Star Trek review thread.
Hey all, just got back from seeing the new Star Trek film. Here's a thread for the film critics amongst us who'd like to post a review to convey their thoughts on this particular film.
***Light spoilers ahead***
I thought the film was terrific. It didn't run too long or too short - the length was appropriate for the story that they were telling. The sound and visuals were of course second to none with some of the most impressive battle sequences ever seen in a Star Trek film. Leonard Nemoy's appearance was also handled quite well as they did not milk his presence on screen nor did they make any reference to the universe he came from. However, I felt that a lot of potential was lost for Simon Pegg's Scotty as we're only introduced to him in the last 45 minutes of the film.
As for the performances, generally they were pretty solid. A special mention goes to Zachary Quinto who made the role of Spock his own, meanwhile, Kirk is also well played (I missed the actors name here). Ulhura was also terrific here. Finally, the role of Captain Pine was played perfectly. However, some of the performances didn't go without the cringe factor. The Chekov character felt quite forced and comedic (at best). Doctor McCoy was hit and miss but certainly didn't go without some memorable moments. Meanwhile, Simon Pegg's Scotty (as mentioned) never really had his full potential realised. I felt Eric Bana (for the most part) did a really good job as Nero, though, like McCoy, his performance didn't go without the lesser moments.
As for the story, it's terrific. It's straight forward, action packed and a lot of fun. There were a couple (literally) of plot holes that I wish to address but I won't discuss them until more people have seen the film. There is also one major plot device that will change the face of Star Trek for quite some time and will no doubt anger long term fans - this is for you to discover!
I also must say I did enjoy a lot of the modern elements of the film such as a young Kirk speeding along a highway listening to the Beastie Boys while answering his Nokia communicator. At the same time, some of it can be a little forced with the testosterone induced fist fights that Kirk seems to involve himself in with fellow officers, not to mention the bitchier side of the Vulcans being exposed. Throw in some sexy college dorm shenanigans, the film (at times) can feel a little dumbed down. But is definitely doesn't let the film down in anyway. The modernisation is much needed after the stiffness of the latter Trek from 2000-2003.
Overall, a terrific film with some minor flaws and a promising new beginning!
4 out of 5
***Light spoilers ahead***
I thought the film was terrific. It didn't run too long or too short - the length was appropriate for the story that they were telling. The sound and visuals were of course second to none with some of the most impressive battle sequences ever seen in a Star Trek film. Leonard Nemoy's appearance was also handled quite well as they did not milk his presence on screen nor did they make any reference to the universe he came from. However, I felt that a lot of potential was lost for Simon Pegg's Scotty as we're only introduced to him in the last 45 minutes of the film.
As for the performances, generally they were pretty solid. A special mention goes to Zachary Quinto who made the role of Spock his own, meanwhile, Kirk is also well played (I missed the actors name here). Ulhura was also terrific here. Finally, the role of Captain Pine was played perfectly. However, some of the performances didn't go without the cringe factor. The Chekov character felt quite forced and comedic (at best). Doctor McCoy was hit and miss but certainly didn't go without some memorable moments. Meanwhile, Simon Pegg's Scotty (as mentioned) never really had his full potential realised. I felt Eric Bana (for the most part) did a really good job as Nero, though, like McCoy, his performance didn't go without the lesser moments.
As for the story, it's terrific. It's straight forward, action packed and a lot of fun. There were a couple (literally) of plot holes that I wish to address but I won't discuss them until more people have seen the film. There is also one major plot device that will change the face of Star Trek for quite some time and will no doubt anger long term fans - this is for you to discover!
I also must say I did enjoy a lot of the modern elements of the film such as a young Kirk speeding along a highway listening to the Beastie Boys while answering his Nokia communicator. At the same time, some of it can be a little forced with the testosterone induced fist fights that Kirk seems to involve himself in with fellow officers, not to mention the bitchier side of the Vulcans being exposed. Throw in some sexy college dorm shenanigans, the film (at times) can feel a little dumbed down. But is definitely doesn't let the film down in anyway. The modernisation is much needed after the stiffness of the latter Trek from 2000-2003.
Overall, a terrific film with some minor flaws and a promising new beginning!
