J.J. Abramshas a number of regrets when it comes toStar Trek Into Darkness. In the past, the director pointed to hisborderline obsessive use of lens flaresand how he wished he wasn’t so secretive aboutthe true identityofBenedict Cumberbatch’s John Harris. During hisCelebrity Nerd-OffwithStephen Colbertin Newark, New Jersey, this weekend, he further bemoaned overdoing it on theWrath of Khannods.
“We got in trouble on the secondStar Trekfilm with some of the fans,” he admitted (as quoted byRolling Stone). “There were too many nods toThe Wrath of Khan. I’ll cop to that.”
The biggest nod, of course, is the fact that John Harris is really Khan, and the simple act of using the name brings forth numerous comparisons. Examples include Spock’s “needs of the many” line, the Khan scream, the inclusion of Carol Marcus (played byAlice EveinInto Darkness), and the reversal of fortune with Kirk’s sacrifice. The blogosphere went to town further solidifying these comparisons with features like BuzzFeed’s “10 Classic Star Trek References in Star Trek Into Darkness.”
This route didn’t work in the film’s favor and instead flew too close to one of the franchise’s greatest installments and looked worse by comparison. Fans at a Las VegasStar Trekconvention voted itthe worst film in the entire canon. Abrams, however, is working to remedy his ways. He spoke toWiredearlier this year about using his past work as a guideline to makingStar Wars: The Force Awakens.
I didn’t want to enter into making a movie where we didn’t really own our story. I feel like I’ve done that a couple of times in my career. That’s not to say I’m not proud of my work, but the fact is I remember starting to shootSuper 8andStar Trek Into Darknessand feeling like I hadn’t really solved some fundamental story problems.
At the very least, we can rest assured that the galaxy far, far away will remain lens flare free.
