Star Trek Beyond was Actually Great... And May Save the Franchise

All right, I stand corrected. Well, sort of. Star Trek Beyond was great, but I wasn't completely in the wrong for criticizing it during its promotions.

Watching it, my eyes watered. Not because it's sad, but because, at long last, I was watching a Star Trek movie. JJ Abrams admitted he wasn't a Star Trek fan, and those first two movies showed it. But this time it was clear that people who care about the franchise were in charge of it, at least the writing part.

This time it was about the crew coming together to solve the problems. It's what Star Trek was always supposed to be about! They are overwhelmed by what they're facing, so no amount of fighting is going to win the day. They have to intellectually figure something out to save the day, and they have to do it together, each one bringing their own special knowledge and talents.

But I still hold to the fact that the promotion campaign was crap. In fact, it hurt the film. While it opened to a positive weekend, it did worse than the other movies. Why? Because they promoted it as a hip action film rather than a smart, emotional one. It detracted the audiences that would want to see it, people like me. I only grudgingly went because I heard several people who hated the Abrams films said they loved this one.

Somehow, Hollywood still thinks it will get a larger audience by following formulas of pop culture. But if they just trust good material, they'll get larger audiences. I believe this film will have legs, and will bring Star Trek back as long as they follow the team who created this film rather than those who marketed it. I'm waiting with baited breath for the next one, and the series, if they're going to be this smart about them.

Why Marvel is a Huge Influence on Relic Worlds

I never thought I'd be such a huge fan of Marvel.  When I was younger I was a DC guy; in particular I followed Batman, and story lines that took a darker turn.  But what Marvel has done over the past 5 to 10 years is nothing short of miraculous.

It's a minor miracle whenever any movie gets made.  I know; I've worked in that industry for a long time.  The number of elements you need just to bring together a single movie is head-spinning.  So for them to be so ambitious as to plan a series of movies that tie together, then one movie that brings them all together... that takes balls of steel.

Thank god it was successful, because it's spawned a franchise that I believe is one of the best of all time.  I've always liked the idea of the larger world around the characters being developed.  Each individual is just a cog in the larger machine.  With the Marvel movies, TV shows, games, etc. that is exactly what they have done.  Like a photo that is made up of many smaller photos, they have all painted a larger image.

This is what I want to do with Relic Worlds, and what I have been striving for.  Even though this particular series focuses a lot more on one central character, I have developed a whole section of the galaxy complete with star systems, planets, corporate governments, etc.  The idea is for there to be a larger story arc in addition to the smaller story told about Lancaster James and his close friends.

It's sometimes hard to know whether a company is doing this just to make more money, or if they're truly expanding to make a larger story, but if it's telling a good tale, I'll bite.