kirk (despite the film's title) didn't feel too tempted by Marcus's approach, it seems like he only considered it briefly, and objecting to false-flag operations is pretty mild in terms of commentary, no one supports that and supporting it is taken as (and certainly comes off in the film as) that Marcus is a maniac and moustache-twirler.

The message is also a little undermined by Spock in the end succeeding because he turned to intense vengeance and he has no evident regret about it afterward.

There is also Kirk's journey from arrogance to humility, which is necessary for responsibility, and which antagonist Marcus arguably lacks.

That was a better done theme, for Kirk to admit that he could be and had been mistaken with consequences.

 

[eyeresist]

I think TUC was very much not an action film, despite a battle in the end and an other very brief fight, and it's questionable if TWoK was one; FC indeed was pretty action set piece-y, though.

I'd say TUC is more actiony than TWOK.
TWOK: Kobayashi Maru (simulated). Attacked by the Reliant. Nebula battle.
TUC: Explosion of Praxis. Attack on Gorkon. Fist fight on Rura Penthe (plus Martia vaporised by Klingons). Final battle.
FC: Opening battle. Ongoing defensive action against Borg on Enterprise. Picard, action man!

The message is also a little undermined by Spock in the end succeeding because he turned to intense vengeance and he has no evident regret about it afterward.

That's probably one of the plot issues Abrams has referred to.