4 out of 5
It was pretty damn good, easily a contender for the film of 2009. I might make a return trip to. The only challenge is convincing people that this is actually worth seeing and shouldn't judge it by its title.
I hear a lot of people at work today turning up saying how much they loved the film but felt they always hated Star Trek. The times are-a changin'!
I hear a lot of people at work today turning up saying how much they loved the film but felt they always hated Star Trek. The times are-a changin'!
Oops. I posted on :The Last Film You've Seen" thread instead of this one.
Anyway. Yeah. Totally awesome. Reminded me a lot of Star Wars Episode IV (The original Star Wars.)
The characters were very well cast. You can believe that they are young versions of the originals.
But what about that thing between Spock and Uhura? I remember that Nurse Chapel had the hots for Spock, but I don't recall any chemistry between Spock and Uhura.
Anyway. Yeah. Totally awesome. Reminded me a lot of Star Wars Episode IV (The original Star Wars.)
The characters were very well cast. You can believe that they are young versions of the originals.
But what about that thing between Spock and Uhura? I remember that Nurse Chapel had the hots for Spock, but I don't recall any chemistry between Spock and Uhura.
I heard there were some sexual scenes in this Star Trek... How bad are they as far as an 11 year old goes???
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Very very innocuous, Baf. It's more a scene that implies sexual conduct. I'll tell you what the scene is as it isn't anything major.
For about ten seconds you see Kirk and a female in their underwear on a bed kissing and flirting. There's no revealling nudity or anything, though there are some scenes of lingerie clad women and some kissing. But there's no actual "scene" as such. If you're ok with your child watching Smallville or Buffy, this will be fine.
But, whenever in doubt, this site could be really useful for determining if you should exclude the kids or not:
http://www.kids-in-mind.com/
It's a site by parents and for parents who are concerned about the subject matter in films they want to show to their kids but are unsure if it would be suitable. Instead of seeing the movie twice, this might allow you to experience the movie along with your child for the first time. I'm certainly not advocating it as gospel, but it is a worthy guide.
For about ten seconds you see Kirk and a female in their underwear on a bed kissing and flirting. There's no revealling nudity or anything, though there are some scenes of lingerie clad women and some kissing. But there's no actual "scene" as such. If you're ok with your child watching Smallville or Buffy, this will be fine.
But, whenever in doubt, this site could be really useful for determining if you should exclude the kids or not:
http://www.kids-in-mind.com/
It's a site by parents and for parents who are concerned about the subject matter in films they want to show to their kids but are unsure if it would be suitable. Instead of seeing the movie twice, this might allow you to experience the movie along with your child for the first time. I'm certainly not advocating it as gospel, but it is a worthy guide.
Sounds like it will be okay... Thanks Joel...
The Paved Straight Road, Won't Always Get You Farther Than The Winding Dirt Road...
Can You Run Your Game??? Click Here And Find Out...
*Note, Not All Games Have Been Tested & Therefore May Not Be Listed...
Can You Run Your Game??? Click Here And Find Out...
*Note, Not All Games Have Been Tested & Therefore May Not Be Listed...
Joel hit the nail on the head with his synopsis - perfect! Despite the minor moments and questions regarding time lines, the film is fantastic! Clearly the best ST ever.
As for Spock and Uhura, there was an original serices episode (one of the worst BTW) where they pretty much admitted there were in some way attracted to one another. It was the episode dealing with beings who possessed the ability to impose their will on others. They made Kirk and the gang dance and sing and do stupid things. Also, there was a midget - small person - involved as well. At any rate, they had a "near miss".
As for Spock and Uhura, there was an original serices episode (one of the worst BTW) where they pretty much admitted there were in some way attracted to one another. It was the episode dealing with beings who possessed the ability to impose their will on others. They made Kirk and the gang dance and sing and do stupid things. Also, there was a midget - small person - involved as well. At any rate, they had a "near miss".
"If you look to me for illumination, you better have a flashlight!"
That was the episode where they made Kirk and Uhura kiss. I don't recall anything with Spock, but no doubt it was there.Jim the old guy wrote:Joel hit the nail on the head with his synopsis - perfect! Despite the minor moments and questions regarding time lines, the film is fantastic! Clearly the best ST ever.
