'Star Trek Into Darkness:' Great characters overcome same old story

Once was the time it really mattered to me to see a big movie on the first day of release.

Sometimes that was difficult. Until I was past 30, movies didn't open at 3,000 theatres the same day. I remember that to see "The Empire Strikes Back" in 1980, I had to go to the Uptown Theatre way up on Wisconsin Avenue in D.C.

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

But when I saw "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" in 1984 in St. Louis, it was at any number of suburban multiplexes.

Still, I made the effort. I think I can even remember the last time I made a special effort to see something the first day it was out was in 1993, when I saw an early matinee of "Jurassic Park" in Upland, Cal.

It's hard to believe that 20 years have passed since then. The fact is, I don't even go to the movies anymore, although I still see pretty much everything I want to see. We've lived in Georgia for nearly three years, and the only time I saw something in a theatre was in the summer two years ago when I saw the last Harry Potter movie.

I'm not sure exactly why that is, but I have a feeling the fact I have a 47-inch HD television and a Blu-Ray player has something to do with it, and the idea of being able to watch at my own speed makes it more pleasant to stay at home.

I'm still sort of a first-day viewer. I pick up the DVDs of the big movies I want to see as soon as they go on sale, and I come home and watch them right away. That's why I spent time this afternoon watching a movie I have awaited with mixed feelings -- "Star Trek Into Darkness."

Mixed feelings? Well, I really loved the 2009 reboot with Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto as Kirk and Spock. I thought that completely rejuvenated a franchise that has been around since I was in high school. On the other hand, I was definitely disgusted to learn that they were recycling Khan Noonien Singh was the villain and that they were reworking the classic death scene from that 1982 film.

Of course death scenes of that sort are false drama. A book I read long ago that analyzed the original "Star Trek" television series said it was silly whenever an episode had Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock or Dr. McCoy supposedly dying. Those three were the heart and soul of the show, so you knew they weren't really going to die.

There were actually numerous things wrong with this movie, if you follow "Star Trek." One of the most basic rules of the show was that the Enterprise cannot land on a planet, but the opening sequence in the new movie has the ship hiding in an ocean and then coming out.

No point to it, just a cool CGI shot.

I suppose I should be glad that in an era of amazing effects and crummy screenplays, the story was as good as it was. In a way, it's almost as if the characters Gene Roddenberry created are so good they can overcome all sorts of garbage.

This is my last "Star Trek," though. I'll keep watching the movies made with Pine and Quinto, but when those two move on and some future director decides to "reboot" the story, I'll move on too.

No movie theatres, no DVDs.

Maybe I'll finally watch the set of Akira Kurosawa movies I got a couple of years ago.