Alex Luthor's (you know that can't be his real name) Star Wars vs. Star Trek EPIC Trailer on YouTube is making the rounds of the fan universe. It is what it sounds like it is: a 3-minute, 39-second splice-and-dice of scenes from both franchises cut together in a smooth edit that the folks who do the Academy Award edits could learn from for smooth and smart cutting. Take a look:
You see lots of Emperor and Death Star footage with Star Wars' roaring ship sounds that remind you of a camel in hyperdrive as heard through a tin can (You know, those "awwwwwhhrreee" noises). And you see Star Trek, J.J. Abrams style. Alone. With no Shatner or Nimoy. So what you've basically got here is Star Wars classic vs. Star Trek reboot.
The concept: "What if Star Wars and Star Trek had a knock down drag out fight--who would win" is almost as old as the Superman vs. Batman battle memes. But it ain't a fair fight folks!
Pitting Abrams' fledgling Star Trek reboot against the entire classic cannon of Star Wars (including the Emperor huddled in his nutshell throne) is like pitting an episode of The Walking Dead against that scene in Night of the Living Dead where they guy says, "They're coming to get you Barbara!" One is a classic, the other is current state-of-the-zombie-art. No fair. Apples and oranges -- even if they're both rotting.
It's not that we don't love Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto. We do. We think they're great younger versions of our beloved Kirk and Spock. We get to see a short scene with Simon Pegg's Scotty here, too. But if you're editing in Darth Vadar and the Emperor and we don't get old school Kirk and Spock, I'm calling foul here. The Trek Universe is also split between TV and film and Star Wars is purely cinematic -- another foul. Also, if you notice, there's no Hayden Christensen, Liam Neeson or even Natalie Portman in the Star Wars edits. Prequel Snub!
Even if you're not going to use Jim Kirk as yellow-shirted, womanizing hellraiser circa "The Gamesters of Triskelion," or Spock in "Amok Time" with Lirpa in hand, you could at least go back to the canonical Trek films and give us William Shatner kicking the Klingon in the face and screaming "I have had enough of you!" or everyone's favorite, "KKKKKKKhhhhhaaaaaaan!"
While Benedict Cumberbatch's Into Darkness Khan is formidable, even TV trek has had scarier, more ass-kicking villains you could edit in. How about Yarnek, the rock monster from The Savage Curtain or everyone's favorite, The Gorn? The sad thing is that there are fledgling Trekkers out there who won't ever know the awesomeness that is a lean and hungry Leonard Nimoy and William Shatner (yes, folks there was a time) at the top of their game as Kirk and Spock -- the originals. If The Emperor and Darth Vader get to come out and play, why not them?
