6 reasons why I think Star Trek: Into Darkness works as a film
By Chad Porto
Two great villains
The film featured two great villains, the first in Khan Noonien Singh, played wonderfully by Benedict Cumberbatch, and the other in Admiral Alexander Marcus, played brilliantly by Peter Weller (RoboCop, son!) They were both unique and existed for a variety of reasons.
For Khan, a lot of his original motivations are true, but his expectations are far far more brutal. He forces a loyal officer of Starfleet to commit suicide by blowing up a Starfleet depot of sorts, all so Khan would save his daughter’s life. He would then use James Kirk to stop Marcus, who was not only hunting down Khan but the Enterprise as well. Khan was a formidable opponent for everyone involved, including Spock, who couldn’t beat him with just his own hands.
Marcus, on the other hand, demonstrated what happens when an old war dog like himself sees a quieter future. His paranoia at being vulnerable to a Klingon attack that may or may not come drove him to try and start a war with them. Marcus using Khan to try and do just that just highlights how far he’s willing to go, as it was Marcus who unthawed Khan in order to help attack the Klingons.
The motivations for both were brilliant and well done.