Star Trek 2- Dammit Jim, It's an Action Movie, Not A Novel!

It's blockbuster season at the movies. Bang! Boom! Kerplow! There is action at every turn to satisfy our apparent need to constantly be entertained, every...single....second. I've taken in Iron Man 3 and Star Trek 2 in the past couple of weeks. While both movies were somewhat visually stimulating, with some mildly humorous dialogue mixed in, something key is missing, and that something is a story.

While watching Star Trek 2, The Quest For Curly's Gold, I came to the realization that I only had a vague notion of what the plot was really all about. Now I realize these movies are not made, or viewed, for the storytelling. The masses want to see these movies to be entertained for a couple of hours and then go back to being over-stimulated by other forms of media. I also realize there isn't that much to "get," it's essentially good guys battle bad guys and the good guys come out victorious. However, I did want to know what the actual story was. I became a little worried during the movie, because I only had a vague notion of the intricacies of the plot. There were two possible reasons for this. The first possibility  just couldn't be true. The second possibility is more accurate I think. The plot seems to be something that is haphazardly thrown in as a way to get from one action scene to the next.

Here's how these action movies tend to go nowadays: An action scene. followed by some witty banter, followed by another action scene, followed by a two minute, rapid-fire explanation of the plot. "You see, (insert bad guy name) was brought here by an alien ship that was nearly destroyed in an alternate universe on the planet Voltar, but due to the current galactic rule 875,25, section A, (which you'd know about if you read the graphic novel) which doesn't allow him into the universe until he's had intergalactic lap-band surgery which can only be performed by Dr. Xulu (also from the graphic novel), so (bad guy) must destroy the world to avoid having intergalactic lap-band surgery!" Got all that? Okay, good. Now watch as the good guys fight the bad guys while jumping 200 feet onto a moving spaceship travelling at 300 MPH.

I'm not trying to pan Star Trek 2. It had some good moments, and it was successful as a somewhat entertaining summer blockbuster. I guess I just wish filmmakers wouldn't make the assumption that audiences have the attention span of a concussed manatee. I think technology has actually hurt the science fiction and action film genres. For instance, why was the first Star Wars prequel so awful? It was because the filmmakers fell in love with the idea of CGI and the limitless capabilities of modern special effects, and it seemed contrived and fake. What made the original Star Wars so great was at least partially the story, which, while simple, was still fleshed out throughout the movie. If someone asked you to explain the plot of Star Wars, you could do it pretty easily. With Star Trek 2 and similar films, you know just enough that you can follow along, but there certainly isn't a real story being told.