Post #308,513
5/11/09 11:09:49 AM
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One word review: Star Trek
Worthy.
Went to KSC to see it at their iMax...while it was not filmed native like Batman..still nice to see it on the huge screen with the awesome sound system.
While there are certainly some parts that revert to the campy storytelling of the older movies...these moments are surprisingly few. The method by which the characters are introduced (especially McCoy and Scott) was very well done.
Visually, you should see it in the theater..its worth the upcharge from the dvd rental.
I will choose a path that's clear. I will choose freewill.
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Post #308,522
5/11/09 1:11:08 PM
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I disagree
While the special effects were very well done, I found the plot to be simplistic and the acting pretty lame (not counting young Spock who was supposed to be wooden).
What was up with the pseudo-romance of young Spock and Uhuru? Suddenly they're necking on the transporter pad, but there was no introduction to them starting to have feelings for one another.
Continuity: the ball was dropped again. For instance, How can Spock's mother be alive in the original series and in movie #4 when they kill her here? Also, the bridge of this Enterprise was much more advanced looking than the original series and better than the one in Next Generation. And finally, nowhere did they show how or why young Spock and Kirk would become friends. it was left up to a cameo appearance by Leonard Nemoy as a much older Spock to TELL young Spock that he and Kirk will be lifelong friends. Why didn't young Spock question that statement, based upon their interaction up to that point?
Not to mention the destruction of the planet Vulcan, which gets visited and talked about in every television series. Within a couple of Earth years some 30K surviving Vulcans colonize a new planet and totally rebuild their civilization? I didn't buy it.
It's a good thing I saw it at a matinee, because the $10 prime time ticket price would not have been worth it.
"Chicago to my mind was the only place to be. ... I above all liked the city because it was filled with people all a-bustle, and the clatter of hooves and carriages, and with delivery wagons and drays and peddlers and the boom and clank of freight trains. And when those black clouds came sailing in from the west, pouring thunderstorms upon us so that you couldn't hear the cries or curses of humankind, I liked that best of all. Chicago could stand up to the worst God had to offer. I understood why it was built--a place for trade, of course, with railroads and ships and so on, but mostly to give all of us a magnitude of defiance that is not provided by one house on the plains. And the plains is where those storms come from."
-- E.L. Doctorow
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Post #308,523
5/11/09 1:19:11 PM
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Consistency....
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Post #308,524
5/11/09 1:39:56 PM
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It depends
on if you are requiring the new to be completely consistent with the old..and I can see that being a frustrating factor...but I was actually hoping for the "pirates of the carribean" treatment...treating the old more like guidelines than hard fast rules....so I wasn't as upset by that.
I agree with the general sentiment re: Spock and Uhura...it wasn't developed enough and the Spock bit is one of those campy parts I mentioned.
I will choose a path that's clear. I will choose freewill.
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Post #308,533
5/11/09 5:30:11 PM
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Another note
the storyline itself handles some of the inconsistency of old versus new.
I will choose a path that's clear. I will choose freewill.
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Post #308,529
5/11/09 4:39:03 PM
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Set design: practical considerations
Also, the bridge of this Enterprise was much more advanced looking than the original series
Oh sure, I suppose they could have tried to duplicate the "look and feel" of the original 1966-69 sets, but do you realize how much more you'd have to pay for decent plywood now (I'm not talking about the vile stuff derived from wood-chip slurry that they sell today) than you did forty years ago? And just try finding those old-style Christmas lights for your instrument consoles.
Regarding the "pseudo-romance" that finds Spock and Uhuru necking on the transporter pad ("Did you move off the earth too?") without preliminaries, this does not seem inconsistent with what I've heard of Vulcan spawning practices. There was a famous (perhaps apocryphal? nevertheless, famous) TV Guide description of one episode that ran something like "Overcome by a powerful mating urge, Spock nearly kills Kirk." A little slap-and-tickle in the engineering section seems like pretty small beans by comparison. Do you realize that back when the original series was aired, black-on-extraterrestrial sex was illegal in Virginia and seven other southern states as well as Utah?
notochordially,
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Post #308,532
5/11/09 5:24:13 PM
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utah too? did not know that
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Post #308,534
5/11/09 5:41:58 PM
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Re: utah too? did not know that
The blue light indicates that a jest was intended. Live long on phosphors.
cordially,
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Post #308,535
5/11/09 5:43:30 PM
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wondering about past felony violations of that law in utah
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Post #308,835
5/17/09 8:32:51 PM
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Finally got to see it
I didn't mind the big rewriting, they where part of the plot. For Star Trek, a time travel plot is almost cliche really. But I'm sure the movie studio saw it as a benefit, since they can now easily retread the material of the original series without recreating it in exact detail. They captured the character of the original characters very well. In particular Bones is brilliant in his short bits. The new Kirk is intentionally more angry and angsty then the old one, even more of an unstable rebel when pushed. Spock is fine, Uhura decent, Scotty a bit over the top, but so was the original. The Spock/Uhura relationship seems to be another bit of intentional alteration. Chekov and Sulu OK, though Sulu seems to be using more traditional sword fighting then fencing.
What was more jarring where the little, pointless stuff. The off hand references to races and knowledge that Star Fleet, in the original series, had not yet discovered yet. The set design, which didn't really share anything with the original. The villains ship was particularly odd, in that it defied the internal logic of ship design in Star Trek. And the amazing efficiency of the teleporters, which suddenly where working better then those of the Next Generation. Plus, why the radical change in the special effect of the teleporters? It was one of the iconic bits from the series, and the new effect is no better then the old one.
On the technical side, the cutting of the fights scenes was poor in places. Forcing all of the characters into this one plot stretched things, but that was inevitable, for it to work they had to include all of the major original characters and make sure they all had a scene. Most of the writing was decently clever, working in the characters signature lines without being forced. There was a nice balance of serious and humor, spaced out to hit when it was actually unexpected.
The plot held together well. Both the hero's and villain's goals and methods make sense. They use the tools they have available, and they do it in ways that makes sense for them. Which is to say the villains plan isn't particularly rational, but for a Romulan, throwing everything away for a chance at vengeance is not surprising.
Overall, I would say not quite as good as the Wrath of Khan, but probably the second best movie so far.
Jay
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Post #308,836
5/17/09 8:39:27 PM
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one of these days I will have to watch a star trek movie
saw pieces of wrath of khan, was that real corinthian leather?
sounds interesting.
Never saw a complete episode of the tv sequels either. Hard to compete with carboard sets and Bill Being Bill at full speed with all the ham that only he can inject to make it truly watchable.
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Post #309,208
5/27/09 4:52:30 PM
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Re: Finally got to see it
I saw Star Trek last Saturday, and I have to agree, it was the best movie since Wrath Of Khan.
I handled the timeline changes fine, after all, time travel was second nature in Star Trek, and I was also a Dr. Who fan. The movie makers explained that they needed some room to grow, without having to recreate everything as it happened in the OS. They even deliberately had young Kirk drive the '60's Corvette off the cliff in an effort to symbolize the break from the 1960's series.
All in all, it was great fun, and hilarious to watch, and the book is even better. Not bad for a reboot or rebirth, as various people are calling it.
Brenda
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When asking God for a break, be sure to specify what KIND you want!
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Post #309,217
5/27/09 6:56:11 PM
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I saw it the other week, too.
And I really liked it. Well worth seeing in the cinema.
Chris Pine did Kirk very well - in particular, he didn't let himself get upstaged by Leonard Nimoy.
Wade.
"Ah -- I take it the doorbell doesn't work?"
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