Wesley Crusher reviews Star Trek Into Darkness

[Charles Phipps]

Yes, Will Wheaton's "Memoirs of the Future" is some of the most damning criticism of Wesley Crusher there is. It's pretty vulgar in places but hilarious all the same. It makes me want to see him as Wesley in the future, only for Wes to be a complete jerk.

 

[Cinema Geekly]

TOS was always male dominated and Women centric action films just don't do great business, not enough cross over, and not a lot of Women alone who dig action films.

That being said, Zoe's Uhura did more in this film than any previous incarnation of Uhura put together between TOS and the films. To me , on a 99% male dominated premise, that is a big leap forward.

 

[Kpnuts]

I could have done without the whole beginning, which felt gratuitous and largely disconnected from the rest of the film to me

Congrats Wil, you managed to completely miss the entire point of the Kirk/Spock storyline.

 

[Silversmok3]

The Enterprise being underwater wasn't a problem for me.If a ship can withstand FTL travel,it can probably withstand a brief stint as a submarine.

As far as the opening scene goes,Kirk had to be established as a reckless hothead in order for his actions as a character to make sense.Considering stinkers like Nemesis still haunt the franchise I think we should be quite happy this movie is as good as it is.

 

[sonak]

Well, not really. But Wil Wheaton has some things to say about the new movie:

I could have done without the whole beginning, which felt gratuitous and largely disconnected from the rest of the film to me, but I suppose they needed a way to set up Spock putting the needs of the many ahead of the needs of the one, or the few. I had a very hard time accepting that the Enterprise could sit underwater, but I’m willing to accept it and get over it. The makeup on those aliens was awesome, though.

I’ve read a lot of online criticism that Uhura didn’t do anything useful and was just there to weep and be weak around Spock. I honestly didn’t get that at all. She bravely faces down the fucking Klingons, knowing that she’s risking her life, and then is a badass during the climax when Spock and the ship need her the most. I suppose you can make an argument that she had no business bringing up relationship stuff with Spock in the middle of an important mission, but in a high stress situation maybe things bubbling beneath the surface just come up.

So on the other end of the writing-for-women spectrum is the profound failure to do awesome stuff with Doctor Marcus. I was disappointed, and I imagine that there must be deleted scenes that make her much more interesting (I have no problem with Alice Eve’s performance. I thought she did a fine job with what they wrote for her). She’s so goddamn smart, and we know that she ends up inventing the goddamn Genesis device, so it’s a huge waste to make her little more than eye candy for Kirk. Putting her in her underwear was embarrassing to me as a member of the Star Trek Family, and served absolutely no purpose other than to make teenage boys feel weird, like when they climb the rope in gym class.

My review of Star Trek Into Darkness

Interesting take on it, although I'm still not getting the outrage over seeing Marcus in her undies.

Yeah, that criticism is really making me

I've heard it described as "sexist," and Abrams apologized for it, releasing a scene of Cumberbatch in the shower as a "compensation."


So... is a woman in her underwear in a movie automatically sexist now? And why wasn't it sexist when it was Saldana in XI? Or even Pine in XI in the same scene?

 

[Kabraxal]

I think the problem some have with the underwear scene is that they felt it had no reason except for "sex". I thought it was a funny little moment myself and really... this is built off a series that had the women in tiny mini skirts sooooo...yeah.

 

[Gepard]

I'm still not getting the outrage over seeing Marcus in her undies.

I think at least part of it is the way they shot the thing – that low camera angle and full frontal pose really gave the shot a pervy vibe. You'll note that the two Caitians in Kirk's bed earlier in the film and Uhura's disrobing to change in ST'09 haven't generated nearly as much discussion, IMO because they were staged far more naturally and so didn't call attention to themselves.

 

[Kamdan]

So why are we giving credit to the opinion of Sheldon Cooper's mortal enemy here....

As for what he thought was wrong with the film perhaps he should he should dissect his own body of work in The Next Generation.

Um... he already has.

He's only done this extreme criticism of the character just so he remains relevant to fans, which I believe came around when he was dubbed the "Jar Jar Binks of Star Trek." Personally, I find the character of Neelix more baffling than Wesley Crusher, but you don't see Ethan Phillips or even Ahmed Best for that matter bad mouthing the way their characters were written or for the shows that they were paid to act in. Sure, the first season of The Next Generation isn't great, but at least you got paid to say your lines. Wheaton loved every minute of attention he got on the show, because he was a fan himself of the original show and it was a fantasy fulfilled to be a part of the crew of the Enterprise, just like Justin Long's character in Galaxy Quest. Wheaton should feel lucky to have been given the opportunity, because his part was originally written for a young woman and I seriously doubt that a real female Star Trek fan of his nature would have been chosen for the role.

 

[Commishsleer]

I'm still not getting the outrage over seeing Marcus in her undies.

I think at least part of it is the way they shot the thing – that low camera angle and full frontal pose really gave the shot a pervy vibe. You'll note that the two Caitians in Kirk's bed earlier in the film and Uhura's disrobing to change in ST'09 haven't generated nearly as much discussion, IMO because they were staged far more naturally and so didn't call attention to themselves.