As for Spock and Uhura, there was an original serices episode (one of the worst BTW) where they pretty much admitted there were in some way attracted to one another. It was the episode dealing with beings who possessed the ability to impose their will on others. They made Kirk and the gang dance and sing and do stupid things. Also, there was a midget - small person - involved as well. At any rate, they had a "near miss".
I just feel sorry for Scotty. In this timeline, Uhura and him will most likely not get together
Travis Jacobs
"You might not sound so idiotic if there were at least something excitable in my post to begin with..." --Baf
"You might not sound so idiotic if there were at least something excitable in my post to begin with..." --Baf
Nurse Chapel is the one that had a thing for Spock, but he didn't return her affection and it pretty much just fizzled and died...
Well I went and saw Star Trek with my son on Sunday... Friday he had a Late Field Trip to Philly and Saturday I woke with such a Migraine that I wasn't going anywhere, so we saw it on Sunday... So I still contributed to the 76 Million dollar weekend... lol
Okay I'm not trying to get into any big arguments here... The movie did indeed live up to the Star Trek name, it did the name proud... But I have disagree with it being the Best made to date... While I understand the Romulans changed the time line and this was an altered universe, I don't like the way this distorted the Origins of everything.... While it took Kirk and Spock awhile to see eye-to-eye, they were never enemies which they practically were here... And then there is the Uhura situation with Spock, that just didn't settle right with me either...
Zulu, Chekov, and Bones characters were all portrayed well... Scotty, I'm not too sure that guy studied James Doohan too well, not that there was a whole lot of Scotty involved in this film...
As for the Spock and Kirk characters, they were portrayed quite well, both did their homework on the characters, however I still don't like how they opened the door for them...
Like I said the movie did the name Star Trek Proud and was indeed a Star Trek Movie, but I can't place it as the best to date... It was a great movie, I'm not saying I didn't like it or won't watch it again, I will certainly buy it and add it to my collection, I'll most likely buy a few of the collector nik-naks as well...
Now the Special Effects and computer animations were by far excellent, but there is a 20 year separation between this movie and the last Original Movie, so it's bound to be better in that aspect...
Well that's my review... It rates right up there with most of the Star Trek Films... It does hold promise of bringing the movie series back for the newer generations... My son liked it very much and I think that's what they were aiming for all along, I don't think they had most of us Die Hard fans in mind when they started working on this...
No doubt there will be a new movie in the works in the near future, if not already, that has the Klingons as the main plot or maybe even another enemy that was never really touched on like the Gorn or some other race...
That I would like to see, a movie focused on the Gorn would be great...
Well I went and saw Star Trek with my son on Sunday... Friday he had a Late Field Trip to Philly and Saturday I woke with such a Migraine that I wasn't going anywhere, so we saw it on Sunday... So I still contributed to the 76 Million dollar weekend... lol
Okay I'm not trying to get into any big arguments here... The movie did indeed live up to the Star Trek name, it did the name proud... But I have disagree with it being the Best made to date... While I understand the Romulans changed the time line and this was an altered universe, I don't like the way this distorted the Origins of everything.... While it took Kirk and Spock awhile to see eye-to-eye, they were never enemies which they practically were here... And then there is the Uhura situation with Spock, that just didn't settle right with me either...
Zulu, Chekov, and Bones characters were all portrayed well... Scotty, I'm not too sure that guy studied James Doohan too well, not that there was a whole lot of Scotty involved in this film...
As for the Spock and Kirk characters, they were portrayed quite well, both did their homework on the characters, however I still don't like how they opened the door for them...
Like I said the movie did the name Star Trek Proud and was indeed a Star Trek Movie, but I can't place it as the best to date... It was a great movie, I'm not saying I didn't like it or won't watch it again, I will certainly buy it and add it to my collection, I'll most likely buy a few of the collector nik-naks as well...
Now the Special Effects and computer animations were by far excellent, but there is a 20 year separation between this movie and the last Original Movie, so it's bound to be better in that aspect...
Well that's my review... It rates right up there with most of the Star Trek Films... It does hold promise of bringing the movie series back for the newer generations... My son liked it very much and I think that's what they were aiming for all along, I don't think they had most of us Die Hard fans in mind when they started working on this...
