Upon the release of the movie reboot of the original series in 2009, it received a polarizing reception from Trekkies, and its sequel is pretty much loathed by the fan base. So it might seem bewildering to many that Star Trek and Star Trek Into Darkness are actually rated as the best Star Trek movies according to Metacritic.
However, it makes sense, as the action oriented films fit more in to the modern landscape of movies and would generally be more enjoyed by critics, whereas the fans have made more astute observations—through the medium of the meme— on how unlike Star Trek the reboot really is.
TV Shows > Movies
Though there are a few reasons why the movies are better than the shows, to many Trekkies, the three reboot movies are not real Star Trek films. The movies are action packed, full of plot holes, and almost always ignore the series’ history.
The movies spend more time trying to serve the fans “exciting” call backs to the old movies and shows, but director JJ Abrams should have known that truly appeasing Star Trek fans would be to deliver a thought provoking plot that wraps current social and political themes in to one great sci-fi metaphor. The last thing Trekkies wanted was a convoluted plot that rushed through dialogue to get to the next action scene.
Darkness
This is one of the greatest visual criticisms of the reboot series, and though the opinion maybe exaggerated for comedic effect as the creator has clearly tried to find the darkest possible image from Star Trek Beyond, it’s totally on point. Gone are the days of colorful uniforms and vibrant spaceships, as we are now living in a boring future full of clerical and dentist's office-looking ship decks.
Lens Flares
Alfred Hitchcock’s calling card was his cameos, Scorsese’s calling card is long tracking shots, and Abrams’ calling card is lens flares— lots and lots of lens flares. Even in caves, or any scene with no lighting, there are lens flares covering the screen for absolutely no apparent reason. It has become so much that at this point it’s verging on parody. Though there’s an argument to be made that lens flare is one of the best things about the reboot, it’s a massive stretch.
How Khan Stole Christmas
Though Khan is one of the biggest things that the reboot got wrong, never has there been a more perfectly paused moment. This freeze frame from Star Trek Into Darkness of Benedict Cumberbatch looking exactly like The Grinch comes full with the green fury’s iconic smirk. What makes this more amazing is that Cumberbatch went on to voice The Grinch in the most recent animated adaptation of the Dr. Seuss classic.
Jon Stewart Representing The Fans
The first mistake— of many— that Abrams made in the process of making his Star Trek film was initially agreeing to direct the film in the first place. Not because he’s obsessed with lens flares and not because he’s very action oriented, but because he never had any respect for the source material. As mentioned in an interview with Jon Stewart on The Daily Show, Abrams confessed to never liking Star Trek, after which Stewart confessed that he rightly stopped listening.
Spock’s A Savage
Right before Khan recites this line of dialogue to Spock, he tells the Vulcan that if he would never break a rule, he couldn’t possibly hold his own in a no holds barred fight with Khan.
Lo and behold, in the action packed climax of Into Darkness, Khan and Spock get in to a bit of fisticuffs, and Spock ends up beating Khan to a bloody pulp. Though Spock was running off emotions, which is one of the things that the reboot got wrong, Khan’s predictions were completely incorrect.
JJ Thanos
With the MCU's Thanos being known for trying to snap everything out of existence, Star Trek fans have put two and two together and compared Abrams to the giant purple alien. As JJ completely ignored Voyager, Deep Space Nine, The Next Generation, and even the original series— off which the new movies are based— it was a total slap in the face to fans and he may as well have snapped them out of existence.
Special Shoes
This joke works on so many levels. For starters, the pun is genius because not only is Kirk demanding things of Spock as per usual, but as Spock takes everything so literally that it’s very likely he would misconstrue what Kirk is saying in this situation. And as Spock lacks all sense of humor, if he saw this meme for himself, he probably wouldn’t even understand it.
Advanced Technology
Though 2009’s Star Trek is one of Abrams' best films according to IMDB, it still has a lot of problems. How this little piece of set design made its way in to the final product is so perplexing. There is evidence dating back decades that Star Trek predicts the future. It predicted video calls, iPads, flat screen TVs, the list goes on. And what better analogy is there for the JJ Abrams' reboot than the fact that it "predicted" existing hand dryers found in dirty public restrooms.
Sherlock Is Spock
We now live in a world where Sherlock and Spock have the same line of dialogue. The question is whether it’s Sherlock whose a Spock fan or Spock whose a Sherlock fan, and though it seems improbable, Sherlock could be watching the original series in between Solving crimes. However, the one thing for certain is that both characters have their own sarcastic critics.