I agree.

I think the pose was intended to show that Marcus didn't really care that Kirk was looking at her but it also came out looking as you say 'pervy'.

 

[Charles Phipps]

I don't mind throwing sex into the mix and appreciate it, actually, because sex is amongst what separates Star Trek from Star Wars.

Even I felt that was a badly shot scene.

 

[Clancy_s]

I'm still not getting the outrage over seeing Marcus in her undies.

I think at least part of it is the way they shot the thing – that low camera angle and full frontal pose really gave the shot a pervy vibe. You'll note that the two Caitians in Kirk's bed earlier in the film and Uhura's disrobing to change in ST'09 haven't generated nearly as much discussion, IMO because they were staged far more naturally and so didn't call attention to themselves.

I agree.

I think the pose was intended to show that Marcus didn't really care that Kirk was looking at her but it also came out looking as you say 'pervy'.

It's not the look of it that bothers me but the set up; in ST09 Gaila was making out with Kirk and Uhura was in her quarters, just off shift , with only her room mate there (as far as she knew when she started stripping) - both IMO good reasons for their undress. Whereas Carol getting her kit off in the middle of a discussion with Kirk seems forced.

I' ve read a number of attempted explanations, btw but none I find especially convincing.

I still don't think it is sexist but I do find it exploitative and poorly written.

 

[Photoman15]

Come on. The scene was IRONIC because we, the viewers know that soon Kirk will be knocking her up (maybe) and now, she doesn't even want him to see her in bra and panties.

 

[Shaka Zulu]

So why are we giving credit to the opinion of Sheldon Cooper's mortal enemy here....

As for what he thought was wrong with the film perhaps he should he should dissect his own body of work in The Next Generation. He is somewhat the Jar Jar Binks of that era.

He did say that he loved the movie; he just didn't like seeing Alice Eve in her bra and panties.

And, he's hard on himself in the Memories of the Future book and podcast.

 

[Hober Mallow]

The ship was under water because it served the plot of the movie.

You have it backwards. The plot of the movie was constructed in order to rationalize a "cool visual". It's the George Lucas school of thinking, which is fine for SW, but out of place in Trek.

Yep, that's exactly it, but it's not just the Georege Lucas school of thinking, it's how all action movies are made nowadays. The setpieces come first (cool visuals and action scenes, plotted like mini-movies), then a story is built around that. It's annoying as hell, but it's not just Abrams and Star Trek guilty of it, it's all of Hollywood.

 

[xvicente]

I don't mind throwing sex into the mix and appreciate it, actually, because sex is amongst what separates Star Trek from Star Wars

Not really. In Star Wars, 100% of the female characters wore a golden bikini.

 

[Tribble puncher]

If it can survive in space why not underwater? I just don't get this objection other than people just do not like seeing the ship underwater for whatever reason.

Yup- and there is a precedent. Voyager went through fluidic space!

I don't get why people had a problem with the big-E under water either. They couldn't beam through the atmosphere, so they went through the atmosphere to the middle of the ocean (where no one would see them) and then moved a bit closer to the land masses.

simples

I don't understand this either. My Star Trek Micro Machines survived many a mission in the bathtub without any sort of damage.

Also, The Original 1701 flew through the cytoplasm (or is it protoplasm) of a giant space aomeba....

 

[M'Sharak]

If it can survive in space why not underwater? I just don't get this objection other than people just do not like seeing the ship underwater for whatever reason.

Yup- and there is a precedent. Voyager went through fluidic space!

I don't get why people had a problem with the big-E under water either. They couldn't beam through the atmosphere, so they went through the atmosphere to the middle of the ocean (where no one would see them) and then moved a bit closer to the land masses.

simples

I don't understand this either. My Star Trek Micro Machines survived many a mission in the bathtub without any sort of damage.

Also, The Original 1701 flew through the cytoplasm (or is it protoplasm) of a giant space aomeba....

SPOCK:

Readings coming in now, Captain.
Length -- approximately 11,000 miles.
Width -- varying from 2,000 to 3,000 miles.
Outer layer studded with space debris and
waste. Interior consists of ... protoplasm,
varying from a firmer gelatinous layer to a
semifluid central mass. Condition ... living.​

 

[Set Harth]

In Star Wars, 100% of the female characters wore a golden bikini.

Which looked surprisingly good on Mon Mothma.

Aunt Beru, not so much.

 

[Shaka Zulu]

I hope Wil Wheaton was embarressed by the 'firm boob' scene in INS.

That was his 'mother'

Still I think he does have a point about Marcus' intelligence. She was Spock's scientific peer in TWOK. I hope she has more scientific things to do in the next movie.

If she's in the next movie.

 

[Noname Given]

With all due respect to the OP - he did leave out one BIG comment by Mr. Wheaton:

The short version is: I loved it. I think it’s my favorite Star Trek movie ever, and I can’t wait to see what this crew does next.

^^^^
I think that speaks volumes over any nit-pick comments he may have made in analyzing aspects of the film (which I and many fans do, while still believing the film in question is a good one.)