the Dalaverse

So I'll post about the race later, but I just saw Trek again and have to jot some things down before I forget them. I went in with some of the criticism I've been reading in mind, and...I still loved it. I don't know. It makes me happy in the fannish place.

A bunch of stuff I picked up on the second time around:

--Caught the line about "the Mudd incident" and giggled. Oh, Harry Mudd.

--When Bones stops Kirk before they get on the shuttle to Enterprise: "I'm fine, Bones." "The hell you are." HE'S BEING A GOOD SPACE BOYFRIEND, JIM, LET HIM LOVE YOU. It's a small but very shippy moment. This is...relevant to things I want to write.

--Yet another adorable Kirk/Uhura(/Bones/Spock) moment: when Bones and Carol are working on the missile and Bones drops the line about the Gorn delivery, Kirk and Uhura both kind of grin and roll their eyes. And then, after Bones is okay, and Uhura puts her hand on Jim's shoulder, she then immediately goes to Spock. I LOVE THEM SO MUCH.

--The space scenes are so, so beautiful. I could watch the Enterprise go to warp (or rise majestically out of various elements) every single day.

--The bar scene with Kirk and Pike: when Pike says he wants Kirk as his first officer, you can see the emotion rise in Kirk's eyes, then he abruptly turns his face away for a moment to hide it. A+ for the lovely subtle little moment, Mr. Pine.

--I get where Uhura lost the Klingons: when she said "You're in danger." A Klingon patrol in danger from a puny human, and this even punier human thinks they need her help? That's why he attacked her.

--There's a moment where Khan says "crew" and Cumberbatch's mouth pulls into a perfect V, like a Joker smile, and it is so fucking unsettling, my god that man's face

--I love that Spock and Kirk reach the conclusion that Khan is not on the up-and-up independently but simultaneously. Spock by research: he calls up Old Spock on the spacephone. Kirk by intuition while they're fighting - I was wondering about that, but this time I realized that Khan beats his opponents and calmly watches while Kirk and Scotty are still getting beat down instead of intervening. I assume that's what Kirk picks up on. That is a really nice bit of characterization in the midst of all the action.

--Criticisms I take to heart: the "KHAAAAN!" is out of place and it does lessen some of the impact of the death scene, though no one in my theater laughed, thank god. And the tribble scene...the easiest way to avoid it would've been to add a quick scene/line with Bones reading up on "John Harrison" and realizing what he did for Noel Clarke's daughter, using that as the callback instead (because I'm willing to bet a lot of the audience forgot about it by then - I'll admit I did). However, if they wanted the tribble scene, it should not have been shoehorned into that conversation with Khan where it is extremely awkward and obvious.

--Other things I would've cut: some of the Klingon fight and about half of the fisticuffs with Khan. They did not need to jump onto the second random flying thing. The other long action setpieces - the race through the bowels of the Enterprise (which is a lovely callback to Kirk and Scotty doing it in the first film), the opening scene, and the space dive are actually pretty tight.

--Speaking of the Klingon fight: what HAPPENED to Cupcake and the other security guy? Did they get killed? I was trying to keep track of them, but everything was so dark that I lost them. And I didn't see them later in the security team that marches Khan around. If so that's an annoying gaffe, and RIP Cupcake and friend.

--Speaking of the Spock-Khan fisticuffs, LOVED Spock using the mind meld offensively to disorient Khan. Has Trek ever done that before? I honestly don't know/remember.

--Khan stomping Carol's knee made me sick to my stomach, way worse than his crushing people's skulls. Just, ugh, I can't even though about it. But I loved her "Do you?" at Bones when he asked her if she got seasick.

--I'm kind of charmed by the idea of an absent-minded professor type personality for Carol, mostly based on her continuing to monologue at Kirk while she's undressing and "Turn around. Now!" Can't you just see her getting caught up in experiments and accidentally lighting shit on fire or whatever, and being all "according to my research" about it? Obviously Christine needs to transfer back to the Enterprise (to be with her girlfriend) and Janice needs to get onboard too (...to also be girlfriends? Blonde OT3!)

--Khan being refrozen at the end=obvious homage to Raiders of the Lost Ark; even if it didn't make much sense, it's JJ through and through.

--I caught the voices while Kirk is waking up, this time - you can hear George saying "Let's name him Jim, Winona saying "George!" and Pike saying...oh fuck, I think it was "I believe in you, Jim" but I'm not entirely certain. This also plays into something I need to write so it pleases me immensely.

Now I really need to see it in 2D (I took my dad and he loves 3D for some unfathomable reason). Preferably at the Air and Space Museum, where it is on a massive IMAX screen and yet in 2D. Perfect. And the soundtrack comes out on Tuesday, yay.

Back to writing!