Martin Croucher speaks to nervous UAE Trekkies attending tomorrow's premiere of Star Trek: Into Darkness.
Star Trek fans will boldly go to cinemas tomorrow, despite fearing that the latest installment of a new film franchise will once again leave them disappointed.
UAE-based Trekkies say they expect the new film Star Trek: Into Darkness will once again rewrite established canon in the fictional universe.
“Geeks in general tend to get very defensive of their franchises, whether it’s video games or movies,” said Omar Ismail, chairman of the Gulf Roleplaying Community. “There is always going to be people who say ‘this is not the real Star Trek’.”
Mr Ismail said that many were worried about director JJ Abrams telling the Daily Show that he was never really much of a Star Trek fan.
Khalid Al Ali, another UAE based fan who said he “breathes Star Trek”, said he had bought every movie in the franchise, but out of protest didn’t buy the first installment in the reboot, released in 2009.
“They did a lousy job,” he said. “They’ve lost the spirit of Star Trek. It’s not just the special effects, it’s the shakespeare, the drama.
“JJ Abrams has made a Star Wars movie with Star Trek characters,” he said. “It doesn’t have the Picard touch. It’s very bland and very cheesy.”
Despite his misgivings, he said he had already reserved his cinema tickets to watch the new film.
“However the movie is, I will still do my duty as a Star Trek fan and go to watch it,” he said. Despite their obvious enthusiasm, neither Mr Ismail nor Mr Al Ali said they had felt the need to buy Star Trek costumes.
Mr Al Ali in particular said he had his wings clipped early on. “I almost did that, but my wife refused to dress up as Uhura,” he said.
mcroucher@thenational.ae
