by Quentin 26 Replies latest jw friends
Classic case of turning your biggest weakness (worn out plotlines and story) into your greatest strength.
I read the director said he was trying to inject some rock-n-roll into Star Trek. He succeeded. Big time. I loved it from the poignant opening to Bones' favorite dialogue ("I'm a doctor not a ______") to the killer ending. And there were real actors, real story and real excitement this time. Thumbs up!
drwtsn32 ... you beat me to it. I was going to post that link!
We saw it at the IMAX about 15 rows back. We had a very good time and we are old Trekkers seeing the originals for the first time, no reruns.
I enjoyed Chekov very much.
Blondie
There are no spoilers in my comments, but some clues about the general difference between this movie and known Trekkie stuff. If you don't even want clues, stop reading.
To those that say young Kirk was different than the Kirk you thought you knew, remember that this is an alternate reality. Circumstances made him completely different, yet almost the same. They explain that. I had one problem with characters being drawn together by incredible circumstances of coincidence in this movie, but two things let me overlook that.
1. In an episode of the old series, McCoy goes back in earth history to mess it all up and Kirk and Spock must go back and fix it. Spock postulates a theory somewhere along the lines that things that belong together in time are drawn together. A trekkie would appreciate that nod to Spock's theory and overlook the coincidences.
2. IT'S A MOVIE! That is all it is. Incredible coincidences are shortcuts in many movies. It's fantasy, so any problems with reality or previous fantasy should just be suspended. Enjoy the movie. That's all it is.
I liked it. I thought the end would be predictable, but it didn't end the way I predicted.
I've watched both Star Treck and Wolverine the other day in the same afternoon, then half way through wolverine fell asleep, woke up half an hour later at the moment when he realized he'd been manipulated. So I'll have to go and watch it again, but good movie otherwise
Did ya'll catch SNL with the new kirk and spock along with nimoy?
Nimoy had the killer line any trekkie who doesn't like this new star trek is a d!ckhed.
I was LMAO! It reminded me of when shatner was on and told them t get a life.
http://www.nbc.com/Saturday_Night_Live/video/clips/update-feature-star-trek/1099561/
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You know, I really tried to go into this movie with an open mind. I understand that times change, a fresh start was needed, new actors etc. But it just didnt work for me.
Star Trek became popular because it was the first intelligent science-fiction show(with the possible exception of the Twilight Zone). This movie had no glimmer of intelligence anywhere within it. It had lots of action, lots of explosions, lots of shakycam and lens flare,and a plot with holes you could manuever an entire fleet of starships through.
Kirk as he is portrayed in the movie is an obnoxious punk with all the worst attributes of the original and none of his better qualities, not even a hint of how he could develop into anywhere near the kind of legend the original Kirk was. And yet somehow he goes from being a cadet facing disciplinary action to the captain of the flagship of the fleet!
Of the rest of the crew, Quinto's Spock was fine, McCoy was fine, Sulu was underused but interesting, I didn't even mind Scotty being the comic relief, he was hilarious. Chekov was horrible, Wesley Crusher with a really fake accent. Uhura was interesting, the romance angle was also interesting but like many other parts of the storyline came off as a bit contrived.
And then there was Scotty's little friend, another Jar-Jar Binks. He was funny at first, on the outpost, but then he also shows up on the Enterprise! Cause thats just what Star Trek needs, is a hilarious little alien mascot!
No Apologies
I just came back from seeing it. It was okay. On the one hand, it was enjoyable escapist fluff with lots of humor and rollicking action. On the other hand, it was escapist fluff that felt rather empty on the inside lacking the essence of what made the show unique; the movie felt much like any other fast action blow-'em-up CGI-heavy movie out there. It felt like a Star Trek movie made by people not all that familiar with Star Trek. It also took quite a while to get used to the new actors who in many cases did not feel very much like the characters they were supposed to be playing although this varied (Spock was easy to get used to, Sulu very much as well, Uhura less so, Kirk it took me until the end of the movie to finally see him as somewhat like Shatner's Kirk, and Scotty I still can't see as the same character). But even harder was getting used to the new alternative universe/timeline of the movie which basically chucked out almost all of the backstory and continuity of the old series and movies. That is a masterstroke for resetting the franchise for a reboot but it can be quite disorienting for the fans familiar with what transpires in the original series and in the older Star Trek movies. It would be like rebooting Tolkien's Lord of the Rings by starting the story off with Gandalf dead and the One Ring given to Aragorn as Arwen's wedding ring. It might be interesting to explore how this new alternative reality of Middle Earth leads to new stories, such as Frodo having an affair with Arwen to make her remove her ring so that he could take it to Gollum to care for as its rightful owner, but I'd prefer to see the Middle Earth of the classic stories than a new alternative Middle Earth. Actually, it's not as bad as that....I think the new Star Trek has a lot of potential of exploring how decisions made in classic Star Trek could lead to different consequences if done differently. But I doubt J. J. Abrams is going to take it in that more cerebral direction. Still I like the new ensemble and I look forward to seeing them in action again.....and overall the film was fun if not a little dull from convention. Wish it had the kind of depth that the Dark Knight had. But considering how the Star Trek franchise was essentially dead (I never even went to the last two movies myself), it is great to see it get new life.
Spoilers ahoy here: I wonder if the writers cribbed a little from Doctor Who. Starting of a reboot with the main character (Spock) having his homeworld destroyed by an enemy tampering with time? Sounds a lot like what happened with Gallifrey when NuWho brought the Doctor Who franchise back to life.