No doubt there will be a new movie in the works in the near future, if not already, that has the Klingons as the main plot or maybe even another enemy that was never really touched on like the Gorn or some other race...
That I would like to see, a movie focused on the Gorn would be great...
The Paved Straight Road, Won't Always Get You Farther Than The Winding Dirt Road...
Can You Run Your Game??? Click Here And Find Out...
*Note, Not All Games Have Been Tested & Therefore May Not Be Listed...
Can You Run Your Game??? Click Here And Find Out...
*Note, Not All Games Have Been Tested & Therefore May Not Be Listed...
[POTENTIAL SPOILERS BE HERE]
I saw it on Saturday and I must say that it was pretty good. I grew up with original Star Trek as my Saturday morning cartoons (CBC didn't believe in cartoons in the 80's I guess. Really sucks when you only have 2 channel options.) It was cool to see new stuff regarding the characters, however it left me with questions. Is every Star Trek from here on out going to take place in this parallel universe? Is everything in the other universe now wrapped up and done with? Even if THIS movie series is stand alone, does that mean that they can keep re-birthing Kirk and Co. every generation or so? I dunno I think that's the only thing I didn't like about the movie, it's like a "dream" episode (or season for Dallas fans) of any TV series. I felt unfulfilled because of this. They should have just kept it in the usual Trek universe instead of splitting it off.
Aside from that, it's about time they put in the action that Star Trek deserves. I mean it's supposed to be an exciting adventure and this is the first time it actually felt like that instead of a drawn out drama. Not knocking the drama, there's a ton of good episodes and flicks that cover that but the excitement of exploration just seemed like it wasn't there. I know there were budget constraints originally but for the past bunch of years they've had the funding yet never deviated out of the original mold. I'm glad they went with this approach for this film, however I do not necessarily wanna see that for EVERY movie here on out. It was a good refreshing change for the moldy old Trek but it shouldn't be the only route from here on out. They will have to eventually bring back the drama to truly make this a space opera. So I think I rate this flick at about 85% on the entertainmentorometer. However if the next flick has the exact same feel/style/theme that score will drop substantially. The story was good for this flick but don't do the exact same thing next time. Mix it up a little. Alright I think I'm done geeking out now.
I saw it on Saturday and I must say that it was pretty good. I grew up with original Star Trek as my Saturday morning cartoons (CBC didn't believe in cartoons in the 80's I guess. Really sucks when you only have 2 channel options.) It was cool to see new stuff regarding the characters, however it left me with questions. Is every Star Trek from here on out going to take place in this parallel universe? Is everything in the other universe now wrapped up and done with? Even if THIS movie series is stand alone, does that mean that they can keep re-birthing Kirk and Co. every generation or so? I dunno I think that's the only thing I didn't like about the movie, it's like a "dream" episode (or season for Dallas fans) of any TV series. I felt unfulfilled because of this. They should have just kept it in the usual Trek universe instead of splitting it off.
Aside from that, it's about time they put in the action that Star Trek deserves. I mean it's supposed to be an exciting adventure and this is the first time it actually felt like that instead of a drawn out drama. Not knocking the drama, there's a ton of good episodes and flicks that cover that but the excitement of exploration just seemed like it wasn't there. I know there were budget constraints originally but for the past bunch of years they've had the funding yet never deviated out of the original mold. I'm glad they went with this approach for this film, however I do not necessarily wanna see that for EVERY movie here on out. It was a good refreshing change for the moldy old Trek but it shouldn't be the only route from here on out. They will have to eventually bring back the drama to truly make this a space opera. So I think I rate this flick at about 85% on the entertainmentorometer. However if the next flick has the exact same feel/style/theme that score will drop substantially. The story was good for this flick but don't do the exact same thing next time. Mix it up a little. Alright I think I'm done geeking out now.
I actually saw a trailer for this when seeing Star Trek and to be honest....i'm a little put off it because of the colour filtering they're using. I was looking forward to them using a full, rich coloured film rather than the tinge of colbalt blue. We get the idea that it's a post apocalyptic world from the sheer state of the environment they're in...we'll see but i'm not huge on the cinematography so far.Frank wrote:Never got around to seeing many Trek films, had an absolute blast with this one. Will probably see again, while waiting for Terminator.