It’s no secret that I am a HUGE Benedict Cumberbatch fan, a member of a group of fans often referred to as Cumberbitches. I’m not gay (I like how every straight man has to clarify that, yet gay people never have to preface with ‘Now, I’m not straight…’), not that there is anything wrong with that. But I do have a big ole’ man crushes on Cumberbatch (and Ryan Gosling…).
Sherlock Holmes
SHERLOCK, TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY, and STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS are all golden, due to, in a big part, Cumberbatch’s performances.
Khan
As I said in my last post, my favorite scene in INTO DARKNESS is Khan’s speech about his crew, as he sheds a legitimate tear. The darkness he brings to Sherlock Holmes is equally impressive, causing me to watch every episode (especially ‘The Great Game,’ ‘A Scandal In Belgravia,’ and ‘The Reichenbach Fall’) countless times… also resulting in countless tears (I get damn emotional about my movies and TV. It’s cathartic.).
Julian Assange
I even want to see the next two chapters of THE HOBBIT, even though though the first one bored me to tears (again, I cry), just because Cumberbatch plays Smaug and the Necromancer. Likewise, I can’t wait to see THE FIFTH ESTATE, even though I don’t give a shit about wikileaks. The man is a chameleon, one of the few actors working today that disappears into the role.
Stay with me now; there’s an amazing video after the jump!
I may be an obsessive geek (I am), but whenever I am down, lately (since it’s Bluray release) I watch my favorite scene from STAR TREK: INTO DARKNESS. The characters stir up emotions I could only hope to feel.
The best scene of the summer (or year?) is the conversation between Captain Kirk and Khan in INTO DARKNESS.
I’ve watched it countless times this fall, whether drunk… or sober… really, whenever I need an escape.
Several days ago, on Monday September 16th, I waited in line twice to pick up my pre-ordered copy of GRAND THEFT AUTO V from Gamestop. First, I had to stand in line to get my group number at 6pm. Then, I had to wait in line from 11:00pm to the 12:01am Tuesday release date of the game.
I’m not complaining, bitching, or moaning; I could have (and should have) just picked up the game Tuesday morning and avoided the crowds. After all, I did preorder the game months ago; there would be a copy there waiting for me in the morning.
Though I wish to avoid all lines these days; I’ve waited in my fair share that require arrival hours in advance, whether I am waiting for a hot game system or the latest blockbuster. Each and every time I have found myself in such a line, I come across the same five geek archetypes. Without fail. Continue reading “‘Waiting for GTA V’ or ‘Types of Line Geeks’”→
There are many types of geeks. To be a geek is to be obsessed… with anything. You don’t have to be big into ‘geek culture’ like comics, video games, STAR TREK films, yada, yada, yada.
STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS – More mainstream than your father’s TREK, but still geeky as shit!
This obsession… or extreme passion, fuels the geek. Are you obsessed over sports? Do you know baseball or football stats? You’re a sports geek, not a jock (unless you also play the sport on the reg). You are an even bigger geek if you participate in a fantasy leaf. Fantasy? That’s practically ‘Dungeons and Dragons,’ geek.
Fact: Khan was never one of Starfleet’s “Top Agents.” So Benedict Cumberbatch is like a Jason Bourne, 007, or just a badass navy seal? With a vendetta against Starfleet? Sweet.
Especially with the cute short-haired blond, and the first officer threads worn by Kirk in STAR TREK (2009). He’s back to wreak havoc on all the puny mortals, for now, Mitchell is a God.
Kirk reacting to the return of an old college? Or the death of a friend (very little Bones in the trailer, which worries me).
I want to start by apologizing if this subject has already been written to death. I’m not all-too-present on the internet these days, but light research suggests very few similar articles/blogs have the same confidence and evidence that Gary Mitchell is the villain in STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS.
“When the crew of the Enterprise is called back home, they find an unstoppable force of terror from within their own organization has detonated the fleet and everything it stands for, leaving our world in a state of crisis.
With a personal score to settle, Captain Kirk leads a manhunt to a war-zone world to capture a one-man weapon of mass destruction.
As our heroes are propelled into an epic chess game of life and death, love will be challenged, friendships will be torn apart, and sacrifices must be made for the only family Kirk has left: his crew.”
STAR TREK ONGOING COMIC BOOK/THE ORIGINAL SERIES SPOILERS AHEAD!
People have suggested this synopsis confirms Gary Mitchell or Khan as the film’s villain, but I think the former is the only serious candidate.
GM as he appeared in TOS
Based on this synopsis, Benedict Cumberbatch (the actor playing the villain) has got to be Gary Mitchell! He’s from their own organization, the federation, and is a “one-man weapon of mass destruction” following his mutation at the edge of the galaxy. Khan matches neither characteristic (unless he is drastically changed… which is possible…).
Both possible villains do have a very personal score to settle.
In the comic series that INTO DARKNESS writer/producer Orci is a consultant on (Orci promised the books would set up characters we would see in the film), Kirk did “kill” Gary Mitchell before he would become too powerful, as Spock feared. So what if Mitchell died in the comic? What if he was actually, already too powerful to kill?
Gary Mitchell as he appears in Orci’s comic.
What if Mitchell returns to Earth, hailed as a first officer feared dead and given a promotion? Kirk, off “going where no man has ever gone before” can’t warn anyone as Mitchell is welcomed back, only to destroy the fleet with his even more evolved powers. The same powers Spock feared may manifest (like in TOS and the comic!).
As previously stated, Orci said the villain and other characters from the sequel would be introduced in the IDW ongoing STAR TREK comic. Gary Mitchell was the subject of issues #1 & #2, just as he was the center of the story in STAR TREK TOS’s second “1st” episode.
Nuff’ Said!
…
The only real doubt the synopsis suggests comes in its final line;
“…sacrifices must be made for the only family Kirk has left: his crew.”
I thought Kirk’s mother and (half?… step?) brother were still alive? She was simply “off planet” in the first film.
James T. Kirk and “brother.”James T. Kirks’ Pop (AND Thor!)
Will Kirk’s family play into the film, or am I simply reading into it too much?
After all, it could just be a sentimental reminder of the continuing “teamwork/family” theme of STAR TREK. And a reference to Kirk’s dad being dead in this timeline.
OR
Kirk’s family could fall victim first to Mitchell, leaving the Captain only the “real” friends of the Enterprise bridge crew (after all, “real” friends don’t kill other friend’s families and colleges, Gary!).
OR
This character could not be Gary Mitchell, and instead a different villain we’re all overlooking or have never heard of… perhaps a family member?
I suppose whatever is not revealed tomorrow in the trailer will be revealed in the STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS prelude comic from IDW.
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